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And it took them to a place they haven’t been in months.

Still struggling to score runs, the Cardinals further complicated their evening with a pair of errors that goosed the San Diego Padres to a 4-1 victory Friday night in front of a sellout, raucous crowd at Petco Park. Three of the four runs against Matthew Liberatore in the fifth inning were unearned, but they were more than enough to overtake an offense that produced three hits through eight innings. The Cardinals were retired in order more times in the game (five) than they had hits total (four). They almost had as many errors (three) as hits (four).

The loss dropped the Cardinals to 55-56.

It is the first time they’ve had a losing record since the first week of May.

Padres starter Nick Pivetta faced one over the minimum in his seven innings.

The game took 2 hours, 8 minutes to play, and it only felt like the Padres were speeding through the top of the innings fast faster.

The only run the Cardinals got came on Willson Contreras’ solo homer to lead off the fifth inning, and from there the Padres cruised.

Putting the O’s in Offense

Through the first seven innings of the game, the only inning the Cardinals were not retired in order – three up, three down – was the fifth, and even then only one Cardinal touched a base.

Padres starter Pivetta was perfect through four.

He got 12 outs from 12 batters and the Cardinals’ ongoing struggles to produce runs had surpassed 20 innings. Shutout in back-to-back games by the Miami Marlins before the trade deadline, the Cardinals continued that parade of zeroes following the trade deadline. Their scoreless streak reached 23 innings – and then Contreras led off the fifth.

The Cardinals’ first baseman drilled a pitch into the seats beyond left field to momentarily animate the Cardinals. His bat-flip was a tight pinwheel of elation.

The home run gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead by snapping Pivetta’s bid for a perfect game, a no-hitter, and a shutout – all in the same swing. The homer also launched Contreras into the team lead with 15 home runs this season.

It did not have staying power.

Pivetta struck out the next two batters to regain control of the inning, and the right-hander faced only one over the minimum through seven innings.

Contreras was also about to give back the lead he gained.

Errors enflame inning

Before the Cardinals made the call to remove Liberatore from the fifth, the inning got out of hand due to throws he did not make.

On the same groundball chopped to third by designated hitter Jose Iglesias, the Cardinals committed two throwing errors that led directly to a tie game and put the Padres in motion for a far bigger inning.

In his first start at third base since coming off the injured list and since Nolan Arenado went on the IL Friday, Nolan Gorman gloved the grounder. His throw on the go, however, was to Contreras’ left and put the first baseman’s extended glove toward the runner. The ball glanced off Contreras’ glove, and it was ruled a throwing error. Contreras compounded the problem when he retrieved the ball and tried to whip it toward third.

His throw was low and got past three teammates and into foul territory on the other side of the field.

That allowed Jake Cronenworth to score for a tie game, 1-1.

Iglesias took second on the error, and that put him in scoring position for catcher Elias Diaz’s single up the middle. Two more Padres would reach bases – one via walk and the other on a flair single to left. That was enough for manager Oliver Marmol to pull Liberatore with the bases loaded and two outs to get.

Bring on the bullpen experiments.

The post-Helsley plan

Before Friday’s game, Marmol agreed that he would go with a closer by committee in the closing months of the season with his usual closer in Queens and setup man deep in the heart of Texas. That’s opened up all of the innings for younger relievers to get a grip on – or in.

Rather than have Liberatore try to pilot himself out of a mess not entirely of his making in the fifth inning, Marmol began the auditions for higher-leverage relievers.

First assignment: Bases loaded with Manny Machado at the plate.

To face the active leader in grand slams, Marmol turned to right-hander Matt Svanson, himself a spoil from the 2023 trade deadline sell-off. Svanson got a check-swing strike from Machado to take control of the at-bat. He struck out the All-Star with 13 career grand slams on a 98.5-mph fastball wedged inside on the right-handed batter. Machado swung past it for the strikeout.

His teammate, Jackson Merrill, connected against Svanson.

His line drive to center brought two more runners home for the 4-1 lead.

Flamethrower’s debut

That’s where the score remained in the top of the eighth when the Padres’ hotshot acquisition at the trade deadline made his debut. Mason Miller, an All-Star closer already with the Athletics, came to San Diego in a deadline deal that included one of the top-five prospects in all of minor-league baseball. The Padres made the play because they’ll have four more years of Miller and his 103-mph fastball and at least two months of having him shorten games with it.

The eighth was his San Diego debut, and they already had the entry theater cued up – complete with flames and flashing lights.

The Cardinals ripped a couple of singles off Miller, but he held fast.

After back-to-back base hits opened the eighth on the right-hander, Jordan Walker struck out on three pitches that capture the Miller experience. Walker fouled off a 102-mph fastball. He then saw a 101.9-mph fastball and then 102.6-mph fastball for the strikeout.

Miller got a groundball from Yohel Pozo that the Padres turned swiftly into a double play that ended the inning and kept Miller’s line scoreless in his first Padres outing.