Daniel Descalso is hitting .239/.311/.359 so far in 2011, but yet another apparently clutch hit in Tuesday night's victory over the San Diego Padres will lead casual St. Louis Cardinals fans to wonder whether he's gotten up to .400 yet. Descalso's 11th-inning single put the Cardinals ahead for good after a four-inning stalemate to improve their record to a season-best 30-20. Kyle McClellan didn't have the run-support to pick up his seventh win but his six innings of work were as impressive as any he's thrown to date; he struck out four without a walk to work around an early Ryan Theriot error that led to a two-unearned-run homer.
That home run, by Brad Hawpe, was the extent of the San Diego Padres' offensive output. Aaron Harang put in a dominant performance for a no decision of his own, striking out seven in as many innings, but the Cardinals' bullpen just held up a little better—Miguel Batista picked up the win with two scoreless innings, aided by some strong defense, while Eduardo Sanchez struck out one to pick up his fifth save.