Tag: St.Louis Cardinals

Webb gets bombed, Giants go down in flames 10-0

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Photo credit: @sfgiants_fanly

By Jeremy Harness

It all went bad for Logan Webb on Thursday afternoon, and St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of every mistake that he and the rest of the Giants behind him made in a 10-0 rout at Busch Stadium.

With the loss, the Giants also dropped the season series to the Cardinals, and they continue to lose ground with the rest of the contenders in the National League.

Webb did not make it out of the third inning, as he gave up eight runs – seven of them earned – on eight hits, walking two and striking out another two.

Things got off to a bad start, as Webb gave up a leadoff double to Tommy Edman, who eventually scored on an infield hit later in the inning. Webb appeared to get the wheels straightened out, as he struck out Marcell Ozuna for the second out of the inning.

However, the next batter, Paul DeJong, took Webb over the center-field wall for a two-run homer that gave St. Louis a 3-0 lead.

He pitched a scoreless second inning, but the Cards resumed their assault on the young hurler in the third. They used hard-hit singles as well as a jam shot by Yadier Molina to score a run, and they scored another when first baseman Brandon Belt took a throw from second baseman Mauricio Dubon but forgot to touch the bag.

Manager Bruce Bochy eventually threw in the towel on Webb when he surrendered a two-run single to his pitching counterpart, Dakota Hudson.

On the positive side, the Giants bullpen did well in relief of Webb, keeping St. Louis off the scoreboard for the next four innings until Kyle Barraclough surrendered a two-run homer to Rangel Ravelo in the eighth.

Hudson, meanwhile, cruised through a suddenly-punchless Giants lineup, giving up only a hit over six innings, walking two and striking out two.

The Giants open a three-game series against the Dodgers in L.A. starting Friday night at 7:10 p.m.

Giants blow lead, then rally to topple Cards 9-8

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

The Giants got off to a hot start, only to watch the big lead vanish. However, they were able to pull themselves together in time to get a 9-8 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium Wednesday night.

They scored four runs in a big third inning, a surge that was started by Mike Yastrzemski’s solo homer. However, the Cardinals used the next three innings to chip away at the lead and eventually tie the game. The game-tying hit came from none other than Paul Goldschmidt, a notorious Giant-killer whose triple in the fifth brought in two runs.

Undeterred, the Giants grabbed the lead again one inning later, when Brandon Crawford nailed a three-run homer off reliever Dominic Leone.

The Cardinals came up with a four-run inning of their own in the sixth, which was sparked by Tommy Edman’s run-scoring triple, while Goldschmidt’s two-run double gave St. Louis its first lead of the game, 8-7.

Kevin Pillar, who went 4-for-5 on Wednesday, gave the Giants the lead back for good in the top of the eighth with a two-run shot off Giovanny Gallegos.

The Giants bullpen shut the Cards down for the final three innings, Fernando Abad, Tyler Rogers, Tony Watson and Will Smith, who nailed down his 31st save of the season, combined to give up only three hits and a pair of walks.

Madison Bumgarner did not have a strong start, as he surrendered six runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out two.

The Giants and Cards wrap up their series on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. PT.

Ozuna’s home run sends the Giants to their fourth straight loss, 1-0

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Photo credit: @unbsportsstats

By Jeremy Kahn

Marcell Ozuna gave the St. Louis Cardinals the only run that they needed on one swing of the bat.

Ozuna launched a Dereck Rodriguez pitch into Big Mac Land that was measured at 393 feet, helping the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium.

The Ozuna home run made a winner out of Jack Flaherty, who improved to 9-7 on the season, as he went eight innings, allowing just one hit, walking one and striking out eight.

Rodriguez was the hard luck losing pitcher, as he went seven innings, giving up one run on five hits, walking just one and striking out seven and saw his record fall to 5-8 on the season.

Mike Yastrzemski picked up both hits for the Giants, as he broke up the no-hitter with two out in the top of the sixth inning and then added his second and final hit of the night in the top of the ninth inning, as he singled off of Cardinals closer Carlos Martinez with one out in the inning.

Martinez was able to regroup to get Brandon Belt to line out to right field for the second out, and then ended the game, when he struck out Evan Longoria for his 18th save of the season.

With the loss, the Giants have lost four in a row and are eight and a half games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

NOTES: Corban Joseph was claimed on waivers by the Giants from the Oakland As and will report to the team in St. Louis. To make room for Joseph on the roster, Pablo Sandoval was placed on the 60-day disabled list.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner will take the mound on Wednesday afternoon, as he looks for his 10th win of the season, while the Cardinals will send Michael Wacha, as he looks for his seventh win for the home standing Cardinals.

Fiers is on fire, leads the A’s to an 8-3 victory over the Cardinals on Saturday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Cards 1
Chris Herrmann celebrates scoring a run Photo: @Athletics

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics have become the St. Louis Cardinals’ worst nightmare. Back in June, the A’s swept their two-game series in St. Louis. On Saturday night, the A’s never trailed in game one of the two-game series in Oakland.

The Athletics jumped on the Cardinals early on Saturday night when they scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning off the Cards starting pitcher Dakota Hudson. The A’s sent eight batters to the plate collecting two hits, two walks, and one hit batsman. It became very apparent that it was going to be a short evening for Hudson.

The A’s scored two more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Oakland sent seven hitters to bat in the inning taking advantage of a double, sacrifice fly, two walks and one passed ball.

The Cardinals closed the gap to 5-2 by the end of 6 1/2 innings, but Chad Pinder hit a two-out three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to make an 8-2 score. The Cardinals’ Lane Thomas hit a pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth inning which made the final score 8-3 in favor of the A’s.

Oakland is now 63-48 on the season — 8.5 games back of Houston in the AL West and 1/2 game out of the second Wild Card slot behind Tampa Bay. St. Louis falls to 58-51 and into second place in NL Central — 1/2 game behind the Cubs. The Cardinals now are in the number one Wild Card slot in the National League.

Focus on the A’s

Fiers line
Graphic: @Athletics
  • Mike Fiers pitched 5.2 innings and allowed just one run en route to his 10th win of the season. Fiers now owns the second-longest active winning streak in the American League with eight wins. His last loss was May 1st. Fiers struck out four, walked just one while giving up six hits. He made 94 pitches. In his postgame comments, manager Bob Melvin said he wanted to keep Fiers pitch count down tonight.
  • Stephen Piscotty went 2-for-3 plus a hit-by-pitch in his first game back from the injury list.
  • Khris Davis extended his hitting streak to five games. He is batting .320 (7-for-20) over those five games. Davis scored a run in the fifth inning of the game.
  • Matt Chapman put a three-walk game into the scorebook for the second time this season. He did it versus the Rangers back on April 23rd. Chapman scored a run in the first inning of the contest.
  • Chad Pinder was brought to pinch-hit for Grossman in the bottom of the seventh inning with two out and two runners on base. Pinder hit an 0-2 pitch from Tyler Webb over the left-field fence for a three-run home — his 10th of the year. Skipper Bob mentioned after the game that this team really uses everyone on the 25-man roster. Everyone is ready to contribute at all times.
  • “Mr. I can play anywhere coach” — Mark Canha had a 2-for-5 night with the bat and drove in two runs. So far this season, Canha has played all three outfield positions and first base for the A’s.

Athletics roster changes

  • Stephen Piscotty has rejoined the team. He was placed on the 10-day IL back on June 30 with a knee sprain. Piscotty went to Las Vegas for a rehab assignment where he played three games in the outfield and two at designated hitter.
  • The A’s claimed catcher Dustin Garneau off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. Garneau is a right-handed hitter while Chris Herrmann is a lefty (Josh Phegley is on the IL due to a deeply bruised thumb). Garneau is familiar with some of the Oakland pitchers as he played 19 games with the A’s in 2017 plus seeing them in head to head competition.
  • Infielder Franklin Barreto has been optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas. He was hitting just .106 at the time he was sent down. Manager Bob Melvin commented that Barreto had nothing left to prove at Triple-A which means it could be the end of the road for the infielder and the Athletics organization.

Cardinals watch

  • Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson walked a season-high five batters in just 3.2 innings of work on the mound. His record drops to 10-6 for the season after being charged with the loss.
  • Paul DeJong had a 2-for-4 game with an RBI. He now has a career monthly best 43 RBI in August. He is second for the Cards in total bases with 185.
  • Lane Thomas hit his second home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning. Both of his home runs have come when he has been a pinch-hitter.

Up next

A’s fans will get their first look at RHP Tanner Roark on Sunday. Roark came to the A’s at the trade deadline from the Cincinnati Reds for minor league outfielder Jameson Hannah. Roark was 6-7 with a 4.24 ERA in 21 starts for the Reds.

The Cardinals will counter with RHP Adam Wainwright, who is 7-7 with a 4.47 ERA so far in 2019. Wainwright started against Oakland back on June 26 in St. Louis. He lost that game 2-0. Wainwright worked 6.2 innings giving up two runs (both earned) off seven hits. He walked one, struck out nine, but he gave up two home runs. Wainwright will be a free agent at the end of the season.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:07 PM PDT.

Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason: Important win for US women’s team; Verlander says the ball is juiced 100%; plus more from the All Star Game

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On Headline Sports podcast with Barbara:

#1 How important was this win in the World Cup women’s soccer final for the U.S. team?

#2 The television ratings for the finals were through the roof with 14.3 million viewers watching the US vs. the Netherlands in a 2-0 shutout.

#3 In Major League Baseball Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander says he blames baseball for the juiced ball and that it could travel as far as it could and it hurts pitchers.

#4 Verlander at the MLB All Star Game this week said that the balls are 100% juiced and a testimony of that is Verlander whose one of the big leagues best pitchers has given up 26 home runs this season.

#5 St Louis Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina dropped a few words that can’t be used here in regards to Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy who got hammered at the plate by Houston Astros runner Jake Marisnick who laid Lucroy out after knocking him over on a bang bang play at the plate. Molina basically said something needs to be done about runners taking out the catcher.

Barbara Mason is a writer for Spanish Newspaper Area Grande and does Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cardinals stop Giants’ 4-game winning streak with 9-4 win

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — On the night where there was shaking in Southern California, the San Francisco Giants’ pitching got all shook up.

Jose Martinez and Paul Goldschmidt each hit home runs in the top of the first inning, and despite a comeback, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Giants 9-4 before a crowd of 37,603 at Oracle Park.

Martinez hit a solo home run, and then two batter later Goldschmidt launched a two-run blast into the Garden beyond the left-center field wall to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

Once again, it was a tough first inning for Drew Pomeranz, as he saw his earned run average increase to 11.25 (20 ER/16 IP) and batters are hitting .365 with eight home runs in the first inning, this according to Bill Arnold of the Sports Features Group.

The Giants wasted little time to get back into the game, as they loaded the bases with nobody out and despite the fact that Dakota Hudson got two straight outs, Brandon Crawford walked on a 3-2 pitch to get the Giants on the board to score Brandon Belt and then Kevin Pillar singled to left field that scored Buster Posey.

Alex Dickerson continues his hot hitting, as he hit his fourth home run of the season to tie up the game in the bottom of the third inning.

Unfortunately, Pomeranz gave the lead right back to the Cardinals, as Kolten Wong doubled and former Stanford infielder Tommy Edman tripled to right-center field to give the Cardinals the lead for good.

Pomeranzs night was done after four innings, as he gave up four runs on six hits, walking four and striking out three, as his record fell to 2-9 on the season.

The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth inning off of Trevor Gott, Matt Wieters singled to score Tyler ONeill and then Wong drove in a run, as he reached on a Fielders Choice that scored Fowler.

Mark Melancon gave up a run in the top of the seventh inning, as he gave up a single to ONeill and then Fowler tripled to right-center field.

Wong then followed up with a single that scored Fowler to give the Cardinals a five-run lead.

Fowler finished off the scoring for the Cardinals the top of the ninth inning, as he took a Ray Black pitch and put It on the arcade. It was the third hit of the night for Fowler, who came up a double short of the cycle.

Stephen Vogt drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he hit a sacrifice fly to ONeill to score Brandon Crawford.

NOTES: Donovan Solanos 10-game hitting streak came to an end, as he went 0-for-2 after replacing Joe Panik at second base in the top of the seventh inning.

UP NEXT: Madison Bumgarner takes the mound on Saturday night, as he looks for his sixth win of the season, while the Cardinals will send Miles Mikolas to the hill and he also looks for his sixth win of the season.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca Part 1: Giants coming off sweep in San Diego, ready for St. Louis after 4th of July off

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Evan Longoria, right, is greeted by third base coach Ron Wotus after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in San Diego

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Thursday was the first time in a while the Giants didn’t have to play on July 4th, which gave them sometime to prepare for their three-game series coming up tonight with the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park.

#2 The Giants are coming off a three-game sweep past the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Does the sweep have some impact some confidence building for the Giants, who have not swept too many series this season?

#3 Just looking ahead to Saturday, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 4.02 ERA) is pitching on Saturday and has had some good recent outings against the Diamondbacks and Rockies. Some have called some of Bumgarner’s outings showcasing. It is realistic to say Bumgarner will be leaving the Giants before the end of the month?

#4 The Cardinals come in at 42-42. The Cards have won four of their last nine games. Are the Cards a team that shared the same struggles similar to the Giants or are they a good .500 that can find their way and improve in the standings?

#5 The Cardinals for Friday night’s game will be starting Dakota Hudson (6-4, 3.40 ERA) going up against the Giants Drew Pomeranz (2-8, 6.25 ERA). In two of his last three decisions, Pomeranz got the loss, so you know going into Friday night’s game, he’s looking for that win.

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca Part 2: Pomeranz looks to get back into win column, starts tonight against Cards

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sfgate.com photo: San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria during a game in San Diego against the Padres on Wednesday, July 3rd and the Giants will be hosting the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Thursday was the first time in a while the Giants didn’t have to play on July 4th, which gave them sometime to prepare for their three-game series coming up tonight with the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park.

#2 The Giants are coming off a three-game sweep past the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Does the sweep have some impact some confidence building for the Giants, who have not swept too many series this season?

#3 Just looking ahead to Saturday, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 4.02 ERA) is pitching on Saturday and has had some good recent outings against the Diamondbacks and Rockies. Some have called some of Bumgarner’s outings showcasing. It is realistic to say Bumgarner will be leaving the Giants before the end of the month?

#4 The Cardinals come in at 42-42. The Cards have won four of their last nine games. Are the Cards a team that shared the same struggles similar to the Giants or are they a good .500 that can find their way and improve in the standings?

#5 The Cardinals for Friday night’s game will be starting Dakota Hudson (6-4, 3.40 ERA) going up against the Giants Drew Pomeranz (2-8, 6.25 ERA). In two of his last three decisions, Pomeranz got the loss, so you know going into Friday night’s game, he’s looking for that win.

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca: Giants coming off sweep in San Diego, ready for St. Louis after 4th of July off

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photo from sfgate.com: San Francisco Giants’ Evan Longoria, right, is greeted by third base coach Ron Wotus after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 3, 2019, in San Diego

On the Giants podcast with Michael:

#1 Thursday was the first time the Giants didn’t have to play on July 4th, which gave them sometime to prepare for their three-game series coming up tonight with the St Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park.

#2 The Giants are coming off a three-game sweep past the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Does the sweep have some impact some confidence building for the Giants, who have not swept too many series this season?

#3 Just looking ahead to Saturday, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 4.02 ERA) is pitching on Saturday and has had some good recent outings against the Diamondbacks and Rockies. Some have called some of Bumgarner’s outings showcasing. It is realistic to say Bumgarner will be leaving the Giants before the end of the month?

#4 The Cardinals come in at 42-42. The Cards have lost four of their last nine games looking. Are the Cards a team that shared the same struggles similar to the Giants or are they a good .500 that can find their way and improve in the standings?

#5 The Cardinals for Friday night’s game will be starting Dakota Hudson (6-4, 3.40 ERA) going up against the Giants Drew Pomeranz (2-8, 6.25 ERA). In two of his last three decisions, Pomeranz got the loss, so you know going into Friday night’s game, he’s looking for that win.

Michael Duca does the San Francisco Giants podcast each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

No 4th of July play for Giants, Cardinals on deck

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Photo credit: @OracleParkSF

By Jeremy Harness

For the first time in a while, the Giants will not play on the 4th of July. However, they will still use this time to get prepared for a big weekend series while riding a wave of momentum.

They are coming off a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres, and they will now wait for the St., Louis Cardinals to get into town, as the two teams will play a three-game series starting Friday night at Oracle Park.

The series does not pack the same punch that it has in years past – with the Giants still stuck in the National League West basement while the Cardinals hanging on with a 42-42 mark – but because of the sheer history of this pairing, it still carries meaning nonetheless.

Drew Pomeranz will take the ball for the Friday opener against Cardinals righty Dakota Hudson (6-4, 3.40 ERA). Pomeranz has been a mess this season, with a 2-8 record and a 6.25 ERA. However, he momentarily beat that back in his last start, throwing five shutout innings at the Arizona Diamondbacks last Saturday.

Hudson is coming off an outing where he did not make it out of the second inning while giving up seven runs – but amazingly only one of them earned – which included a pair of homers in losing to the same San Diego team the Giants just swept.

However, he was brilliant in the start prior to that, going seven strong and surrendering only a run to the Angels in a 2-1 win.

Madison Bumgarner (5-7, 4.02 ERA) is still wearing a Giants uniform for the time being and has gotten into a nice rhythm lately, will go Saturday night, and he will go up against Miles Mikolas (5-8, 4.34 ERA), who appears to be going in the opposite direction after a hot start.

Bumgarner has gotten the win in each of his past two starts, beating the Colorado Rockies and the Diamondbacks, surrendering three runs in his 13 innings combined.

Mikolas has lost six of his last seven decisions, but he is coming off a decent outing that saw him give up three runs over six innings, although he did not ultimately factor in to the decision.

Coming off a brilliant outing that saw him go eight solid innings in a convincing win over San Diego Monday night, Jeff Samardzija (5-7, 4.32 ERA) will take the hill Sunday for the Giants against Cardinals righty Jack Flaherty (4-5, 4.90 ERA), who is coming off a rather-shaky outing that saw him give up four runs over 4 1/3 innings against Seattle on Tuesday.