Reyes helps Cardinals salvage split with Giants
SAN FRANCISCO -- Rookie right-hander Alex Reyes combined with two relievers on a five-hitter Sunday afternoon, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants and a split of their four-game series.
Aledmys Diaz smacked a two-run home run off Giants starter Albert Suarez in the third inning, giving St. Louis a lead it would not relinquish en route to its second straight victory.
As a result, the Giants (79-70) and Cardinals (78-71) end the series exactly where they started - with San Francisco holding a one-game advantage in the National League wild-card race with now 13 games to play.
The difference in the wild-card race is the New York Mets (80-69), who swept a three-game interleague series from the Minnesota Twins, have moved into the top wild-card spot ahead of the Giants.
Also, by winning the season series 4-3, the Cardinals would host a one-game tie-breaker should San Francisco and St. Louis finish the regular season even for the second wild-card spot.
Making just his third career start, Reyes (3-1) dominated the Giants, allowing only four hits -- all singles -- in seven innings. He walked two and struck out six.
San Francisco's biggest threat against the 22-year-old was created in part by a throwing error by the pitcher.
With Denard Span on first base and one out in the sixth inning, Reyes fielded a slow roller by Brandon Crawford and threw wildly to first base. The error allowed Span to reach third base and Crawford second.
But with the potential tying runs in scoring position, Reyes struck out Hunter Pence and, after walking Brandon Belt, got Eduardo Nunez to fly to left field.
Left-hander Kevin Siegrist pitched a one-hit eighth inning, and closer Seung Hwan Oh, the winning pitcher Saturday night in a two-inning stint, worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 18th save.
Diaz's homer came on the first pitch after Matt Carpenter had lashed a two-out double into the right-field corner in a scoreless game in the third inning.
The homer was his 16th of the season.
Suarez (3-4) was pulled after five innings, having allowed two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out two.
The Cardinals added an insurance run against the San Francisco bullpen in the eighth.
Kolten Wong led off the inning with a triple off the third Giants' pitcher, left-hander Josh Osich. Pinch-hitter Jhonny Peralta followed with an RBI single off right-hander George Kontos.
Diaz and Yadier Molina had two hits each for the Giants, who improved their best-in-baseball road record to 45-30.
Nunez had two hits for the Giants, who completed a 2-5 homestand.
NOTES: Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced before the game that RHP Santiago Casilla, who blew his ninth save of the season in Saturday's 3-2 loss, would get a "break" from his closer role. Bochy mentioned RHP Derek Law and RHP Hunter Strickland as ninth-inning possibilities going forward. ... With a key three-game road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Monday night, Bochy chose to keep C Buster Posey out of Sunday's starting lineup. ... Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner is scheduled to duel Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw in the opener of the Giants-Dodgers series Monday night. ... Cardinals manager Mike Matheny reported before the game that 1B Matt Adams (jammed wrist), who had to be taken out of Saturday's game, was fine and a candidate for pinch-hitting duties Sunday. ... The Cardinals will send RHP Carlos Martinez to the mound in the opener of their three-game road series against the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.