Quinn Mathews pitched effectively into the seventh inning and another St. Louis Cardinals rookie, catcher Leo Bernal, contributed three hits and an RBI on Monday night in a 2-1 victory against the San Francisco Giants.
Alec Burleson added a go-ahead single in the fifth, and the Cardinals bullpen pitched out of jams in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to help St. Louis (75-76) win for the third time in four games.
Mathews, a left-hander making his seventh career start, allowed a run, four hits and two walks, along with a season-best eight strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 3.62.
Mathews (2-3) exited in the seventh with the bases loaded having logged 99 pitches, and San Francisco’s Grant McCray grounded to short against left-hander Justin Bruihl.
Mathews has been effective in six of his seven appearances; his start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 22, when he allowed seven runs, was the exception.
Right-hander Ryne Stanek stranded two runners of his own in the eighth, and closer Riley O’Brien picked up his 37th save after issuing a single, a walk and a wild pitch to move both into scoring position in the ninth.
The Giants (62-89) went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and have dropped four in a row.
With one out in the fifth, Thomas Saggese singled and stole second base, and Ivan Herrera walked against Landen Roupp.
Burleson lined the first pitch from left-hander Reiver Sanmartin to right for an RBI single to break a scoreless tie. The day before against the White Sox, Burleson also connected for a big hit against a left-handed pitcher.
A wild pitch moved Burleson to second and, after Jordan Walker drew a walk, Bernal lined an RBI single to right for a 2-0 lead. He has 14 RBIs in 13 games since being promoted from Triple-A Memphis.
Roupp (9-14) allowed two runs, five hits and three walks to go with four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.
Mathews allowed a walk in the third and no hits until the sixth before McCray led off with a double. Jonah Cox drove him in with a one-out RBI single.