The St. Louis Cardinals returned home to Busch Stadium to take on the San Francisco Giants for a three-game set. The Giants swept the series, improving their record to 36-32 while dropping the Cardinals to 27-42. The Cardinals currently sit in last place in the NL Central, 8.5 games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates. St. Louis has an off day on Thursday before traveling east to face the New York Mets and Washington Nationals.
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Series in Review: Cardinals vs. Giants, June 12-14
Game 1: Cardinals 3, Giants 4
Matthew Liberatore faced off against Giants’ ace Logan Webb in game one. The Giants got on the board first on a run-scoring groundout from J.D. Davis and a Mitch Haniger RBI double. Those two runs, however, would be all the Giants could muster off Liberatore in his six innings.
Paul DeJong and Paul Goldschmidt each homered off Webb to give the Cardinals a one-run lead heading into the seventh. Andre Pallante relieved Liberatore, giving up an RBI double to Haniger in his one inning. In the eighth, Chris Stratton surrendered a ground ball base-hit to Brandon Crawford which scored Patrick Bailey to give the Giants a 4-3 lead. The Cardinals loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth and put the tying run on second in the ninth but Camilo Doval escaped the jam both times to record his 17th save of the season. Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Jordan Walker, and DeJong each registered two hits for the Cardinals.
Game 2: Cardinals 3, Giants 11
Jack Flaherty took the ball for the Cardinals in game two, looking to build on a recent stretch of excellence. The Giants got to Flaherty in the first, scoring two runs on a Michael Conforto double. St. Louis scratched across two runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning on a single by Goldschmidt and a groundout by Dylan Carlson. It was again Conforto who broke the tie in the third inning on a one-run single to left field. The Giants continued to pile it on, scoring three runs in the fifth and sixth innings and two runs in the ninth. Flaherty was responsible for six of those runs over 4 1/3 innings pitched. Génesis Cabrera gave up three runs and newly-recalled Jake Woodford allowed two. St. Louis’ final run of the game came via a Walker double in the eighth inning.
During the fourth inning, Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a double off Flaherty. At the conclusion of the frame, Wade and Flaherty engaged in a heated exchange across the field. Afterward, both benches would empty. The altercation did not escalate beyond words and proved to be a non-issue for the rest of the game.
Game 3: Cardinals 5, Giants 8
In an all-too-familiar fashion, the Giants got on the board early again in game three. Thairo Estrada and Bailey each smacked RBI singles off Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery to put St. Louis in a 2-0 deficit. The Cardinals responded shortly with a Tommy Edman grand slam in the second. Walker tacked on another run with a single in the third, giving Montgomery a three-run cushion. That lead would hold until the ninth inning when Giovanny Gallegos surrendered a game-tying homer to Mike Yastrzemski to force extra innings. Subsequently, San Francisco put up three runs in the top of the tenth inning and Doval shut down the Cardinals’ offense once again to secure the victory.
Gallegos’ blown save is the Cardinals’ 15th blown save of the year in 30 opportunities. That figure is tied with the Nationals for the most in all of baseball. As Ryan Helsley is out until at least late June, the Cardinals will need to rely more on other pitchers, especially Gallegos, to finish games.
As mediocre as the Mets and Padres have been this season, no team comes close to the St. Louis Cardinals in terms of downright disappointment. They are a disaster. Five straight losses. A 27-42 record — the worst in the National League, better than only Oakland and Kansas City.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 14, 2023
News and Notes
- RHP Ryan Helsley was placed on the 15-day IL due to a right forearm strain and is expected to return by late June.
- RHP Jake Woodford was recalled from Triple-A Memphis.
- OF Lars Nootbaar is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis Friday, targeting a potential return on Monday.
- OF Tyler O’Neill hopes to begin baseball activity on June 15, though remains without an expected return date.
- LHP Packy Naughton is nearing a minor-league rehab assignment and may return to MLB this month.
Main photo credits:
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Players mentioned:
Matthew Liberatore, Logan Webb, J.D. Davis, Mitch Haniger, Paul DeJong, Paul Goldschmidt, Andre Pallante, Chris Stratton, Brandon Crawford, Patrick Bailey, Camilo Doval, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Jordan Walker, Jack Flaherty, Michael Conforto, Dylan Carlson, Genesis Cabrera, Jake Woodford, LaMonte Wade Jr., Thairo Estrada, Jordan Montgomery, Tommy Edman, Giovanny Gallegos, Mike Yastrzemski, Ryan Helsley, Lars Nootbaar, Tyler O’Neill, Packy Naughton
