Early offensive onslaught by Cardinals dooms SF Giants as St. Louis wins series finale

Carlos Rodón had a start to forget Sunday in primetime against the St. Louis Cardinals. Rodon before tonight had given up seven total earned runs in his previous six starts. Tonight alone he allowed eight earned runs, 10 hits, and only struck out three in his shortest outing of the year (3.2 innings).

Early offensive onslaught by Cardinals dooms SF Giants as St. Louis wins series finale

The SF Giants' offensive sputter continued from Saturday's game, amassing just seven hits Sunday. The Cardinals, on the other hand, seem to be getting hot at the right time, much to the dismay of the Giants pitchers. Unlike Saturday's game, St. Louis came out very strong. A Tommy Edman single was followed by a two-run home run by Paul Goldschmidt, his fourth. Next came a single by Juan Yepez, a double by Albert Pujols, and a Yadier Molina single to make it 4-0 by the time the first inning finally ended.

The third inning was much of the same. Goldschmidt doubled, Yepez walked, and Pujols singled, which made it 5-0 after three. The fourth inning is where the Cardinals pulled far, far away. Harrison Bader singled and stole a base, then Edmundo Sosa drove him in with a single of his own. Goldschmidt doubled again, and then Nolan Arenado hit a two-run home run, his eighth of the year. That made it 9-0 Cardinals. In the fifth, St. Louis scored only two runs via a Pujols walk and a Molina two-run home run, his second. It was 11-0 after 5.

Not all was bleak about this game for San Francisco. Joc Pederson hit a two-run home run, his seventh, off of Adam Wainwright in the top of the sixth inning, which made it 11-2.

The Cardinals added two more runs on a pinch-hit single by Andrew Knizner in the bottom of the sixth to make it 13-2. The Giants scored four runs in the top of the ninth off of Pujols, who came in to get the final three outs. Luis González
hit a three-run home run, his second, followed by a Joey Bart solo home run, his fourth. The Cardinals in the end tallied two more runs, winning the game by a score of 15-6.

The Giants have a brief two game losing streak, and their record is now 20-14. After play Sunday they now fall a game and a half behind both the Padres and Dodgers, who won their respective games today.

Up next for San Francisco, they travel to Colorado and begin a three game series against the Rockies. First pitch for Monday's game is at 5:40 PST, with Alex Wood (3-2, 3.60 ERA) scheduled to pitch for the Giants.

Pitching lines for the Giants today

Rodon (L, 4-2) 3.2 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 3 K, 3.49 ERA
Zack Littell 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 5.54 ERA
Yunior Marte 1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R (2 ER), 7.71 ERA
Gonzalez (who came in from left field) 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0.00 ERA

Notable batting lines from today:

Pederson, 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, .244 AVG
Wilmer Flores, 1-4, .266 AVG
Gonzalez, 2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .349 AVG
Bart, 1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .185 AVG