BOX SCORE
ST. LOUIS ? The Giants were nine outs away from doing something they hadn?t done in 70 years.
They were in the process of getting shut out in both ends of a doubleheader Saturday night. And if Bruce Bochy was frustrated to the point of grabbing a bat, he should know that probably wouldn?t have helped. The last time the Giants were blanked in a twinbill, on July 25, 1943 at Wrigley Field, manager Mel Ott also served as their cleanup man.
Besides, Bochy has enough on his mind without worrying about gearing up for the fastball at his age. A manager?s head is heavy when his club has lost nine of its last 10 on the road, and been outscored 44-8 in the first three innings of those games.
The Giants weren?t shut out after all, you should know. They put a wee dram in the nightcap in the seventh inning when Brandon Belt doubled and Andres Torres singled him home in a 7-1 loss at Busch Stadium.
That run only made the Cardinals? doubleheader sweep the slightest bit less embarrassing.
The Cards outscored the Giants 15-1 over the two games to pad their NL-best record (37-18).
Adam Wainwright tossed his third complete game this season. That?s three more than the Giants have as a staff.
Starting pitching report
Madison Bumgarner fared better in the night game than Matt Cain did in the afternoon, but the left-hander threw one very fat pitch to the wrong hitter in the third inning.
His 1-2 slider to Carlos Beltran was a blob that the dangerous switch hitter poked through the middle for a two-run single. It was one more instance this season of a two-out rally that a Giants starting pitcher just couldn?t seem to snuff out.
If Bumgarner had made a better pitch to Beltran, he might have escaped the third trailing just 1-0. The Cards set up their first run when Pete Kozma walked, pitcher Adam Wainwright doubled and Jon Jay grounded to first baseman Brandon Belt, who threw home. Kozma?s foot found the plate before catcher Guillermo Quiroz could apply the tag, and although Bochy argued, replays showed umpire Scott Barry made the correct call.
Bumgarner ran into more trouble in the sixth, when the Cards went double-single-single-sacrifice fly to score a pair of runs. David Freese?s double started the rally.
Freese, Beltran, Ty Wigginton and Yadier Molina ? the Cardinals? Nos. 2-5 hitters ? were all fresh after resting the first game.
Bumgarner carried the rotation in April, but he hasn?t been pitching at the same level for awhile. He was 1-3 with a 5.17 ERA in five starts in May, and now he?s 0-1 in June.
Bullpen report
Bochy must be trying to earn his firestarter merit badge, because he?s using George Kontos to the point of spontaneous combustion. Kontos appeared in both games and his 30 appearances trail only the Mets? Scott Rice among major league relievers.
At the plate
It was hard to expect a deluge against Wainwright without Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval both missing from the lineup for the first time this season.
Posey played in the first game and Bochy wanted to keep him fresh for Sunday afternoon?s series finale; Sandoval was expected to miss the entire weekend because of a strained foot.
Wainwright struck out 10 and didn?t walk a batter while throwing his 14th career complete game. He needed just 106 pitches to do it.
The Giants coaxed eight hits but couldn?t group them together. The hardest contact all game was Bumgarner?s ripped shot off the wall in right field. He appeared to trot out of the box, ended up with a single and appeared to get a talking-to from first base coach Roberto Kelly.
In field
Center fielder Gregor Blanco left his feet while making a diving grab of Wigginton?s drive in the second inning.
Freese made the game?s most impressive play, though, when the third baseman?s full-extension dive down the line gobbled up Marco Scutaro?s grounder and then he threw across the diamond in time for the out.
Attendance
The Cardinals announced 42,175 paid ? officially, 184 fewer tickets sold than Game 1. But the stands were actually full for the nightcap, which started at the scheduled time under fair skies.
Up next
The Giants and Cardinals complete their three-game series on Sunday. Chad Gaudin 0-1, 2.05 ERA) will make his first major league start since 2009. He?ll be opposed by rookie left-hander Tyler Lyons (2-0, 1.29). First pitch is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. PDT.
Source: http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/andrew-baggarly/instant-replay-giants-swept-day-night-doubleheader
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