Tag: mlb

St Louis starter Sonny Gray pitches into the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium in St Louis on Sun Jun 26, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, June 22, 2024

Busch Stadium

St. Louis, Missouri

San Francisco Giants 3 (36-42)

St. Louis Cardinals Cubs 5 (39-37)

Win: Sonny Gray (9-4)

Loss: Logan Webb (6-6)

Save: Ryan Helsley (26)

Time: 2:15

Attendance: 37,492

By Stephen Ruderman

Well, the Cardinals have swept the Giants. After the Giants lost despite a strong offensive performance Saturday, the offense went dead again for the most part Sunday, as Sonny Gray took a perfect game into the seventh inning, and the Cardinals finished off the sweep with a 5-3 win to hand the Giants their fifth-straight loss on another hot and muggy Sunday in St. Louis

Just as the Giants’ offensive has finally come back to life, the starting pitching, which has been mostly reliable this season, has now started to struggle. The normally-reliable Jordan Hicks got rocked for five runs over four innings Saturday, and the Giants would need a better outing from their ace, Logan Webb, this afternoon.

Opposing Webb and the Giants for St. Louis was longtime veteran right-hander Sonny Gray. Gray, who is in his 12th season in the big leagues, is having a really good season. Gray came into Sunday 8-4 with a 2.95 ERA, and the Giants would have their hands full against him Sunday.

Gray promptly pitched a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, but Webb would have the opposite luck in the bottom of the first. In fact, it took Webb only three pitches to give up his first run. Masyn Winn doubled to lead off the inning, and on the very next pitch, Alec Burleson, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs Saturday, singled the other way to left field to knock in Winn.

For the Cardinals, they were just getting started. Burelson stole second base, and got to third on a fly out by Nolan Gorman for the second out of the inning. Brendan Donovan, who also homered Saturday, knocked in Burleson with a ground-rule down the left field line, and Matt Carpenter plated Burleson with a base-hit to right.

The Cardinals already had a 3-0 lead as the game went to the second, and Gray was literally unhittable. Gray threw another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second, and the Cardinals scored another run in the bottom of the second, as Pedro Pages singled, stole second and scored on a base-hit by Burleson.

So, it was now 4-0 Cardinals going to the third, and Gray was in complete control. In fact, he was perfect through six innings. Aa for Webb, he finally settled down somewhat with a 1-2-3 bottom of the third, but he had to wiggle his way out of trouble in the fourth and fifth.

Gray retired the first two men he faced in the top of the seventh to make it 20 up 20 down, but Patrick Bailey finally broke up the perfecto with a two-out home run to right. Jorge Soler struck out swinging to end the inning and the day for Gray, but Gray had a remarkable outing.

Seven innings, a hit, a run, just one base-runner and eight strikeouts, even with the Giants’ struggling offense, not bad.

Webb was also done. He gave up four runs and nine hits over six innings, but he did strike out 80, and he really hung in there after he was on the ropes early in the game.

Randy Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, and the Giants’ offense would finally wake up against lefty Jojo Romero in the top of the eighth. Matt Chapman and Thairo Estrada both walked, and with one out, Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol pulled Romero for Andrew Kittredge.

Wilmer Flores hit a ground-rule double down the left field line to make it 4-2, and Austin Slater knocked Estrada in with a sacrifice fly to right. Suddenly, it was a one-run game, and the Giants had the tying run at second. Brett Wisely walked, but Flores was tagged out trying to advance to third on a ground ball to end the inning.

The Giants were unable to tie the game, but their propensity from the end of May to come back late has certainly returned over the last week. All they would need is a quick bottom of the eighth.

At first, it seemed that they would get it. Left-hander Taylor Rogers retired the first two men he faced, but Dylan Carlson doubled to right-center, and Brandon Crawford, the greatest shortstop in Giants History, put the hurt on his lifelong team with a double to right to make it 5-3. Taylor’s brother, Tyler Rogers, then came in to keep the deficit at two.

Cardinals’ closer Ryan Helsley, who came into Sunday with 25 saves in the Cardinals’ first 75 games, was summoned for the top of the ninth. Unfortunately, the comeback energy the Giants had in the top of the eighth was gone, and Helsley pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to end it.

Sonny Gray got the win; Logan Webb took the loss; and Ryan Helsley picked up his 26th save of the season. The Giants have also now lost five in a row, and they have tied their season-high six games under .500, as they fall to 36-42.

The Giants now return to San Francisco for four games against the Cubs, and three over the weekend against the Dodgers. Their four-game series against the Cubs will begin at the Giants’ friendly confines of Oracle Park Monday night, though neither team has announced their pitcher. First pitch will be at 6:45 p.m.

Giants News and Notes:

There is some good news. A trio of Giants will be rehabbing Sunday in the River Cats’ game against the Round Rock Express.

LaMonte Wade Jr. will be playing Sunday; Blake Snell will be making the start; and Robbie will pitch three innings.

Getting those three back healthy as the All-Star Break nears, especially Wade, who was hitting .333 before he went down on Memorial, will provide a tremendous shot in the arm both on the field and in the clubhouse to a Giants team in desperate need of a morale boost.

Final Thoughts:

Giants fans probably disagree with me, but this is a fairly-decent team. However, next week could very well be make or break this season, and time is running out.

The offense has struggled mildly all season, and now the Giants are six games under .500. After the series against the Cubs, the Giants will have three games against the Dodgers, followed by a six-game road trip through Atlanta and Cleveland against two very very strong teams in the Braves and Guardians.

That means the Giants have to win at least three of four from the Cubs. If they don’t, they could easily find themselves anywhere between nine to 13 games under .500 when they leave Cleveland on July 7, and the season will essentially be over.

The one thing that could keep them in contention in the second half is the fact that the National League is absolutely putrid this season, and almost the entire league could be competing for the second and third wild card spots.

They also should be getting Wade, Snell and Ray back soon. They will have some help, but they need to turn things around fast, or else there is a very good chance that their season will be over in the next couple of weeks.

St Louis Cardinals Brendon Donavon has been part of the wrecking crew against San Francisco Giants pitching. Donavon (right) is congratulated by teammate Matt Carpenter (13) after hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning in the second game of their three game meetings this one on Sat June 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the SF Giants podcast with Stephen:

#1 The San Francisco Giants started this three game series in Birmingham on Thursday for the Negro League/Willie Mays tribute at Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The St Louis Cardinals got a jump on the Giants with three runs in first inning and another two runs in the bottom of the second and Giants starter Keaton Winn pitched 2.2 innings, giving up five hits and five earned runs. The Giants wound up losing the first of three meetings 6-5.

#2 The Giants were playing the Rickwood game on the heels of the passing of legend and all time baseball great Willie Mays who had passed away two days before the Tribute game in Birmingham.

#3 The Giants and Cardinals continued this series this time after a day off on Friday at Busch Stadium on Saturday. The Giants got off to a great start scoring three runs in the top of the first innings off Cardinals starter Mile Mikolas. The Giants offensively wouldn’t make much noise for the rest of the game as the Cards would score runs two in the first, three in the fourth, two in each of the sixth and seventh innings resulting in a 9-4 loss.

#4 Jordan Hicks who started Saturday’s game is familiar with the Cardinals line up having played in St Louis previously just couldn’t figure them out going four innings, six hits, five runs, three walks and one strike out. Tough loss for Hicks who had some pretty good outings this season.

#5 If have to look back on this series with the Cardinals despite the tough loses the Giants took the most memorable thing was the Rickwood game where the discussion of the history of the Negro Leagues and the memories of Willie Mays was the main topic.

Stephen Ruderman is a podcast contributor and is a MLB beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

#1

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.

By Morris Phillips

BIRMINGHAM–St Louis Cardinals Brandon Donovon’s two run home run and double made a huge difference in a one run game defeating the San Francisco Giants 6-5 at Rickwood Field in Birmingham in a game that honored the late Giants great outfielder Willie Mays and the Negro Leagues.

Mays formerly played at Rickwood Field with the Birmingham Black Barons and did not feel good enough to fly to Birmingham for the game died at 93 years old on Tuesday just two days before the tribute game at the oldest professional baseball park. Rickwood is 115 years old this year.

Former Black Barons player Bill Greason was on hand to throw out the first ball and the game had it’s first all black umpire crew combined from the American and National Leagues . San Francisco pitcher Keaton Winn was going for San Francisco and Donovon hit his seventh homer of the season off Winn.

Donovon was swinging a hot bat who was 3-3 which included a third inning double and a sixth inning RBI. “What a special night,” Donovan said. “I mean, this is something that we should celebrate. This right here is pretty amazing. And to do it in Alabama, I’ve got some friends and family in the stands, it’s like playing summer ball again.”

Earlier in the game the Giants Heliot Ramos hit a three run home run off Cards pitcher Andre Pallante to tie it up in the top of the third inning for his tenth home run. The Cardinals got the lead back in the bottom of the third when Nolan Gorman hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a run.

Same clubs on Saturday as both the Giants and Cardinals have Friday off and will meet again at Busch Stadium in St Louis for a Saturday and Sunday series. The Giants will start RHP Jordan Hicks (4-3, ERA 2.82) for the Cards Miles Mikolas (5-6, ERA 4.59) first pitch 11:15pm PT.