Andre Pallante allows 1 hit in 7 innings as Cardinals beat Guardians 2-1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lars Nootbaar scored the go-ahead run from second base on a wild pitch and Andre Pallante allowed one hit in seven innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 on Sunday.

Myles Straw’s single in the sixth inning was the only hit Pallante (8-8) allowed in seven innings. Pallante walked two and struck out three.

Andrew Kittredge pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth to earn his major league leading 47th save, breaking a tie with Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase.

Gavin Williams allowed one run on four hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings for the Guardians, who clinched the American League Central Division title Saturday night. Williams has received just 18 runs of support in 16 starts this season.

Nootbaar scored from second base when Andrew Walters’ ball four to Masyn Winn bounced past Guardians catcher Austin Hedges to the backstop to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead.

Nootbaar was hit by a pitch from Tim Herrin (5-1) earlier in the inning.

Nolan Arenado blooped a two-out RBI single that dropped in front of Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel to score Winn from first to tie the game at 1-all.

After breaking up Pallante’s no hitter in the sixth inning, Straw stole second and third base before scoring on a squeeze bunt from Hedges.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Guardians: OF Steven Kwan (mid back inflammation) took swings at Busch Stadium on Saturday. Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff says the team hopes to activate him by Tuesday so any player optioned could be recalled in time for the American League Division Series.

UP NEXT

Guardians: RHP Tanner Bibee (11-8, 3.56 ERA) will face Cincinnati Reds RHP Jakob Junis (4-0, 2.61 ERA) Tuesday night as Cleveland opens a season-ending five-game homestand.

Cardinals: RHP Michael McGreevy (2-0, 0.90) will make his second major league start when he opposes Colorado Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (3-10, 4.73) ERA) to open a three-game series in Denver Tuesday night.

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

Cleveland Guardians' Myles Straw (7) steals second ahead of the tag from St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado hits an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians' Austin Hedges lays down a sacrifice bunt to score Myles Straw during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jhonkensy Noel reaches for an RBI single by St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar (21) scores on a wild pitch by Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Andrew Walters, left, during the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals' Nolan Arenado, right, dives back to first ahead of the tag from Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor after hitting an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt throws out Cleveland Guardians' Daniel Schneemann at first during the ninth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Members of the St. Louis Cardinals salute fans following a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, the Cardinals final home game of the season, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt takes up his position during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Helsley, right, is doused by teammate Pedro Pages (43) following a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante stands in the dugout after working the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante pauses after giving up a single to Cleveland Guardians' Myles Straw during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante heads off the field after working the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Four people were killed and 17 others injured when multiple shooters opened fire Saturday in what police described as a targeted “hit” on one of the people killed at a popular nightlife spot in Birmingham, Alabama.

The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday in Five Points South, a district filled with entertainment venues, restaurants and bars that is often crowded on weekend nights. The mass shooting, one of several this year in the city, unnerved residents in the area and left city officials pleading for help to both solve the crime and address the broader problem of gun violence.

“The priority is to find these shooters and get them off our streets,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said at a Sunday press conference.

The shooting occurred on the sidewalk and street outside Hush, a lounge in the entertainment district. Blood stains were visible on the sidewalk outside the venue on Sunday morning.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said authorities believe the shooting targeted one of the people who was killed, possibly in a murder-for-hire. He said a vehicle pulled up and "multiple shooters" got out and began firing, then fled the scene.

“We believe that there was a ‘hit,’ if you will, on that particular person,” Thurmond said.

Police said approximately 100 shell casings were recovered at the scene. Thurmond said law enforcement was working to determine what weapons were used, but they believe some of the gunfire was “fully automatic.” Investigators were also trying to determine whether anyone fired back, creating crossfire.

Police said officers found two men and a woman on a sidewalk with gunshot wounds and they were pronounced dead there. An additional male gunshot victim was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to police.

By early Sunday, after victims began showing up at hospitals, police had identified 17 people with injuries, some of them life-threatening. Four of the surviving victims, in conditions ranging from good to critical, were being treated at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital on Sunday afternoon, according to Alicia Rohan, a UAB spokeswoman.

Gabriel Eslami, 24, of Trussville, said he was in a long line of people waiting to get into the club when "all of the sudden, gun shots everywhere.”

He took off running. "I look back and there are bodies laid out on the sidewalk with gun smoke still in the air. It looked like something from a horror movie," Eslami said.

He said he didn't realize he was wounded until he suddenly lost feeling in his leg. A friend took him to the hospital, where he was treated and released.

The area of Birmingham is popular with young adults because of its proximity to the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the plethora of nearby restaurants and bars.

Geoffrey Boshell, a 22-year-old biomedical engineering student who lives nearby, said he was working on a school project when he heard a burst of rapid pops that he said sounded like automatic gunfire.

“I heard it, looked out my window and immediately see people screaming, fleeing the scene,” Boshell said.

The shooting in the bustling and popular area was unnerving, he said. “I’m not sure scared is the right word. Just very disturbed that it was happening right outside where you are living.”

Woodfin expressed frustration at what he described as an epidemic of gun violence in America.

“We find ourselves in 2024, where gun violence is at an epidemic level, an epidemic crisis in our country. And the city of Birmingham, unfortunately finds itself at the tip of that spear,” he said.

The Birmingham mayor also urged state and federal officials to give cities more tools to address gun violence. He put both hands behind his back to illustrate what it is like for cities to combat crime. Alabama last year abolished the requirement to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public.

Woodfun said there is an “element” in the city that is too comfortable carrying Glock switches — which convert semi-automatic handguns to deliver more rapid fire — and assault-style rifles with the intent of doing harm.

“Elected officials locally, statewide and nationally have a duty to solve this American crisis, this American epidemic of gun violence,” the mayor said.

Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

CORRECTS DATE hat appears to be a bullet hole is visible in the window of Hush, a hookah and cigar lounge, in Birmingham, Ala. on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, the day after a mass shooting took place. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)

Blood stains were visible on the sidewalk outside of a nightclub in Birmingham, Ala. on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, after a mass shooting took place. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)

A firefighter cleans blood stains off the sidewalk outside a nightclub in Birmingham, Ala. on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, after a mass shooting took place. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)

The scene of a fatal Saturday night shooting near Hush, a hookah lounge, in the Five Points neighborhood of Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Drops of blood remain at the scene of a fatal Saturday night shooting in the Five Points neighborhood of Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

The scene of a fatal Saturday night shooting outside Hush, a hookah lounge, in the Five Points neighborhood of Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

This image provided by WBMA shows police tape near the scene of a shooting in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Bill Castle/WBMA via AP)

This image provided by WBMA shows police working on the scene of a shooting in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Bill Castle/WBMA via AP)

This image provided by WBMA shows police and emergency vehicles in the entertainment district after a shooting in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Bill Castle/WBMA via AP)

This image provided by WBMA shows bystanders near the scene of a shooting in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Bill Castle/WBMA via AP)