Junis flourishes, SF Giants offense sputters, squanders opportunities against Cardinals

Jakob Junis made his second start (fourth total appearance) for the SF Giants, with both of them coming against the St. Louis Cardinals, this time at Busch Stadium. While the final score does not indicate it, Junis pitched well against the Cardinals on Saturday. He set a season high in pitches (91), innings pitched (5.2), and hits (6) while setting a season low in strikeouts (3), and giving up just two earned runs.

Junis flourishes, SF Giants offense sputters, squanders opportunities against Cardinals

Early, as mentioned, the Cardinals did not do much. Brendan Donovan had an RBI double in the second inning after Yadier Molina scorched a long double off the wall, just missing a home run. The next eventful inning for St. Louis was the bottom of the fifth when Tommy Edman hit a solo home run off of Junis, his fourth.

For the Giants, they had plenty of chances to score. In the top of the fifth Joey Bart and Brandon Belt both reached base with only one out before Joc Pederson grounded into a fielder's choice and then was caught stealing the next batter after a heads-up play by Molina behind the plate.

In the seventh, Donovan Walton, acquired from the Mariners earlier in the week, recorded his first hit as a Giant, which was a hustle-double. Bart, who had good at bats all day, walked, and then LaMonte Wade Jr. singled all with one out in the inning. Ryan Helsley came into the game for St. Louis to face Belt, who forced a 3-1 count, and eventually grounded into a double play to end another opportunity

In total, the SF Giants left 10 total runners on base.

After the Cardinals were able to muster the early couple of runs, the Giants were unable to catch up, allowing St. Louis to eventually pull away. After reliever John Brebbia pitched out of a jam in the sixth inning, Austin Slater lost a fly ball in the sun that would've ended the inning in the seventh, allowing Edmundo Sosa to score, and later a Nolan Arrenado double plated Sosa, making it 4-0, which turned out to be the final score. The SF Giants' six-game win streak is over, falling to 20-13 on the season, while the Cardinals snap their brief two-game losing streak, improving to 18-15.

Pitching lines for the Giants today:

Junis (L, 1-1) 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 K, 1.74 ERA
Brebbia, 1.1IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 K, 2.35 ERA
Camilo Doval, 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1K, 2.63 ERA.

Notable batting lines from today:

Wade Jr, 2-5, .353 AVG
Belt, 2-4, .263 AVG
Bart, 1-2, 1 BB, .177 AVG
Wilmer Flores (pinch-hit for Bart in the ninth), 1-1, .267 AVG

Up next for the SF Giants, they conclude the season series against the Cardinals on Sunday Night Baseball, with Carlos Rodon (4-1, 1.80 ERA, 53 K) scheduled to face off against Adam Wainwright (3-3, 3.18 ERA, 28 K) with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 PST.