Giants at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals have shown no ill effects of their back-to-back doubleheaders over the weekend and seek another dominant pitching performance when they host the fading San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night. The Cardinals have allowed one run on seven hits combined while winning the first two of the four-game series and own victories in 11 of the last 13 to take control of the National League Central.
Marcell Ozuna snapped an 0-for-19 slump with two hits Tuesday, including a solo homer, and St. Louis gave up just two hits on the way to a 1-0 victory that kept its lead at three games over the second-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central with 24 contests left. Michael Wacha looks to follow up one of his better performances of the season when he takes the mound for the Cardinals on Wednesday and San Francisco hands the ball to former World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner, who won three of four decisions in August and needs one victory to hit double figures for the first time since 2016. Mike Yastrzemski had both hits for the Giants, who have lost seven of the last eight games to fall out of realistic contention for an NL wild card. San Francisco’s Evan Longoria saw his nine-game hitting streak come to an end, but the veteran third baseman is batting .341 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs since the start of July.
TV: 7:45 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (9-8, 3.62 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (6-6, 5.07)
Bumgarner has lost just one decision in his last 13 starts and allowed one run or fewer while completing seven innings in three of his six starts during August. The 30-year-old North Carolina native gave up one run on four hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over seven frames to beat San Diego on Friday. Paul Goldschmidt is 23-for-67 with five doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs versus Bumgarner, who is 4-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 11 career starts against St. Louis.
Wacha will be brought back on three days rest after limiting Cincinnati to two runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts across seven innings of a no-decision Saturday. The 28-year-old Texas A&M product is winless in his last seven trips to the mound and finished five innings just twice during that stretch. Brandon Crawford is 7-for-11 with four doubles against Wacha, who is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six career starts versus San Francisco.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Giants have launched 97 homers on the road and just 54 at home this season.
2. St. Louis C Yadier Molina had a single Tuesday and has hit safely in 10 straight games, going 18-for-39 with four homers.
3. San Francisco INF Donovan Solano sat out Tuesday, but is batting .373 with eight doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs since the All-Star break.