Flaherty dazzles as Cards blank Giants 1-0

[September 04, 2019]  Jack Flaherty threw eight scoreless innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals won for the 20th time in their last 25 games while the Giants have lost seven of their last eight games and 11 of their last 14.

Flaherty (9-7) allowed just two baserunners: Stephen Vogt on a second-inning walk and Mike Yastrzemski with a single with two outs in the sixth.

Flaherty continued the success he enjoyed in August, when he earned National League Pitcher of the Month honors. He went 4-1 with a 0.71 ERA in six starts last month, holding opponents to 19 hits while striking out 47 batters in 38 innings.

Reliever Carlos Martinez, pitching for the fourth straight day, closed out the Giants in the ninth inning to earn his 18th save.

Giants starting pitcher Dereck Rodriguez (5-8) also pitched well, allowing only Marcell Ozuna's solo homer among five hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked one.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with two out in the first inning when Paul Goldschmidt walked and Ozuna and Paul DeJong reached on infield singles. But Rodriguez coaxed an inning-ending flyout from Yadier Molina to strand the runners.

The game remained scoreless until the sixth, when Ozuna hit his 25th homer -- the second time in his career he has reached 25 home runs in a season. Ozuna had gone six straight games without an RBI and was 0-for-19 in his five previous games.

On the roster front, both teams made additions before the game. The Giants claimed infielder Corban Joseph off waivers from the Oakland A's and placed him on the active roster.

Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (22) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Joseph replaced Pablo Sandoval on the 40-man roster, with Sandoval moving to the 60-day injured list as he is headed toward Tommy John surgery. Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Joseph could fill in at third base this month when Evan Longoria needs a break.

The Cardinals promoted outfielder Randy Arozarena to the active roster from Triple-A Memphis.

--Field Level Media

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