By winning Tuesday night, the Giants clinched their first series win in St. Louis in six years. A few hours later, they decided to get greedy.
Mike Yastrzemski tied the game with a two-out, two-strike homer Wednesday in the top of the ninth, and the Giants finished off an 8-5 win over the Cardinals, getting their first sweep in St. Louis since 1998.
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Yastrzemski's stunner was followed by a productive stretch in the 10th. Thairo Estrada drove in the free runner with a single, then stole second and scored on Wilmer Flores' single. LaMonte Wade Jr.'s single added another insurance run.
The Giants scored double-digit runs three times in their previous five road games and looked headed there again in the first. They opened the day with four singles and a walk but scored just a pair of runs off Cardinals pitcher Jordan Montgomery, who ended up getting through 6 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals struck back in the second, taking the lead on a grand slam from No. 9 hitter Tommy Edman. They held that lead until the ninth, when Wade drew a leadoff walk and Yastrzemski stunned the Cardinals. Giovanny Gallegos tried to go in with a fastball but leaked it out over the heart of the plate, and Yastrzemski crushed a 417-foot moonshot to right. The blast was his eighth of the year and his sixth career game-tying or go-ahead homer in the ninth or later.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants finished 6-1 this year against the Cardinals, who have been the most disappointing team in baseball.
Matos Mania
Luis Matos didn't waste any time, smacking the second pitch he saw into left for his first big league hit. In his highly anticipated debut, the center fielder went 1-for-3, lining out in his next two at-bats. With a runner on in the seventh, Michael Conforto pinch-hit for Matos and grounded out to short.
Matos became the youngest Giant to debut since a 20-year-old Madison Bumgarner in 2008. Bumgarner also was 20 when he picked up his first big league hit the next season, so you have to go back to Conor Gillaspie in 2008 to find the last Giants position player this young to get a hit in the big leagues.
Not DeSclafani's Day
The struggles continued for Anthony DeSclafani, who had no command Wednesday and was pulled after just three innings. DeSclafani was charged with five earned on seven hits, with the big blow being the grand slam from Edman in the second inning.
The slam was just the third allowed by the right-hander in his career, with two coming against the Cardinals. Following three straight singles, DeSclafani left a fastball across the plate and Edman yanked it down the line.
After throwing eight shutout innings in Houston on May 2, DeSclafani had a 2.13 ERA. In eight starts since, he has allowed about five innings per outing and posted a 6.31 ERA.
The Giants right now have just two reliable starters --- Logan Webb and Alex Cobb -- although they do expect to get Alex Wood back this weekend in Los Angeles.
Surprise!
Gabe Kapler pushed his chips into the middle in the seventh, sending Joc Pederson and Conforto up against Jordan Hicks after the Giants had gotten within a couple of runs. Pederson has been scorching hot, but he swung through a 99-mph fastball at the letters.
In the bottom of the inning, Pederson played left since he had hit for left fielder Austin Slater. It was his first time in the field this season after being a designated hitter or pinch-hitter in his previous 32 appearances this season. Pederson didn't even play much outfield in the spring, although he did start in center for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic.