Burleson’s Power, Liberatore’s Curveball Lead Cardinals Over Padres 2-1

Q: What was the final score of the Cardinals vs Padres game on May 7, 2026?

The final score was St. Louis Cardinals 2, San Diego Padres 1.

Q: Who hit the home run for the Cardinals against the Padres?

Alec Burleson hit a solo home run for the Cardinals.

Q: How did Matthew Liberatore perform in the game against the Padres?

Matthew Liberatore pitched six innings, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out six batters.

Q: What key play led to the Cardinals' winning run in the game?

Masyn Winn drove in the winning run after Jordan Walker hit a double off the left field wall.

May 7, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson (41) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Matthew Liberatore gave the St. Louis Cardinals the strong start they needed to begin their west coast swing as his nasty curveball and a power surge from Alec Burleson made the difference in a victory over the San Diego Padres 2-1 late Thursday night. Matthew Liberatore looked both shaky and nasty in the bottom of the first inning. After getting the first two outs, he walked Manny Machado. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to left moving Machado to second and Xander Bogaerts singled to right scoring Machado and giving the Padres a 1-0 lead. The St. Louis Cardinals bats were quiet until the top of the 4th inning when Alec Burleson turned on a pitch and jacked it over the right field wall with an impressive exit velocity of 111 mph tying the game 1-1. After a 1st inning where he looked vulnerable, Matthew Liberatore shut the Padres down giving the Cardinals six strong innings only allowing the 1 earned run on only 3 hits with 6 strikeout and 3 walks. Michael King was equally impressive for San Diego as he also pitched a solid six innings allowing only 1 hit, but that one hit was the one from Burleson that left the park. The Cardinals would take the lead in the top of the 7th inning when missed a home run by maybe a foot crushing a line drive off of the left field wall for a double. He then scored when hit ball down the right field line to a helpless-looking who stumbled toward the ball as it bounced past him and continued to the right field wall as Walker scored and Winn cruised into third base giving a 2-1 lead. entered the game in the bottom of the 7th inning giving up an infield single to Tatis Jr, but he was thrown out by even though the tag by was unsuccessfully challenged by the Padres. That caught stealing muted any potential Padres threat in the 7th inning. The bottom of the 8th inning belonged to . He had no problems with , Nick Castellanos or Rodolpho Duran shutting the Padres down 1-2-3. That helped the Cardinals from having to deal with super-reliever as San Diego brought in to handle the top of the 9th inning as they still trailed 2-1. He was greeted by Jordan Walker who hit a laser shot into left center that he turned into a hustle double. then worked Adam for a 9-pitch walk. Yes, miracles do happen. Unfortunately, Masyn Winn was unable to get a sufficient bunt down as the Padres were able to get the force at third base for the first out. hit a weak fly to left field for out number 2 with neither runner being able to advance. Pedro Pagés was retired for the final out shutting down the Cardinals 8th inning threat. came in to close out the Padres in the bottom of the 9th inning. He was tasked with facing the top of the San Diego lineup. He quickly retired Merrill on a weak groundout to JJ Wetherholt. struck out and failed to use the ABS challenge that probably wouldn’t have saved him anyway. Manny Machado grounded out to Masyn Winn to end the game giving the Cardinals a tight victory. The St. Louis Cardinals will send to the mound for Friday night’s contest against . First pitch is scheduled for 8:45pm central time and will be an Apple TV exclusive so finding a free 7-day trial is your friend.