Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty gave the Arizona Diamondbacks’ hitters very little to work with for six innings. He turned in a strong performance, and, with the help of some stellar defense, kept the Cardinals in a tight game despite limited offensive production.
However, the Diamondbacks created an opening late against Flaherty. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol went to the bullpen and turned to a relief pitcher who seemed suited for the situation and the pending matchups in Andre Pallante, but Pallante struggled to throw the ball where he wanted to and the Diamondbacks made the Cardinals pay.
Flaherty gave up a home run and put two other men on base, then Pallante walked a batter and gave up a grand slam as a five-run seventh inning turned a tie game into an implosion as the Cardinals lost the opening game of their three-game series with the Diamondbacks, 6-3, in front of an announced crowd of 36,405 at Busch Stadium on Monday night.