ST. LOUIS — Harrison Bader put St. Louis ahead with a checked-swing single off the glove of Giants first basemen LaMonte Wade Jr. in the seventh inning, and the Cardinals went on to a 2-1 victory over San Francisco on Sunday.
The Cardinals won the season series, taking two out of three against the Giants in both series against them.
Matt Carpenter hooked a ground-rule double down the right-field line off former teammate John Brebbia (0-1) in the seventh. José Rondón was brought in to pinch-run, and he advanced to third on a flyout by Paul DeJong. With the infield in, Bader hit a grounder that deflected off Wade’s glove, scoring Rondón.
Bader is now 6 for 14 over his last five games.
DeJong opened the scoring in the third when he hit an 0-1 changeup into the left-field seats. The home run for DeJong was his third in his last five games.
That was the only damage Giants starter Johnny Cueto would allow. Cueto pitched five innings, allowing one run on two hits, walking one and striking out five. Cueto bounced back after allowing four runs and nine hits in his last start against St. Louis, a 6-5 loss in San Francisco.
The Giants tied the game in the top of the fourth when Darin Ruf hit a curveball over the left-field wall against Cardinals starter Wade LeBlanc for his 10th home run of the season. It was Ruf’s second homer in his last four games against the Cardinals.
That was all the scoring the Giants could muster. St. Louis relievers Ryan Helsley, Génesis Cabrera (2-3), Giovanny Gallegos and Alex Reyes threw four scoreless innings. Reyes got the final three outs for his 22nd save in 22 chances.
LeBlanc threw five-plus innings, allowing five hits, walking one and striking out three.
The Giants left the bases loaded in the first and sixth innings.
STREAK
Paul Goldschmidt singled to left in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. It’s the longest streak by any Cardinal this season.
MILESTONE
Cueto eclipsed 2,000 career innings pitched. He is eighth among active pitchers in innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: SS Brandon Crawford (hamstring cramping) returned to the starting lineup after not starting Saturday night. Crawford walked as a pinch-hitter in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Cardinals.
Cardinals: Manager Mike Shildt said RHP Jack Flaherty’s (left oblique strain) bullpen session went well and he is progressing. Shildt also said management was discussing whether RHP Miles Mikolas (right forearm tightness) will need to throw one more bullpen session in St. Louis or go on a minor league assignment for rehab.
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Kevin Gausman (9-3, 1.73 ERA) will face RHP Tony Gonsolin (1-0, 2.13) and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday to open a four-game series in Los Angeles. Gausman is 1-3 in six career starts against the Dodgers.
Cardinals: RHP Jake Woodford (1-1, 4.62) will start against RHP Alec Mills (4-2, 4.84) and the Chicago Cubs for the start of a four-game series Monday night in St. Louis. After three relief appearances versus Chicago, Woodford will be making his first career start against the Cubs.
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports