The St. Louis Cardinals (75-68) fell for the third straight time on Wednesday night, as the San Diego Padres closed out a three-game sweep on the Redbirds with a 3-2 win in San Diego.
Cardinals ace Kyle Lohse (14-3) was dealt his first loss in nearly three months despite giving up just two earned runs and five hits over six innings. The Padres (69-75) took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Lohse on his final out of his start, when Chase Headley hit a two-out double and was driven home by a Yasmani Grandal single.
Cardinals right-fielder Matt Carpenter had just tied the game with a two-run home run to right field in the top half of the inning. The homer was one of just four hits the Cards mustered on the night, with Padres starter Clayton Richard (13-12) giving up only three hits and one walk over seven innings.
St. Louis now moves up the coast for a four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lance Lynn (14-7, 4.04 ERA) is expected to start for the Cardinals, going up against L.A.'s Josh Beckett, who is 6-13 with a 5.05 ERA on the season as a whole, but 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA for the Dodgers since coming over from the Boston Red Sox in last month's big trade.
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