St. Louis pitcher Luke Weaver flirted with perfection Womens Derek Dorsett Jersey , had to overcome a little frustration, and settled for domination.
The Cardinals‘ offense was pretty good, too.
Weaver pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and St. Louis beat the San Francisco Giants 11-2 on Thursday night.
”He was making quality pitches at the top of the zone, down, changeup, breaking ball,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said ”Everything was spot on but he controlled the count with his heater and got a lot of early balls in the air. He was aggressive.”
Weaver (5-7) faced two over the minimum and had seven strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before giving up a single and Hanson’s two-run homer. Weaver then bounced back to retire the final seven batters he faced.
Weaver didn’t allow a hit until Gorkys Hernandez reached on an infield single with one out in the sixth. Gyorko made a diving stop on Hernandez’s sharp liner near third base but the ball popped out of his right hand as he attempted to throw. Hanson followed with his homer.
”As soon as chopped it and Jedd had to dive, I had a feeling there was not going to be a chance to get him,” Weaver said. ”It would have had to have been an incredible slide jump-up throw and I still don’t think he would have got him. It wasn’t a big deal. I was pretty upset about the home run.”
Jedd Gyorko had three hits including a home run and drove in five runs to spoil the return of Johnny Cueto after two months on the disabled list. Matt Carpenter and Harrison Bader also went deep while Yadier Molina singled three times.
The Cardinals had a season-high 18 hits – their most since getting 19 against the New York Mets on Aug. 24, 2016.
Alen Hanson homered for San Francisco. The Giants have scored five runs while losing four straight.
Cueto (3-1) was rocked in his long-awaited return from the 60-day disabled list. He gave up four runs in the first inning – one more than he had in 32 innings before going out with right elbow inflammation.
”Everything was fine except in the first inning when I was trying to be too fine,” Cueto said. ”Instead of just pitching, I was just trying to place the ball in the strike zone. I just have to continue working my way back to where I was.”
WHAT’S THE COUNT?
San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval appeared to draw a two-out walk in the fifth and began trotting to first base before being called back after Matheny noticed there were only three balls. Two pitches later, Sandoval struck out to end a 12-pitch at-bat.
”I whistled and had the umpire stop for a second,” Matheny said. ”At about the same time, the replay called and then they figured it out on the field by the time we needed to come out of the dugout.”
BABY BULL RETURNS
Orlando Cepeda attended the game for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest in February that left the Hall of Famer in critical condition. The Baby Bull was in the parking lot of a gym when he fell and hit his head during the incident. The 80-year-old is one of the most popular players in franchise history.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Dexter Fowler was reinstated from the paternity list before the game. … Tyler O’Neill was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. … RHP Matt Bowman (blister) was activated off the DL and optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
Giants: Manager Bruce Bochy said that RHP Jeff Samardzija will have fewer restrictions than Cueto when he returns from the disabled list to start Saturday’s game. Samardzija hasn’t pitched since May 29 because of shoulder tightness. … INF Kelby Tomlinson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. … RHP Roberto Gomez was released.
UP NEXT
John Gant (2-2, 3.48 ERA) pitches for St. Louis on Friday. The right-hander has had mixed success since rejoining the rotation and allowed four runs in 5 1/3 against Atlanta in his most recent start. RHP Dereck Rodriguez (3-1 3.16) starts for San Francisco.
—
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays needed a solid outing by their bullpen Tuesday night and a not-so-good performance by the New York Mets relievers to eke out an 8-6 victory.
The Blue Jays (40-45) will try to complete a sweep of the two-game interleague set Wednesday when they send out right-hander Marcus Stroman (1-5, 6.02 ERA) at the Rogers Centre. The struggling Mets (33-49) will start right-hander Corey Oswalt (0-1, 9.82), who will be making his second career major league start.
The teams split two games at Citi Field on May 15 and 16.
After trailing 5-0 and 6-1 on Tuesday, the Blue Jays rallied to tie on a three-run homer by Yangervis Solarte in a five-run seventh and won it on a two-run homer by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the eighth.
The Blue Jays will need a solid start from Stroman Aaron Rodgers Jersey , who will be making his third start since returning from the disabled list after being sidelined with inflammation of the right shoulder. It would help a well-used bullpen if he could pitch deep into the game.
They lost their starter Tuesday, right-hander Marco Estrada, after one-third of an inning. After giving up a two-run homer to Asdrubal Cabrera, Estrada made two pitches to the next batter before leaving with a sore left hip. X-rays were negative, but the extent of the injury was not known.
The Blue Jays needed seven relievers to work through the game. There likely will be a roster move before the game on Wednesday. Seunghwan Oh was the only reliever not to pitch for the Blue Jays.
The victory spoiled the return of former Blue Jays star Jose Bautista, who was playing in Toronto for the first time since last season. He received a standing ovation and in five plate appearances, he had three walks and a single. He also committed a two-base error in right field, letting a single get past him in the seventh inning.
The Mets, who have lost 11 of their last 13 games, also had an injury Tuesday. Catcher Devin Mesoraco, who hit a two-run homer in the second inning, left the game in the bottom of the seventh after being hit on the helmet by an errant pitch and by a backswing in consecutive innings. Manager Mickey Callaway said that he had passed concussion protocol so far. Kevin Plawecki took over behind the plate.
Stroman, who experienced shoulder problems in spring training, has come on strong after being on the disabled list from May 9-June 22.
He pitched five runless innings on his return June 23, allowing six hits against the Los Angeles Angels. He came back Friday to hold the Detroit Tigers to two runs (one earned) and four hits over seven innings to earn his first win of the season.
“I’m just back to being myself,” Stroman said. “That wasn’t me earlier in the year, so I’m just happy to be back. Body feels good, I feel in sync. Everything’s coming out very easily.”
Stroman has never faced the Mets. He will, however, be facing a former teammate in Bautista.
Stroman, pitching for the United States, faced Bautista, who was playing for the Dominican Republic, in March, 2017, during the World Baseball Classic. Bautista fouled out and struck out. It was the only time they have faced each other competitively.
“I think I’ve given him too many secrets over the years, it will be interesting,” Bautista said.
Oswalt, in his first career start Friday, allowed six runs and six hits in 2 2/3 innings in an 8-2 loss to the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park.
He was starting on short notice.
Callaway said he was having trouble with his breaking pitches.
“I think that even in the first two innings he didn’t have any of his breaking stuff,” Callaway said after the game. “So, I think they kind of figured out he was struggling with getting that stuff over, so they were just sitting on fastballs and they put a few in play.”
The 24-year-old made 10 starts at Triple-A Las Vegas, going 4-4 with a 5.32 ERA. In four stints with the Mets, he has made two appearances. He made his major league debut April 26 in St. Louis against the Cardinals, allowing two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.