Cards Rally Late, Fall to Giants 5-4 in 11

THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Cardinals Rally Late, Fall to Giants 5-4 in 11 Innings
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

The St. Louis Cardinals kept fighting Monday night in San Francisco.

They just could not finish it.

After trailing most of the night, the Cardinals tied the game in the ninth, took the lead in the 10th, lost it in the bottom half and finally fell to the San Francisco Giants, 5-4, in 11 innings at Oracle Park.

Shay Whitcomb ended it with an infield single to shortstop, scoring automatic runner Nate Furman from third base in the bottom of the 11th.

That was the final blow in a game filled with missed chances.

The Cardinals had the tying run at third in the 11th and could not score. The Giants had the same situation in the bottom half and did.

That was the difference.

St. Louis entered the night at 72-72 after taking two of three in Colorado and winning five of six overall on the road trip. The Cardinals had spent the last week doing just enough to keep September alive. They took two of three from the Dodgers in Los Angeles. They took two of three from the Rockies at Coors Field. They opened another series against a last-place Giants club with a chance to finally push above .500 and keep pressure on the Wild Card race.

Instead, they walked away with another one-run loss.

The Cardinals are back below .500 at 72-73.

And this one had several chances to be something better.

San Francisco struck first in the bottom of the opening inning against Michael McGreevy. Turner Hill reached, and Rafael Devers drove him in with a double, giving the Giants a 1-0 lead.

That was the beginning of a steady night from Devers, who continued to be one of the most dangerous bats in San Francisco’s lineup. He doubled twice, walked and scored twice.

The Giants added another run in the third, helped by a Cardinals mistake. Christian Koss reached on an infield single and moved to second on a throwing error by McGreevy. Hill grounded out to move him to third, Devers walked, and Bryce Eldridge lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Koss and pushing San Francisco’s lead to 2-0.

That run was unearned.

It still counted.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, struggled early against Logan Webb.

Webb gave San Francisco six strong innings, allowing one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out eight. For most of his night, he kept St. Louis from creating the kind of inning it needed to take control.

The Cardinals had very little through five innings.

Thomas Saggese singled in the fifth, but the inning went nowhere. Webb kept the Cardinals chasing the count and missing opportunities, and the Giants carried a 2-0 lead into the fifth.

San Francisco stretched it to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth.

Devers doubled to right, and Eldridge followed with a double to deep right-center, scoring Devers. It was Eldridge’s second RBI of the night and another run that made the Cardinals’ climb steeper.

McGreevy was not hit hard all night, but San Francisco made its scoring chances count.

That mattered.

The Cardinals finally broke through in the sixth.

Alec Burleson gave St. Louis its first run with a solo home run to right field, his 22nd homer of the season. The swing cut the deficit to 3-1 and gave the Cardinals their first real jolt of the night.

Burleson continues to do what has mattered most for this offense.

He drives in runs.

He now has 104 RBIs on the season, and in a lineup filled with young players trying to prove themselves, Burleson remains one of the more dependable run producers.

The Cardinals added another run in the seventh.

Nolan Gorman walked to open the inning. Joshua Báez struck out, and Saggese also struck out, with Gorman moving to second on a passed ball. Nathan Church then doubled to shallow right, scoring Gorman and cutting San Francisco’s lead to 3-2.

That was a big two-out swing.

Church has had his ups and downs, but he came through in a spot where the Cardinals badly needed to close the gap. Suddenly, a game that had felt controlled by Webb and the Giants was back within reach.

McGreevy kept the Cardinals close enough to make that possible.

He worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits. He walked two and struck out four. He threw 105 pitches and gave St. Louis a start that should have been good enough to keep the game winnable.

It was not perfect.

It was competitive.

The throwing error in the third hurt. The Devers-Eldridge combination hurt. But McGreevy did not let the game get away, and after the Cardinals had battled back within a run, Justin Bruihl came in and did his job.

Bruihl gave the Cardinals 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out one. That bridge work mattered because it gave the offense time to make one more push.

That push came in the ninth.

Báez started the inning with an infield single to shortstop. Saggese followed with an infield single to second, putting two runners aboard. Church tried to bunt but popped it up to third, leaving the Cardinals with one out.

Bryan Torres then worked a walk to load the bases.

José Fermín came off the bench to hit for Pedro Pagés and delivered a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Báez and tying the game, 3-3.

That was not a loud swing.

It was the right at-bat.

With the tying run at third and the season’s margin getting thinner by the day, Fermín got the ball to the outfield and gave the Cardinals another chance.

They had tied the game.

They had life.

They also had a chance to do more.

Burleson came up with two runners still aboard and struck out to end the inning. The Cardinals had erased the deficit, but they did not take the lead. That missed chance carried weight once the game moved into extras.

Ryne Stanek had to work through trouble in the bottom of the ninth.

Jung Hoo Lee singled. Whitcomb singled. Koss walked to load the bases. With two outs, Hill came to the plate with a chance to win it for San Francisco.

Stanek got him to fly out to right.

That sent the game to the 10th.

The Cardinals took advantage first.

With Burleson placed at second as the automatic runner, Jordan Walker grounded out to second, moving him to third. Leo Bernal followed with a single to shallow right-center, scoring Burleson and giving St. Louis its first lead of the night, 4-3.

Bernal keeps finding moments.

Since arriving in the majors, the rookie catcher has already delivered his first big-league hit, his first homer and now a go-ahead RBI in extra innings. For a player known first for his defense, these early offensive contributions have mattered.

This was another one.

But the Cardinals could not add on.

Gorman flied out. Báez flied out. The lead remained one.

Against extra-inning rules, that is always thin.

The Giants answered immediately.

With Turner Hill placed at second, the Cardinals intentionally walked Devers. Eldridge then singled to center, scoring Hill and tying the game, 4-4. Jonah Cox followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving Devers to third and Eldridge to second. Jung Hoo Lee was intentionally walked, loading the bases with one out.

San Francisco had the winning run 90 feet away.

The Cardinals found a way out.

Drew Gilbert grounded into a catcher-to-first double play, with Devers out at the plate. It was the kind of escape that should have given St. Louis a second chance to steal the game.

The Cardinals did get that chance.

They did not take it.

In the top of the 11th, Báez began the inning at second. Saggese flied out to deep center, moving Báez to third with one out. That put the go-ahead run 90 feet away.

Church grounded out to the catcher.

César Prieto walked as a pinch-hitter for Riley O’Brien and stole second, putting two runners in scoring position. Fermín then grounded out to shortstop, ending the inning.

That was the game sitting there.

A fly ball might have been enough.

A ball through the infield might have been enough.

The Cardinals got neither.

The Giants did not miss their chance in the bottom half.

Furman began the inning at second. Drew Cavanaugh moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt. Whitcomb then reached on an infield single to shortstop, and Furman scored the winning run.

San Francisco won, 5-4.

For the Cardinals, the frustration is obvious.

They trailed 3-0 and came back. They tied the game in the ninth. They took the lead in the 10th. They escaped a bases-loaded threat in the bottom of the 10th. They had the go-ahead run at third with one out in the 11th.

They still lost.

That is a hard one to carry.

The Cardinals finished with four runs on nine hits and committed one error. The Giants had five runs on 10 hits and did not commit an error. San Francisco’s biggest advantage came in the moments when the ball had to be put in play.

Eldridge drove in three runs.

Devers kept creating traffic.

Whitcomb delivered the final swing.

For St. Louis, Burleson homered and drove in a run. Church doubled and drove in a run. Fermín tied the game with a sacrifice fly. Bernal put the Cardinals ahead in the 10th. Saggese had two hits. Báez scored twice. Walker moved Burleson over in the 10th.

There were useful moments.

There was not a complete finish.

That is where this loss sits.

The Cardinals have been playing better baseball. The road trip has shown that. They went into Los Angeles and took a series from the Dodgers. They went to Colorado and took a series from the Rockies. They are getting real contributions from young players. Bernal, Báez, Saggese, Church and others have given September some life.

But the standings do not reward almost.

They reward wins.

Monday night was a chance to start this series the right way against a Giants club well out of contention. It was a chance to climb above .500 again. It was a chance to take advantage of the softer part of the schedule before the final push.

Instead, the Cardinals dropped another one-run game.

That is the part that has followed this team all season.

Good enough to hang around.

Not always good enough to finish.

McGreevy gave them a chance. The bullpen kept them alive. The offense found a way back. Bernal put them ahead.

Then the game slipped away in extras.

The Cardinals still have two more games in San Francisco, and they still have a chance to win the series. But after fighting all the way back Monday night, this opener felt like one they had done enough to steal.

They did not.

The Giants beat the Cardinals, 5-4, in 11 innings.

St. Louis is back below .500.

And the climb, once again, gets a little steeper.

The Cardinal Chronicle
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