What we learned as Giants waste Gausman’s outing vs. Cards originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
They did the wave at Oracle Park in the eighth inning Monday, and that wasn’t even the worst part of the game.
Kevin Gausman took a no-hitter into the seventh and ended up with nothing to show for it but a tough-luck loss on a very quiet day for the lineup. The Giants started the final homestand of the first half with a 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, continuing a recent trend of lackluster play that was partially obscured by a four-day series with the last place Arizona Diamondbacks.
Gausman was dominating but a couple of singles put two on ahead of Matt Carpenter, the longtime Cardinal who entered the day batting .177 but gave the Cardinals a lead with a two-run triple. They tacked on another run on a rally sparked by bloop singles by longtime Giant-killers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.
Gabe Kapler went with one of his better line changes of the season in the eighth, throwing LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson at good right-hander Giovanny Gallegos in succession. The first two struck out, but Dickerson snuck one into the arcade to get the Giants on the board.
Jimmie Sherfy gave two runs back, and after the Giants briefly rallied against All-Star closer Alex Reyes, the hard-throwing right-hander locked in and closed them out.
Here are three things to know …
Flirting With History
Gausman’s previous long no-hit bid was 4 2/3 innings, but he sailed through the early and middle innings of this one — with some defensive help — and was at just 71 pitches through six no-hit innings.
He got the first out of the seventh, but Arenado somehow fought off a hellacious two-strike splitter to stay alive and then lined a clean single into left when he got another low splitter. Gausman got a huge ovation from a big crowd at Oracle Park, but the mood soon turned sour.
After a strikeout, Tommy Edman reached on an infield single. Carpenter then smoked a fastball 399 feet to left-center, bringing both runners home. Gausman started the inning with a low pitch count and a no-no going, but he ended it with a deficit and the bullpen warming up.
Gausman was charged with two earned on three hits and two walks while striking out eight. His ERA went up a tiny tick to 1.74.
Help From His Friends
Gausman ran into some trouble in the first, walking Paul Goldschmidt and then allowing a deep fly ball to Arenado. But Thairo Estrada, a utility infielder making a rare appearance in the outfield, tracked it well and made a jumping grab at the warning track in left. That was just the start of things to come for the defense.
Donovan Solano robbed Goldschmidt of what would have been a broken-bat single to center in the fourth and Jaylin Davis made a diving grab in right to start a double play that ended the fifth.
Wilmer Flores stepped up in the sixth, making a diving stop to rob Edmundo Sosa of extra bases and get the first out of the inning.
The Other Guy
Through six innings the Giants had just about every hard hit ball in the game, but nothing to show for it against Cardinals lefty Kwang Hyun Kim. They repeatedly pounded hard grounders at Cardinals infielders, including a 111.7 mph grounder from Jaylin Davis that turned into a double play.
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Kim went seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits. This was his first start all year of more than six innings and his first without any runs allowed, although he does have a prior history of this type of big league success. Kim came over from the KBO before last season and posted a 1.62 ERA in eight appearances.
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Source: NBC Bay Area
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