Despaigne retired 12 of the first 13 hitters he faced and allowed one earned run in five innings before giving way to the bullpen during a taxing sixth inning, when the Cardinals pushed across their first run of the game.
Working fast and throwing a lot of strikes, Despaigne hardly looked like the pitcher who came into this game with a career 5.47 ERA away from pitcher-friendly Petco Park, where his ERA is 2.96.
"He had a great plan," said Padres interim manager Pat Murphy. "[Catcher Derek] Norris had a great game plan, and to me, he was the unsung hero.