San Francisco Giants Matt Chapman (right) is tagged out by St Louis Cardinal catcher Jimmy Crooks (left) in the top of the sixth inning at Busch Stadium in St Louis on Sat Sep 6, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Going into the ninth inning the San Francisco Giants (72-70) were looking good leading 2-0 with ace closer Ryan Walker on the mound. Walker had not allowed a run in his last ten appearances. The St. Louis Cardinals (71-72) offense woke up in the ninth inning with four hits scoring three runs and coming away with the walk-off 3-2 Saturday night at Busch Stadium.

The most disappointing of all was that the Giants could have pulled to within three games of the current third wild game which right now appears to be the New York Mets. New York lost to the Reds today so San Francisco did not lose any ground but could have made up some precious ground. It was a real heart-breaker..

Game recap: The first three innings of Saturday night’s game were quiet. San Francisco pitcher Justin Verlander had a lengthy 24 pitch first inning giving up a single before settling in and going three and out through the third inning. Neither team had much going on offensively until the fourth inning.

San Francisco got up on the scoreboard in the fourth inning scoring two runs. Casey Schmitt sacrificed Dominic Smith home for the early 1-0 lead. They extended their lead when Drew Gilbert doubled and Matt Chapman scored from third base for a 2-0 lead.

Justin Verlander kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard pitching through six scoreless innings. He had an exceptional game allowing three hits, no runs, no walks with six punch-outs. He was relieved in the seventh inning by Joey Lucchesi who breezed through the seventh.

With only two more innings left in the game, the Giants needed an insurance run or two and the long ball was strangely silent. Neither team had been hitting in this pitcher’s duel; fvie hits for San Francisco and three for St. Louis.

San Francisco took the 2-0 lead into the top of the ninth inning. The Giants had done a great job limiting the Cardinals hits only allowing five hits in game one and Saturday night only three through eight innings.

San Francisco went down one, two, three and now faced the heart of the St. Louis lineup in the bottom of the ninth inning. They would be looking to Ryan Walker to close out this game and take a 2-0 series lead.

Walker has not allowed a run in his last ten outings so a lot of hope was pinned on this guy. It was a shaky start for Walker allowing a Nolan Gorman single followed by a Masyn Winn single and the tying run was aboard and the go-ahead run was at the plate.

The Cardinals Jimmy Crooks was hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded with no outs. The Cardinals had a golden opportunity to turn this game around. St. Louis picked just the perfect time to start hitting.

They went into the inning with only three hits but finished the game with seven hits. With the bases loaded St. Louis were not about to let this game go. Thomas Saggese singled Gorman home and they topped this game off with a Jordan Walker double that drove Winn and Hampson home and that was the ball game.

The Cardinals had pulled off the walk-off after trailing for the entire game 3-2. San Francisco held for eight innings but it all fell apart in the ninth inning.

This was a heart breaking loss for the Giants after such an amazing run cutting short their home run streak as well as their five-game winning streak. They have now won 11 of their last 13 games hoping to come back strong tomorrow in game three to win the series.

The one bit of good news is that the Mets dropped their game to the Reds Saturday. San Francisco did not lose any ground but a win would have meant a lot. They will hopefully turn this all around in Sunday’s game three.

Game notes: Saturday evening the Giants battled the St. Louis Cardinals in game two of their three game series after winning game one Friday night 8-2 and losing Saturday night 3-2. Every game going forward is critical.

They are not far off for that third wild game despite many claiming they are out of the hunt. The way that this team has been playing all bets are off. The Giants trail the Mets by four games with 21 games left in the season.

San Francisco just needs to take care of their own business and they just might see some action in October. The New York Mets have a tough schedule to close out the season although the Giants remaining schedule is far from easy .

It’s just that the Mets schedule is a bear. The way the Giants had been playing right now they have certainly set the stage for one amazing finish. They are regarded right now as one of the hottest teams in the majors. The Giants who lost to the Cardinals Saturday didn’t lose any ground in the Wild Card race are still four games for the last wild card spot.

San Francisco will send Kai-Wei Teng (2-3 ERA 7.23) to the mound Sunday who had a great outing in his last game Monday against Colorado. The Giants will need more of the same from Teng. The Cardinals will start Sonny Gray who comes into this game with a 12-8 win/loss record and a 4.43 ERA. First pitch for game three is scheduled for 11:15 AM deciding the series.