SAN FRANCISCO — The next-to-last game of the season for the Cardinals played out the way far too many of the first 160 games went.
Their offense had a lot of chances but couldn’t get the hit that might have made the difference. And with no margin for error, a miscue cost them as they lost to the Giants on Saturday in San Francisco.
With the game tied at 5 in the eighth inning, Matthew Liberatore’s wild throw to first on a bunt attempt went down the right field line, allowing a runner to score from first base with the go-ahead run.
Before that, the Cardinals had 16 at-bats with a runner in scoring position and despite getting four hits in those situations, they also left 14 runners on base.
Their biggest miss came in the seventh inning, when they scored three runs to come back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game but had the bases loaded with one out and couldn’t score.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
At the plate: Paul Goldschmidt and Brendan Donovan each had three hits and drove in two runs. Goldschmidt hit only his second sacrifice fly of the season in the first inning, then doubled twice and singled … In the seventh, Jordan Walker’s RBI single capped the rally that tied the game but after Pedro Pages walked to load the bases, Michael Siani struck out for the third time in the game and Masyn Winn flied out … Winn had a single, walked and scored twice.
On the mound: Andre Pallante worked the first five innings, allowing four runs, three earned, and finished the season with a 3.78 ERA … Chris Roycroft had to come out of the game after he was hit by a line drive on the back of his shoulder … Liberatore also was hit by a comebacker, off his leg, and couldn’t make the play that put the go-ahead runner on base before Brett Wisely’s bunt led to that run scoring in the eighth.
Key stat: It has been a tough month for Siani, who walked and went 0-of-3 with the three strikeouts. That left him 8-of-62, a .129 average, with 22 strikeouts this month.
Worth noting: Winn picked up a hit before Saturday’s game began, thanks to a chance in scoring from the game on Thursday in Colorado when a play originally scored as an error was changed to a double … Going into the last game of the year Donovan leads the Cardinals with 161 hits while Nolan Arenado has 157 and Winn 156.
Looking ahead: Michael McGreevy will get the start in the final game, which begins at 2:05 p.m. St. Louis time.