Sunday’s Game Report: Cardinals 6, Giants 1
By Rob Rains
While the Cardinals got a potential glimpse into the future from Michael McGreevy in the final game of the season, they also were potentially saying goodbye to Paul Goldschmidt and Matt Carpenter.
Both Goldschmidt and Carpenter are eligible to be free agents and it isn’t known if the team will try to re-sign either or both for 2025.
Both were in the starting lineup on Sunday against the Giants in San Francisco but each left the game early. Goldschmidt struck out in each of his two at-bats while Carpenter singled in what potentially could have been his last at-bat with the team.
McGreevy made his third career start for the Cardinals and allowed only one run over eight innings in the win over the Giants in San Francisco, throwing his name into the off-season discussions about who should be in the team’s rotation for 2025.
The win allowed the Cardinals to finish the season with an 83-79 record, a 12-game improvement from their last-place finish in 2023. They tied the Cubs for second place in the NL Central, 10 games behind the Brewers.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Brendan Donovan hit his 14th homer of the season and also singled and walked twice … Alec Burleson drove in three runs with a pair of singles … The Cardinals struck out 11 times in 4 1/3 innings against Giants starter Hayden Birdsong, but took advantage of two walks in the fifth, both of whom scored on the hits by Donovan and Burleson … The other RBI came on a single from Jose Fermin, who started at third base in place of Nolan Arenado.
On the mound: McGreevy raised his record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.96 in his four major-league appearances. He shut out the Giants on just two hits through the first six innings before giving up a run in the seventh. Over his eight innings he allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out six, throwing only 91 pitches … Steven Matz pitched the ninth.
Key stat: The Cardinals finished the year with a minus 47 run differential, scoring 672 runs while allowing 719 runs. They finished 12th in the NL in runs scored, ahead of only the Pirates, Marlins and Nationals.
Worth noting: The Cardinals have scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. on Monday to announce at least some changes in the organization … Burleson’s three RBIs increased his season total to 78, the fewest RBIs for the team leader in a full season since Tom Brunansky led the Cardinals with 79 RBIs in 1988 … Goldschmidt’s 22 home runs were the fewest by the team leader for a season since Jhonny Peralta led the Cardinals with 21 homers in 2014 … At 37, he became the oldest Cardinal to lead the team in home runs in records dating back to 1900 … For the second consecutive year the Cardinals did not have a complete game from a starting pitcher.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals first spring training game in 2025 will be on Feb. 22 against the Marlins in Jupiter.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains
