Cardinals smash four home runs in victory
ST. LOUIS -- Down 4-0 going to the bottom of the fifth, the St. Louis Cardinals wiped out that deficit in a hurry with repeated doses of the long ball.
Stephen Piscotty and Matt Adams belted back-to-back homers to start the sixth -- St. Louis' third and fourth home runs in a nine-batter stretch -- that lifted it to a 7-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday at sold-out Busch Stadium.
Victimized was San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija (7-4), who entered the fifth having allowed only five homers in 80 innings. But Samardzija left the mound after Adams' 397-foot clout to right, saddled with six runs off nine hits in five-plus innings with no walks and two strikeouts.
St. Louis (29-27) tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on Yadier Molina's grounder to third that scored Brandon Moss, who tripled to cap a 3-for-4 game that saw him finish a double shy of the cycle.
Tyler Lyons (1-1) picked up the win with a perfect sixth inning, serving as the leadoff man for a Cardinals bullpen that allowed only one baserunner in four hitless innings. Trevor Rosenthal converted his first save chance since May 18, giving him nine for the year.
St. Louis starter Michael Wacha earned a no-decision after working five innings, allowing six hits and four runs with two walks and four strikeouts.
The Giants (35-23) lost for only the fifth time in their last 23 games.
San Francisco pecked away at Wacha for single runs in four of the first five innings.
Joe Panik doubled down the right-field line to score Denard Span, who led off with a walk, for a 1-0 lead two batters into the game.
An inning later, Samardzija lined an RBI single to right-center field on the first pitch after an intentional walk to No. 8 hitter Jarrett Parker.
Gregor Blanco made it 3-0 in the fourth by lofting a sacrifice fly to left that scored Brandon Crawford, who tripled.
Wacha's wild pitch plated Span in the fifth.
The Cardinals responded in their half of the fifth when Moss lofted his 11th homer of the year over the right-field wall. Pressing the issue with two outs, St. Louis tied it when Aledmys Diaz rifled a 3-0 pitch off the left-field foul pole for a three-run homer, his eighth home run of the season.
NOTES: St. Louis SS Jhonny Peralta (left thumb) is nearing the end of his rehab assignment at Class A Palm Beach. General manager John Mozeliak said Friday that the team plans to activate Peralta on Tuesday night when the Cardinals start a trip in Cincinnati. ... San Francisco's 21 wins in May tied a franchise record for the most in any month since moving from New York in 1958. ... Despite being only two games above .500, St. Louis owns the National League's third-best run differential at plus-51.