Osborne Shuts Down Padres for Third Time

The San Diego Padres should be a tough team to pitch to, but rookie Donovan Osborne just mows them down.

Osborne pitched seven shutout innings and beat the Padres for the third time in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2-0 victory Tuesday night. He’s 3-0 against the league’s best hitting team with a 1.23 ERA and has allowed 21 hits in 29 2-3 innings.

The Padres lead the league with a .259 average, but their big three of Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff and Tony Gwynn is a quiet 8 for 37 against Osborne this season.

Osborne (10-7) gave up six hits in seven innings with six strikeouts and one walk and didn’t allow a runner past second. He’s not the only Cardinals pitcher doing that. St. Louis is 8-3 against the Padres, including four shutouts, and has not allowed them an earned run in the last 30 innings.

Todd Worrell pitched the eighth inning and Lee Smith finished for his league-leading 37th save and fourth in five games. The last six Padres went down in order.

Geronimo Pena led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Tom Pagnozzi homered to lead off the fifth for the Cardinals, who have won five straight games and made it back to the .500 mark for the first time since July 10.

The Cardinals have won 14 of their last 19.

The Padres have lost four straight and fell 9 1/2 games behind NL West-leading Atlanta.

Padre starter Andy Benes (10-12), who missed a start due to tendinitis in the middle finger of his pitching hand, gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Sheffield went two for four to boost his league-leading average two points to .335.