Kyle Gibson, inning eater.

Gibson pitched seven strong innings, allowing only two runs, and the Cardinals offense came alive in a 6-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night. Gibson induced 10 ground-ball outs, and the Cardinals had zero defensive errors on the evening.

After losing three-of-four to the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis looked to make a statement against another National League powerhouse, this time led by a familiar face… Mike Shildt. Shildt managed the Cardinals from August 2018 until 2021, when he was controversially fired suddenly despite leading them to three straight playoff berths and winning the 2019 NL Manager of the Year Award. 

Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan each hit a two-run home run, and the Cardinals actually took a 3-0 lead after just five batters. Donovan hit a leadoff single and scored on Nolan Arenado‘s two-out RBI double. Contreras then homered to center field, his first.

On the mound, it was absolutely everything you could ask for from Gibson (1-0). Th 36-year-old right-hander allowed home runs to rookie Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr., but otherwise dominated. He allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings while striking out four and walking two. It was the first quality start by a Cardinals starter this season.

JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley handled the bullpen work in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

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Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (0-1, 10.38 ERA) faces Padres RHP Yu Darvish (0-0, 1.04) on Tuesday night.

 (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)