SAN DIEGO – The Cardinals continued to roll on the road thanks to rookie JJ Wetherholt's Little League grand slam and Michael McGreevy's brilliant six innings in a 6-0 win against the Padres on Friday night.
McGreevy (3-2) was well on his way to dominating the Padres when Wetherholt took the air out of festive Petco Park with a Little League grand slam on a bases-loaded single and a whiff by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. during a six-run fifth inning.
McGreevy, who grew up 60 miles to the north in San Clemente, struck out a career-high nine and allowed just one hit while walking two.
The Cardinals won their sixth straight road game and for the ninth time in 11 games overall.
With one out in the fifth, Wetherholt’s grounder bounced through the right side of the infield. Tatis charged it and reached down with his glove, but missed the ball and it rolled all the way to the wall as the Cardinals cleared the bases.
Wetherholt was credited with a single and two RBIs, and the Cardinals had a 4-0 lead.
St. Louis loaded the bases against Griffin Canning on consecutive singles by Masyn Winn and Nathan Church and a one-out walk to Victor Scott II, setting the stage for Wetherholt.
“I was really trying to hit the ball to left because I was really early on that guy, and tried to get under it, and I hit the ball right on the ground,” Wetherholt said. “So that's not exactly what I wanted, but found a hole. And I was kind of just going around the bag and see where the throw went, and as soon as I saw it go under his glove, I just started running, and I saw [third-base coach Ron Warner] waving me. It's like the most I've ran in probably four years. It was fun, though.”
Wetherholt said he also hit a Little League grand slam while playing college ball at West Virginia.
“A no-doubt grand slam might be, like, a little more exciting, because you feel like you earned it more," Wetherholt said. "But, I mean, at the end of the day, four runs scored in a big spot.”
His teammates stood at the rail in the dugout and were all waving him around.
“Thirty third-base coaches,” manager Oli Marmol quipped.
McGreevy appreciated the run support from the wacky play.
“You know, baseball's a funny game. That play happens once out of a billion times,” the right-hander said. “I think [Tatis] is a Platinum Glover out there. But that’s baseball. As a ballplayer, you hate to see it, but as a guy who's the opponent, it's like, ‘Sweet, nice.’ It’s a good team and you need to take those runs when you can.”
Tatis was back in right field a night after starting at second base, where he’s played occasionally this season.
Tatis is a two-time Gold Glove Award and Platinum Glove Award winner in right field, where he was moved in 2023 after starting his career as a shortstop.
Tatis was already gone from the clubhouse by the time it was opened to the media.
“He’s a playmaker, just trying to make a play,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He just came up short. … He’s coming in trying to make a play, trying to throw the guy out. Things like that happen. He’s not a perfect player. Nobody’s a perfect player. Even the best players in the world make mistakes.”
McGreevy struck out a career-high nine and allowed just one hit while walking two.
McGreevy’s changeup was effective on a night when he had some 80 friends and family members in the stands. But don't worry, the righty didn't have to foot the bill for all of them.
“Not on the ticket list. We’ve got a wedding to pay for,” he said.
“I'm just so thankful to be in this position, to have so many people in my corner, who supported me through Little League all the way up until here. it's just a blessing to be able to perform for them. I know they wouldn’t care how I did, but it means a lot to do nice for them.”
McGreevy, a first-round Draft pick out of UC Santa Barbara in 2021, grew up a Padres fan and improved to 2-0 at Petco Park.
“My whole family’s rooted down here and I've been to Padres games when they played at Qualcomm when I was like 1," he said. "I've been to so many Padres games so it means even more, I think, for me, say like, ‘Wow, I had a career day here.’”