Cardinals' Andre Pallante: Early exit in Saturday's loss

Pallante (2-3) took the loss Saturday, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits over 3.1 innings as the Cardinals were downed 5-1 by the Cubs. He struck out four without walking a batter.

The right-hander didn't pitch badly, blanking Chicago through three innings, but Pallante got lifted after 59 pitches (40 strikes) with two runners on base in the fourth and had to watch Chris Roycroft let them both come around to score. Pallante has been effective in three of four outings since moving into the rotation, posting a 3.64 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB through 17.1 innings over that stretch. He lines up to make his next start at home next week against the Giants.