Cardinals stifle Twins 6-1 behind Andre Pallante's 7 strong innings

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Andre Pallante retired 17 of the last 18 batters he faced over seven strong innings and Lars Nootbaar hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the fourth inning, leading the St. Louis Cardinals past the Minnesota Twins 6-1 on Friday night.

Brendan Donovan homered, Masyn Wynn had two RBIs and Luken Baker drew three of nine walks by the Cardinals, who won their third straight game after falling a season-high 12 games behind NL Central leader Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Pallante (6-6) completed seven innings for the second consecutive start, a career first for the 25-year-old.

“It's not just cutting, but it has some depth to it. It's a different fastball,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said, raving about Pallante's best pitch. “It's not the most comfortable at-bat.”

He left the bases loaded after one run scored with one out in the second inning and never let another runner reach scoring position to send the Twins to their fourth loss in their last five games.

“I'm really proud of him,” said catcher Willson Contreras, who went 3 for 5. “He composed himself.”

Minnesota began a nine-game homestand by falling one game behind Kansas City and into third place in the AL Central, two games behind leader Cleveland. The Twins lead Boston by 3 1/2 games for the final wild card spot.

Pallante, with his unorthodox windup featuring a hitch and a leg kick before a deliberate and reared-back delivery, gave up five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Trevor Larnach fanned in all three at-bats and Royce Lewis went 0 for 3 with three broken bats against him.

“Third time through, I felt like they were swinging at everything I threw over the plate,” Pallante said. “I wasn't scared of contact, and things worked out for me.”

Twins starter David Festa (2-3) lasted only 3 2/3 innings and left trailing 3-1. Opponents are hitting .134 (9 for 67) in their first at-bats against the right-hander and .393 (24 for 61) in the second at-bats.

“The strikeouts are there and stuff like that. I just need to be more efficient, go longer in the game,” said Festa, who has helped stabilize the back of the rotation along with fellow rookies Simeon Woods Richardson and Zebby Matthews, but has yet to make it to the sixth inning.

Winn’s two-out RBI single tied the game in the second, after rookie Victor Scott II beat the relay throw to avert a double play off a high-bouncing comebacker, stole second base — one of four steals by the Cardinals — and scored on the line drive to left-center.

UNFAMILIAR PLACE

The Cardinals helped the Twins break in Target Field with two exhibition games before the inaugural 2010 season, but they've played just seven regular season games since then. The only active ballparks they've played at less frequently are Yankee Stadium, which opened in New York in 2009, and Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020 in Texas.

TRAINER'S ROOM

The Twins remained without center fielder Byron Buxton (hip inflammation) and shortstop Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis), who are both working through a rehabilitation program to get as healthy as possible for the stretch run. Buxton has missed the last 10 games. Correa has been out since the All-Star break. Manager Rocco Baldelli said both players were progressing.

The Twins started Triple-A rehab assignments for outfielder Alex Kirilloff (back strain) and infielder Brooks Lee (bicep tendinitis). Kirilloff has missed 2 1/2 months. Lee has been out for two weeks.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP Sonny Gray (11-8, 3.91 ERA) will pitch on Saturday night against his most recent former team, opposite Twins RHP Pablo López (11-8, 4.47 ERA). López and Gray were both All-Stars last year.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan watches his solo home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

St. Louis Cardinals' Tommy Pham (29) is tagged out at third base by Minnesota Twins shortstop Willi Castro, back right, during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins' Carlos Santana walks back to the dugout after hitting a popout to third base during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn, left, gestures after hitting a single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins' Max Kepler, right, is forced out while attempting to score off a fielder's choice hit into by Twins' Willi Castro during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher David Festa stands on the mound after an RBI single by St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher David Festa delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante stands on the mound after loading the bases during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher David Festa delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins' Ryan Jeffers gestures after hitting a single during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn hits an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

BOSTON (AP) — A study that explores the feasibility of using pigeons to guide missiles and one that looks at the swimming abilities of dead fish were among the winners Thursday of this year’s Ig Nobels, the prize for comical scientific achievement.

Held less than a month before the actual Nobel Prizes are announced, the 34th annual Ig Nobel prize ceremony at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was organized by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine’s website to make people laugh and think. Winners received a transparent box containing historic items related to Murphy’s Law — the theme of the night — and a nearly worthless Zimbabwean $10 trillion bill. Actual Nobel laureates handed the winners their prizes.

“While some politicians were trying to make sensible things sound crazy, scientists discovered some crazy-sounding things that make a lot of sense,” Marc Abrahams, master of ceremonies and editor of the magazine, said in an e-mail interview.

The ceremony started with Kees Moliker, winner of 2003 Ig Noble for biology, giving out safety instructions. His prize was for a study that documented the existence of homosexual necrophilia in mallard ducks.

“This is the duck,” he said, holding up a duck. “This is the dead one.”

After that, someone came on stage wearing a yellow target on their chest and a plastic face mask. Soon, they were inundated with people in the audience throwing paper airplanes at them.

Then, the awards began — several dry presentations which were interrupted by a girl coming on stage and repeatedly yelling “Please stop. I'm bored.” The awards ceremony was also was broken up by an international song competition inspired by Murphy's Law, including one about coleslaw and another about the legal system.

The winners were honored in 10 categories, including for peace and anatomy. Among them were scientists who showed a vine from Chile imitates the shapes of artificial plants nearby and another study that examined whether the hair on people's heads in the Northern Hemisphere swirled in the same direction as someone's hair in the Southern Hemisphere.

Other winners include a group of scientists who showed that fake medicine that causes side effects can be more effective than fake medicine that doesn't cause side effects and one showing that some mammals are cable of breathing through their anus — winners who came on stage wearing a fish-inspired hats.

Julie Skinner Vargas accepted the peace prize on behalf of her late father B.F. Skinner, who wrote the pigeon-missile study. Skinner Vargas is also the head of the B.F. Skinner Foundation.

“I want to thank you for finally acknowledging his most important contribution,” she said. “Thank you for putting the record straight.”

James Liao, a biology professor at the University of Florida, accepted the physics prize for his study demonstrating and explaining the swimming abilities of a dead trout.

“I discovered that a live fish moved more than a dead fish but not by much,” Liao said, holding up a fake fish. “A dead trout towed behind a stick also flaps its tail to the beat of the current like a live fish surfing on swirling eddies, recapturing the energy in its environment. A dead fish does live fish things.”

Professor James Liao displays a stuffed fish while accepting a prize for physics for demonstrating and explaining the swimming abilities of a dead trout during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A team of researchers perform a demonstration during a performance showing that many mammals are capable of breathing through their anus while accepting the 2024 Ig Nobel prize in physiology at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People in the audience throw paper airplanes toward the stage during a performance at the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - Students walk past the "Great Dome" atop Building 10 on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Mass, April 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)