Final: Cardinals 2 Reds 0
Two first inning Reds errors led to two Cardinals runs and rookie pitcher Andre Pallante took care of the rest as the Cards beat the Reds 2-0 Friday night at Busch Stadium. The Reds have dropped three straight games.
Shooting blanks: The Reds were shutout for the second time in three games.
E: Aristides Aquino and Brandon Drury committed the throwing errors on routine plays.
Flashy: The 23-year old rookie Pallante lowered his ERA to 1.04 with 5.1 innings of shutout baseball.
Stalled offense: In addition to the lineup missing Tyler Stephenson, the Reds were without Nick Senzel (back) and Albert Almora Jr. (shoulder). The Reds managed just four hits, none over the final 3.2 innings. They missed a 1st inning shot at Pallante when he walked a batter and allowed two hits to load the bases, but they got nothing. They loaded the bases on walks in the 8th inning but Kyle Farmer popped up to end the inning.
Getting better and better: Luis Castillo did what he could. 6 IN, 1 ER.
Clean look: Jeff Hoffman and Joel Kuhnel tossed scoreless innings.
Welcome to the Show: Catcher Chris Okey made his ML debut as a defensive replacement in the 8th inning.