August 7, 1969, San Diego: Cardinals 2, Padres 1 (box score)
The Padres, after a too-brief respite, saw their winning streak end at one. On a Thursday afternoon, in front of 8,088 at San Diego Stadium, Al Santorini squared off against rookie right-hander Mike Torrez.
The Cardinals drew first blood. In the top of the second, with Bill White on second and one out, Mike Shannon tripled to right, giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead.
The home team struck back in the bottom half when Al Ferrara knocked a one-out solo homer to tie the game. The Padres managed to put runners at the corners after Ferrara’s blow, but Santorini grounded to second for the final out, stranding Cito Gaston at third.
In the fifth, the Cardinals scored on a single, walk, wild pitch, and sac fly. Shannon, who had the only hit in the inning, came home to put his club up, 2-1.
The Padres had a chance in the sixth but came up empty. Same for St. Louis in the seventh: with the bases loaded and two out, Vada Pinson hit into a 1-6 force play to quell the threat.
Torrez retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth. He improved his record to 7-4 on the season, while Santorini saw his fall to 4-11. The Padres’ record now stood at 35-76, which placed them 27 games back of Atlanta in the NL West.
Trivia: The Padres had scored 310 runs at this point in the season, 100 behind the next lowest total (Montreal) in the NL.
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