A Tough Loss in St. Louis
Hey, Padres fans. What a rollercoaster of emotions this game was!
We came out swinging right from the start thanks to Fernando Tatis Jr.'s opening single and Luis Arraez bringing him home with a double. Manny Machado was on fire, and Jackson Merrill's single sent Arraez home, putting us ahead 2-0 early! 
Cardinals' Power Surge in the 2nd Inning
Unfortunately, the Cardinals responded swiftly, and boy did they bring their A-game in the second inning! Not going to lie, it was a tough pill to swallow watching Brendan Donovan crush a three-run homer and Willson Contreras adding a three-run blast to give the Cards a 7-2 lead.
Our pitching had some struggles, to be honest.Fighting Back with Determination
Never count us out! Fernando Tatis Jr. blasted a solo homer in the third to ignite our comeback hopes, and Manny Machado followed that with a two-run homer.
Thanks to some gritty efforts and a couple of timely singles and errors, we clawed our way back to a respectable 8-7 by the fifth inning.Late Innings Dramatics
In the nail-biting sixth, Ivan Herrera added to the Cards' lead with a solo shot, and despite our relentless efforts to rally back, the runs just wouldn't come our way. The Cards' bullpen ultimately held off our bats fiercely in the last innings. Machado's fight till the end gave us hope, but their closer, Helsley, stifled our final efforts.Final Thoughts
The final score might not have tipped in our favor, but the team's spirit was unyielding. We'll tip our cap to the Cards today and regroup for the next challenge. As always, let's stay Padres strong!
Go Padres!Scoreboard for Padres @ Cardinals (July 24th, 2025)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 1 |
| 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 |