Cardinals Unlocked Something Special in Andre Pallante

Jul 9, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante (53) throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cardinals Unlocked Something Special in Andre Pallante

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 12, 2026 9:00 AM ET

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The St. Louis Cardinals got back into the win column on Tuesday night in impressive fashion.

St. Louis dropped the first game of a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, 6-5. That was a daunting loss because they were scheduled to face off against National League Cy Young Award contender Cristopher Sánchez on Tuesday. After losing the first game of the series, it would've been easy to chalk up Game 2 as an expected loss and move on.

But that's not what the young Cardinals did. St. Louis came out on top, 2-0, and Andre Pallante went toe-to-toe with Sánchez.

Andre Pallante Was Excellent On Tuesday

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pallante had one of his best overall outings of the season. He pitched six shutout innings while allowing just four base hits and striking out two batters. In comparison, Sánchez also pitched six shutout innings and allowed four base hits, but he struck out seven batters.

Great outing by Andre Pallante: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K (97 pitches). #stlcards pic.twitter.com/2rwOIgoFEh
— Cardinals Dude (@Turn2Dude) August 12, 2026

After the great outing, Pallante now has a 3.46 ERA in 23 starts across 130 innings of work. On top of this, he has a 92-to-40 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his 23 starts. What we have been able to see out of the 27-year-old has been a bounce-back campaign for the ages.

In 2025, Pallante logged a 5.31 ERA in 31 starts across 162 2/3 innings of action. For the vast majority of the season, he didn't look like he should've been in the Cardinals' rotation. When Spring Training rolled around before the 2026 season, there was a legit argument that he should've been moved to the bullpen to open up a spot for someone like Hunter Dobbins or Richard Fitts, who were both acquired throughout the offseason.

The Cardinals did the right thing by sticking with him, though. He really caught the attention of Cardinals fans back in 2024. He had a 3.78 ERA in 29 appearances, including 20 starts. He helped to carry the rotation for a while that season in a year in which the Cardinals' pitching wasn't great, to say the least. He had a tough season last year, but now he looks even better than he did back in 2024.

Everything seems to be clicking for the young righty. His advanced metrics only add to this. He's in the 96th percentile in groundball rate, 90th percentile in pitching run value, 90th percentile in breaking run value, 83rd percentile in fastball run value and 81st percentile in barrel rate.

Pallante's season isn't a fluke. He looks like he has found his next level.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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