|
 "They picked me up big-time," he said. "It's what good teams do.
They pick each other up."
First baseman Michael Morse's two-out, two-run double snapped a 4-4
tie and capped a three-run inning as the Giants upped their MLB-best
record to 35-19 with a 6-5 win at Busch Stadium.
Morse, who belted a 442-foot homer to start his team's scoring in
the second, rifled an 0-1 fastball off closer Trevor Rosenthal to
center field. The ball skipped past a diving Peter Bourjos as center
fielder Angel Pagan and third baseman Pablo Sandoval scored.
It capped another big game for Morse, who's been one of MLB's top
free-agent pickups. Once a skinny minor league shortstop with a good
glove but an inconsistent bat, Morse is hitting a robust .290 with
11 homers and 37 RBIs, putting him on a pace for 111 RBIs at the
season's one-third point.
"Great addition," manager Bruce Bochy said of Morse. "He's been a
run-producing power bat who's stretched out our lineup. That was a
big hit he got off one of the more dominant closers in the game."
Earlier in the eighth, San Francisco evened the game when Bourjos'
strong throw home after Pagan's one-out single off Carlos Martinez
got past three fielders and went to the backstop for an error,
enabling left fielder Gregor Blanco to score.
Martinez (0-3) failed to back up the plate, stopping just in front
of it after third-base coach Tim Flannery held Blanco.
"He was in the wrong spot," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of
Martinez. "Everyone knows that you have to back up the catcher. He
saw the runner being held so he figured he'd stop. It wasn't the
right play."
St. Louis (29-25) touched closer Sergio Romo for a run in the ninth
on a two-out RBI single by third baseman Matt Carpenter, but
pinch-hitter Shane Robinson popped out to third with runners at the
corners as Romo notched his 17th save.
Javier Lopez (1-0) obtained the last two outs of the seventh for the
win. Set-up man Jean Machi pitched a perfect eighth, his 19th
consecutive scoreless appearance.
The Cardinals' eighth-inning meltdown denied starter Jaime Garcia a
second straight win. The left-hander worked seven strong innings,
allowing only five hits and three runs while walking none and
fanning seven.
Garcia left with a 4-3 lead, courtesy of a leadoff homer by first
baseman Allen Craig in the sixth. Craig also touched Vogelsong for a
two-out, ground-rule double in the first that plated Carpenter,
whose leadoff single stretched his hitting streak to 11 games.
[to top of second column] |
Over 6 1/3 innings, Vogelsong gave up seven hits and four runs while
walking three and whiffing five.
"I felt like I had real good stuff, but the few mistakes I made,
they took advantage," he said. "It was kind of a 50-50 night."
Blanco went 3-for-3 with an RBI after entering the game hitting
.188. Sandoval cracked a solo homer in the sixth, making him the
first Giant with an RBI in nine straight games since Barry Bonds did
it from Sept. 4 to Sept. 13, 2000.
While San Francisco savored a comeback win to start a seven-game
road trip, St. Louis lamented one that clearly got away.
"Obviously, it's not the way we designed it," Matheny said. "We got
a good start from Jaime and got him through seven, but we just
couldn't get it done."
NOTES: San Francisco C Buster Posey (lower back) did not start
Thursday night's game against the Cardinals but was available to
pinch hit. That has been a recurring issue for Posey, although he
has played in 49 of the team's first 53 games. ... St. Louis 1B Matt
Adams (left calf) did not start for the second straight game after
feeling tightness on Tuesday night. Adams was able to pinch hit on
Wednesday night in the ninth inning and struck out. ... The Giants
still have not officially announced their starting pitcher for
Saturday's game, although RHP Matt Cain (hamstring) made it through
a bullpen session on Wednesday with no problems.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
