San Francisco Giants starter Jordan Hicks delivers against the St Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the first inning at Busch Stadium in St Louis on Sat Jun 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Busch Stadium

St. Louis, Missouri

San Francisco Giants 4 (36-41)

St. Louis Cardinals Cubs 9 (38-37)

Win: Mike Mikolas (6-6)

Loss: Jordan Hicks (4-4)

Time: 2:28

Attendance: 41,815

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants scored three runs in the top of the first inning, but the heat got to Jordan Hicks and the Giants, as the Cardinals clubbed four home runs en route to a 9-4 win on a hot and muggy Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium to hand the Giants their fourth-straight loss..

The Giants had a big comeback win Monday night against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but they have since lost three in a row, including a hard-fought 6-5 loss to the Cardinals Thursday night at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Saturday, the teams came over to St. Louis to continue this three-game series on a hot and muggy afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Despite the losing streak, the Giants’ offense has come to life over the last three games, and with the heat in St. Louis, they looked to keep that going against Cardinals’ starter Miles Mikolas. Brett Wisely led off the ballgame, and singled the other way to left field to get things started.

Heliot Ramos bounced out on a chopper to short, which moved Wisely to second base, and Patrick Bailey struck out looking on a sinker right on the inside corner. That left things up to Jorge Soler, who is finally swinging the bat with runners in scoring position after brutally struggling in these situations until a week and a half ago.

Soler worked a six-pitch at-bat, and shot a base-hit out to left-center to knock in Wisely and put the Giants on the board. Matt Chapman followed that up with a base-hit to right-center to move Soler over to third.

The batter was now Michael Conforto, and after Chapman stole second, Conforto flipped a base-hit out to right-center to knock in a pair and make it 3-0.

The Giants were in a good position. Their offense manufactured three runs in the top of the first inning, and they had the reliable Jordan Hicks going for them on the mound. Hicks, a crafty Farhan Zaidi signing over the off-season, came into Saturday’s game 3-2 with a 2.82 ERA in his first year as a starter.

However, there would be the question of how Hicks would deal with the head and humidity of St. Louis. Hicks got off to a good start, and he got Masyn Winn to fly out to center to start the bottom of the first, but Alec Burleson reached on an infield hit, and longtime Giants killer Paul Goldschmidt golfed out a sinker at the knees and hit a two-run home run that carried out to straightaway center to make it 3-2.

Nolan Gorman then walked, stole second and got to third on a wild pitch, but Hicks was able to settle down and get out of the inning with the Giants still ahead.

Both teams went down scoreless in the second inning, and after a two-out walk to Chapman in the top of the third, Conforto, who had already knocked in a pair with a base-hit in the first, hit a double that hit off the bottom of the wall in right-center to score Chapman and make it 4-2. For Conforto, he had knocked in three runs in the first three innings of this one.

Wynn grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third, but Burelson walked and stole second, and Hicks would be in trouble again.

Hicks was also sweating buckets in his jersey in what was our first real look at how the cheap jerseys that Nike and Major League Baseball introduced this season would hold off in the heat. Players were sweating buckets in these jerseys with temperatures in the 60s, and with the temperature at Busch Stadium at 93 degrees, it had an obvious impact on Hicks.

Goldschmidt flew out to left, but Hicks’ control was going on him, and he hit Gorman with a pitch with two outs. Nolan Arenado walked to load the bases, but Hicks got Brennan Donovan to fly out to center to end the inning with the Giants’ lead still at 4-2.

Mikolas pitched the first 1-2-3 inning for either team in the top of the fourth, and Hicks, who came back out to the mound with a new jersey in the bottom of the fourth, set down the first two men he faced. However, just as it seemed that Hicks was finally going to have an easy inning, things went south.

Dylan Carlson, who was in the game for the injured center-fielder, Michael Siani, singled with two outs, and Winn doubled Siani over to third. That brought up Burelson, who hit a three-run home run out to the Cardinals’ bullpen in right-center to give St. Louis their first lead of the afternoon.

Hicks was done after four, and he really did the best he could considering the climate and the cheap jerseys he had to wear out there. The Cardinals led 5-4 going to the fifth, and Mikolas, who appeared on the ropes earlier, settled down in the middle innings, and threw a 1-2-3 shutdown inning in the top of the fifth.

Sean Hjelle came in for San Francisco in the bottom of the fifth and pitched through some trouble, and Mikolas finished his afternoon with a 1-2-3 top of the sixth, as he set down the final 10 Giants he faced.

Winn singled with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and then Burelson made it 7-4 with his second home run of the game, another ball that was golfed out and carried to straightaway center.

For the Giants, this was not the end of the world. With their offense somewhat awake again and showing their propensity to come back like they did when they won 10 of 12 in mid-to-late May, there was no reason why they couldn’t pull off a comeback Saturday.

However, left-hander Jojo Romero and right-hander Ryan Fernandez combined to throw a scoreless top of the seventh. Brennan Donovan then got in on the home run action with a solo shot to right off Luke Jackson in the bottom of the seventh, which was the fourth of the day for St. Louis.

The Cardinals now led it 8-4, and they were still looking to add on further in the bottom of the seventh. Catcher Pedro Pages—pronounced (pah-HEZZ)—and Dylan Carlson both singled to put runners at first and second with two outs for the top of the order.

Winn then lined a base-hit to right, and Pages chugged around third to score and make it 9-4, but the one piece of good news was that Winn was tagged out in a rundown trying to stretch it into a double.

Soler and Chapman both singled off Fernandez with one out in the top of the eighth to spark some comeback hopes for the Giants, but that was quickly snuffed out when Fernandez retired the next two he faced.

Spencer Bivens came in for his third-career big league outing in the bottom of the eighth. After struggling against the Cubs at Wrigley on Wednesday, he returned to the form he had in his debut, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning.

Kyle Leahy came in for St. Louis and pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to end it, as the Cardinals won it 9-4.

Miles Mikolas got the win; Jordan Hicks got the tough loss; and for the first time in his major league career, Spencer Bivens did not get a decision.

The Giants have now lost four in a row and fall to 36-41. Saturday, they will try to avoid tying a season-high six-games under .500, as they will try to snap their losing streak and salvage a game in this series.

Sunday’s thriller: Logan Webb (6-5, 2.99 ERA) will be on the mound, and he will be opposed by veteran Sonny Gray (8-4, 2.95 ERA). First pitch will be at 1:15 p.m. in St. Louis, and 11:15 a.m. back home in San Francisco.