Monday’s Game Report: Giants 5, Cardinals 4 (11 innings)
By Rob Rains
After coming back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game, the Cardinals got out of jams in both the ninth and 10th innings on Monday night – but couldn’t do it again in the 11th.
A sacrifice bunt and an infield single drove in the winning run for the Giants in the opener of their three-game series in San Francisco.
The loss left the Cardinals five games out of the race for the third wild-card spot with 17 games left in the season. It was their fifth walk-off loss in their last 20 games since Aug. 17 and their ninth of the season.
A sacrifice fly by Jose Fermin drove in the tying run in the ninth and Ryne Stanek escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
In the 10th, the Cardinals got the automatic runner home on a bloop single by Leo Bernal but Riley O’Brien gave up the tying run in the bottom of the inning.
The Cardinals were able to get the game to the 11th, however, when Bernal turned a double play with the bases loaded on a ball hit right in front of the plate, stepping on home plate and then getting the out at first to end the inning.
Here is how Monday night’s game broke down:
At the plate: Alec Burleson started the comeback with a home run into McCovey Cove with two outs in the sixth. That was only the third hit for the Cardinals off Giants starter Logan Webb … Nolan Gorman drew a walk to lead off the seventh and scored on a two-out double by Nathan Church … In the ninth, Joshua Baez beat out an infield single and Thomas Saggese also reached on an infield single. Bryan Torres walked to load the bases before Fermin’s game-tying sacrifice fly … Saggese’s fly ball got the automatic runner to third with one out in the 11th but he was stranded there.
On the mound: Michael McGreevy pitched into the seventh inning, allowing three runs on six hits … Justin Bruihl retired all four hitters he faced before Stanek allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases in the ninth, getting the third out on a fly ball … O’Brien worked the 10th inning, suffering his seventh blown save of the season … George Soriano came in for the 11th, and after a sacrifice bunt moved the automatic runner to third, allowed the winning run to score on an infield single.
Key stat: Rafael Devers doubled twice and walked in his three plate appearances against McGreevy and for his career is now 5-of-7 against McGreevy with three homers and two doubles.
Worth noting: The splash homer by Burleson was the third all-time hit by the Cardinals into McCovey Cove. The other two were hit by Larry Walker in 2005 and by Matt Carpenter in 2018 … Reliever Peter Strzelecki is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday night at Memphis.
Up next: Quinn Mathews will get the start on Tuesday night in the second game of the series.
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