Cardinals Let Five-Run Lead Slip Away, Swept by Giants

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Cardinals Let Five-Run Lead Slip Away, Swept by Giants
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals were six outs away from leaving San Francisco with something to show for the trip.

Instead, they left Oracle Park swept.

St. Louis carried a 6-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday afternoon, only to watch the Giants send the inning sideways with six runs in a 7-6 loss that completed a three-game sweep.

It was not just another loss.

It was the kind that feels heavier because of where it landed on the calendar.

The Cardinals had already dropped the first two games of the series by one run. Monday went 11 innings before San Francisco walked it off, 5-4. Tuesday turned into a 2-1 frustration, with St. Louis unable to cash in enough chances. Wednesday looked like the game that would stop the slide.

For seven innings, it was.

Then the eighth happened.

The Cardinals had built their lead behind early offense, another big swing from Leo Bernal and a steady start from Andre Pallante. They had taken advantage of Giants mistakes. They had created enough separation that a getaway-day win appeared to be in hand.

It was not.

San Francisco turned a five-run deficit into a one-run lead in one inning, and the Cardinals never answered.

That is how a series win in Los Angeles can become a wasted week in a hurry.

St. Louis opened the game already facing pressure. The Cardinals had taken two of three from the Dodgers, then two of three from the Rockies, but the first two games in San Francisco had chipped away at the momentum. Wednesday was supposed to be the salvage game.

The Giants struck first.

Drew Gilbert doubled to center in the bottom of the first inning, and Bryce Eldridge followed with an RBI single to left, giving San Francisco a 1-0 lead. Pallante limited the inning there, and the Cardinals answered quickly.

Joshua Báez doubled to left in the top of the second, continuing to show the kind of power that makes every start worth watching. Nolan Gorman followed with a single to shallow left, scoring Báez and tying the game, 1-1.

That was a good sign.

The Cardinals did not let the early run sit on them. They got it right back, and in the third inning, Bernal gave them the swing that should have been the headline of the day.

Bryan Torres reached ahead of Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson, and Bernal stepped in against Blade Tidwell with a chance to put St. Louis in front. The rookie catcher did more than that. He drove a three-run home run to right field, his second homer in the majors, giving the Cardinals a 4-1 lead.

Bernal’s first week in the big leagues has been anything but quiet.

He picked up his first MLB hit at Dodger Stadium, drove in two runs in his debut, hit his first big-league home run the next night, and now added another homer in San Francisco. The Cardinals have always liked the defense-first profile, the arm and the catching instincts. But the bat is making sure the conversation does not stop there.

That is what makes this stretch important.

Bernal is not just surviving September.

He is producing.

The Cardinals added another run in the fifth. Torres scored when Bernal grounded into a double play, pushing the lead to 5-1. It was not glamorous, but it was another run in a game where every bit of separation mattered.

Then St. Louis added one more in the sixth.

Thomas Saggese scored on José Fermín’s sacrifice fly to center, and the Cardinals had a 6-1 lead.

At that point, the game looked under control.

Pallante had given the Cardinals enough. The offense had done its job. The Giants had helped with three errors. St. Louis had the lead, the road getaway game and a chance to avoid the sweep.

That is what made the eighth inning so damaging.

Cade Winquest opened the inning for St. Louis and ran into trouble. Drew Cavanaugh and Brett Harris reached, Turner Hill walked, and the Giants suddenly had the bases full with the heart of the order coming up.

Eldridge singled on a ground ball to center field, scoring Cavanaugh and Harris, and trimming the Cardinals’ lead to 6-3. That was the first crack.

It was not the last.

George Soriano entered, but San Francisco kept coming. Jonah Cox singled to shortstop, scoring Hill and making it 6-4. Jung Hoo Lee followed with a two-run double to right field, scoring Eldridge and Cox to tie the game, 6-6.

Just like that, the five-run lead was gone.

Then Shay Whitcomb completed the collapse.

Whitcomb doubled to right, scoring Lee and giving San Francisco a 7-6 lead. In the span of one inning, the Cardinals went from protecting a comfortable lead to trailing by a run.

That was the game.

The Cardinals had one more trip to the plate, but the offense could not undo what had happened. San Francisco closed it down, finished the sweep and sent St. Louis out of town with a loss that will be difficult to explain away.

The Giants finished with seven runs on 10 hits. The Cardinals had six runs on seven hits. San Francisco committed three errors and still won.

That part stings.

A team trying to stay alive in September cannot be handed that many openings and still let the game get away. The Cardinals had the lead. They had the cushion. They had the chance to leave the Bay Area with at least one win.

Instead, they were swept by a team playing out the string.

That is the harsh part.

The Giants deserve credit. They did not roll over. Eldridge drove in three runs and stayed in the middle of everything. Lee delivered the tying double. Whitcomb produced the go-ahead swing. The Giants made the Cardinals earn the final outs, and St. Louis could not get them.

But from the Cardinals’ side, this was another reminder of why the season keeps refusing to turn.

The young players gave them enough offense to win. Bernal homered. Báez doubled and scored. Gorman drove in a run. Saggese scored. Fermín added the sacrifice fly. Burleson and Herrera were part of the traffic ahead of Bernal’s home run.

There were useful at-bats.

There were encouraging moments.

There was not enough bullpen execution.

That has been a recurring problem all season. The Cardinals have had nights when the lineup shows fight, the starter gives them a chance, and the game seems to be moving in the right direction. Then one inning undoes everything.

Wednesday’s inning was the eighth.

And it could not have come at a worse time.

St. Louis is running out of runway. Every loss matters more now, especially losses against clubs below them in the standings. The Cardinals cannot keep pointing to effort, young-player development or close games when the final score keeps landing on the wrong side.

Three games in San Francisco.

Three one-run losses.

One sweep.

That is not bad luck anymore.

That is missed opportunity.

The Cardinals are still getting important looks at players who should matter going forward. Bernal’s emergence is real enough to keep watching. Báez continues to bring loud contact and power potential. Saggese has shown he can be part of the conversation. The roster is younger, and September has value beyond the standings.

But the standings still count.

And Wednesday hurt them.

The Cardinals had a chance to stop the sweep, protect a five-run lead and head home with a little stability. Instead, they left San Francisco with another bullpen scar and another reminder that this season has been defined by games they could not finish.

The road trip had started with promise.

It ended with frustration.

St. Louis beat the Dodgers twice. It took a series in Colorado. Then it went to San Francisco and lost three straight one-run games to the Giants.

That is a hard turn.

Bernal gave the Cardinals a moment.

The bullpen gave it back.

The Giants scored six in the eighth.

San Francisco won, 7-6.

And the Cardinals were swept at Oracle Park in a game they had no business losing.

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