Pallante Dominates, STL Erupts in Sixth to Blank Cincinnati 7-0
Andre Pallante threw 7.0 innings of two-hit, zero-run ball with 8 strikeouts, and St. Louis turned a quiet game into a rout with a five-run sixth inning. Cincinnati was shut out completely, finishing with zero runs on the night.
Pallante was the story from the jump. Seven innings, two hits, one walk, eight strikeouts — that's a performance that looks like a pitcher operating at a completely different level than the lineup he was facing. St. Louis got him an early cushion in the first when Burleson singled to left, scoring Wetherholt and moving Walker to second to make it 1-0. That was enough for Pallante to work with, and he made it look like plenty. Gordon Graceffo then came on and tossed 2.0 innings of one-hit, scoreless ball with 4 strikeouts, completing a combined shutout. Cincinnati's pitching, meanwhile, had a rougher night — Hunter Greene lasted 5.1 innings and allowed 8 hits and 6 earned runs.
The game's decisive moment came in the sixth, and it came fast. Herrera doubled to left, scoring Burleson and Wetherholt to push the lead to 3-0 — a swing that moved St. Louis's win probability from 81% to 94%, a jump of 12 points on a single swing of the bat. The inning wasn't close to finished. Torres followed with a single to right, scoring Herrera and putting Winn at second and Nootbaar at third. Then Jordan singled to right, scoring both Nootbaar and Winn to make it 6-0. A sacrifice bunt by Church scored Torres to cap the inning at 7-0. Five runs, a parade of singles and a clutch double, and the game was effectively over before Cincinnati could blink.
The offensive distribution is worth noting — this wasn't a one-man show. Burleson went 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Herrera finished 2-4 with 2 RBI and a run. Jordan drove in 2 with his single. Torres and Winn each contributed. It appears St. Louis got production up and down the lineup, which makes this kind of blowout feel less like a fluke and more like a statement. Cincinnati managed nothing against a St. Louis pitching staff that combined for 3 hits allowed and 12 strikeouts across nine innings. Final: STL 7, CIN 0.