Early homers propel Cardinals past Giants

[July 06, 2019]  Jose Martinez hit the sixth pitch of the game an estimated 433 feet for a home run, and Paul Goldschmidt went ever farther with a Drew Pomeranz offering five pitches later for a two-run shot, sending the St. Louis Cardinals to a 9-4 victory over the host San Francisco Giants on Friday.

Dexter Fowler added a single, a triple and a home run for the Cardinals, who have won three in a row after opening a nine-game Western swing with three losses in four games.

The loss snapped the Giants' four-game winning streak.

The homers by Martinez and Goldschmidt, which sandwiched a single by Paul DeJong, provided right-hander Dakota Hudson (7-4) with an early 3-0 lead, but he couldn't hold it.

The Giants took advantage of three Hudson walks, one to Brandon Crawford with the bases loaded, and an RBI single by Kevin Pillar to slice their deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the first.

A home run by Alex Dickerson, his fourth of the season, leading off the third got the Giants even.

Hot-hitting Tommy Edman broke the tie with an RBI triple in the fourth before Fowler's bat took control of the game.

Fowler contributed a single to a two-run fifth, an RBI triple to a two-run seventh, and his 10th homer of the season, a ninth-inning solo shot, to help the Cardinals gradually pull away.

The three-hit game was Fowler's second of the season to go with a four-hit contest. He finished with two RBIs and three runs.

Cardinals right fielder Jose Martinez (38) rounds the bases on a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Hudson went five innings, allowing three runs and six hits, walking three and striking out six.

Cardinals relievers Giovanny Gallegos and Dominic Leone combined for four innings of one-run relief.

Pomeranz (2-9) was pulled after four innings, charged with four runs and six hits. He walked four and struck out three.

Kolten Wong added three hits, and DeJong and Matt Wieters had two apiece for the Cardinals, who out-hit the Giants 14-7.

Martinez's homer was his eighth of the season, while Goldschmidt's was his 15th of the year.

Dickerson and Buster Posey collected two hits each for the Giants, who were shooting for their first five-game winning streak since May 30-June 4, 2018.

--Field Level Media

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