Cardinals 2, Giants 1
ST. LOUIS -- On a day where they put one outfielder on the disabled list and may have lost another one with an injury, the St. Louis Cardinals found a different way to win.
First baseman Mark Reynolds broke a tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a fielder's choice bouncer Monday night as St. Louis eked out a 2-1 verdict over the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium.
Right fielder Stephen Piscotty lined a one-out triple off reliever Hunter Strickland (2-2), followed by an intentional walk to left fielder Brandon Moss. Reynolds chopped a 2-2 pitch to shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Eschewing a toss to second baseman Kelby Tomlinson for the force at second, Crawford ran to second, tagged it and then spun around to throw to first hoping to complete an inning-ending double play. His throw sailed wide of the bag as Piscotty scored the go-ahead run.
Kevin Siegrist (4-0) pitched a clean eighth to earn the win for the Cardinals (76-42), and closer Trevor Rosenthal picked up his 37th save in 39 opportunities, retiring pinch-hitter Buster Posey for the final out on a fly ball that center fielder Peter Bourjos chased down at the wall.
St. Louis moved six games ahead of Pittsburgh, a 4-1 loser to Arizona, in the National League Central, despite losing center fielder Jason Heyward before the third inning with left hamstring tightness. Earlier in the day, the Cardinals placed outfielder Randal Grichuk on the 15-day disabled list.
San Francisco (64-54), which tied the game in the sixth on Crawford's two-out RBI double, fell three games behind the idle Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and four games in back of the Chicago Cubs for the second wild-card spot.
St. Louis broke the scoring seal in the bottom of the fourth when catcher Yadier Molina blasted his third homer, a 403-foot shot that reached the third deck in left field. It was Molina's first homer since June 19 in Philadelphia.
The Cardinals had a chance to score more runs in that inning, but San Francisco starter Chris Heston fanned second baseman Kolten Wong for the third out after walking the bases loaded.
The Giants' best scoring chance in the first five innings came in the third when they had runners at the corners with one out, but center fielder Gregor Blanco fouled out on a bunt attempt and third baseman Matt Duffy bounced out to third.
NOTES: St. Louis OF Randal Grichuk (right elbow) was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday after leaving Sunday's game before the eighth inning. Grichuk is batting .284 with 15 homers and 44 RBIs in 85 games. ... The Cardinals recalled OF Tommy Pham from Triple-A Memphis to replace Grichuk. Pham appeared in 13 games for St. Louis last month, batting .182 and socking his first homer. ... San Francisco activated C Andrew Susac (right thumb) from the 15-day DL and inserted him into the lineup to give Buster Posey a night off. The Giants optioned C Hector Sanchez to Triple-A Sacramento.