Manny Machado, Padres notch four-game split with Cardinals

Manny Machado went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs as the visiting San Diego Padres rolled over the St. Louis Cardinals 9-2 Sunday afternoon.

Jackson Merrill drove in two runs for the Padres, who won their last two games to earn a split in this four-game series.

Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI for San Diego and Xander Bogaerts hit a home run.

Padres starter Stephen Kolek (4-5) earned his first victory since May 27 while allowing two runs on four hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out two.

Alec Burleson hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who lost for the seventh time in 10 games.

Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy (2-2) allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.

The Padres broke out to a 2-0 first-inning lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off with a walk, went to third on Luis Arraez's single and scored on Machado's double. Arraez scored when center fielder Victor Scott II's errant throw hit Machado sliding into second base.

San Diego increased its lead to 3-0 in the third inning. Tatis led off with a double, went to third on Machado's one-out single and scored on Merrill's groundout.

Right fielder Jordan Walker spared the Cardinals further damage with a diving, inning-ending catch on Bogaerts' liner.

But the Padres broke the game open in the fourth inning. Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth hit singles to start a four-run rally.

Sheets took third on a flyout and scored on Elias Diaz's bunt. Arraez hit a two-out RBI single and Machado hit a two-run double that made it 7-0.

The Cardinals broke through in the sixth inning when Ivan Herrera walked and Burleson hit his 13th homer to cut the deficit to 7-2.

Bogaert's seventh-inning homer extended it 8-2. San Diego made it 9-2 in the eighth inning on singles by Tatis, Machado and Merrill.

--Field Level Media