A day that started with so many promises ended on a frustrating note for Kevin Gausman, who led a no-hitter game into the top of the seventh inning, but eventually found himself on the losing end of a pitching duel after the San Francisco Giants were defeated by a score of 5-3 by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of the series, today Monday afternoon at Oracle Park.
Right-hander Gausman, a day after winning the first All-Star pick of his career, did not allow a hit in his first six innings before his attempt at history was interrupted by the veteran Giants tormentor and former star of the Giants. Rockies, Nolan Arenado, who singled to left field with one out to spark a two-run rally for the Cardinals in the seventh:
Gausman received a standing ovation from the crowd for his effort, but lost his shutout three batters later after allowing a two-run, two-out triple to veteran Matt Carpenter. With runners on first and second, Carpenter hit a 2-2 fastball off the wall in left-center field to break a scoreless tie and give St. Louis a 2-0 lead.
Austin Slater seemed to think Carpenter’s attack was headed over the fence and slowed down when he hit the wall, allowing the ball to pass him in center field and result in a triple for Carpenter.
Gausman left after allowing two runs and three hits while walking two and struck out eight in seven innings. Despite working on the longest no-hitter of his career, Gausman’s ERA rose from 1.68 to just 1.74, a remarkable sign of how dominant he has been for the Giants this year.
The San Francisco bats were unable to reward their latest gem as they had only three hits off of St. Louis’ Korean southpaw Kwang Hyun Kim, who pitched seven scoreless innings to duel 30-year-old Gausman. The Giants finally got on the board after Kim exited the game, when pinch hitter Alex Dickerson came in with a solo home run off Mexican Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos in the eighth.
The Giants made it interesting by scoring two runs to cut the deficit to 5-3 in the ninth, but Cardinals closer Alex Reyes struck out LaMonte Wade Jr. with a runner in the third to end the game.
It may interest you: MLB-Extension-of-Kevin-Gausman-with-Giants-is-not-a-priority-now
Gausman was nearly untouchable for the first six innings, conceding just a couple of walks and retiring 12 consecutive batters at one point.
.