SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brendan Donovan hit a solo homer in the third and followed it up with an RBI single two innings later and Alec Burleson drove in three runs, leading the St. Louis Cardinals past the San Francisco Giants 6-1 on Sunday. José Fermín hit an RBI single in the sixth as the Cardinals backed rookie righty Michael McGreevy (3-0), who stuck out six with no walks while allowing one run on five hits over eight impressive innings.
Giants rookie right-hander Hayden Birdsong (5-6) struck out 10 of the initial 15 Cardinals hitters and finished with 11 Ks in his 16th start for San Francisco — one off his career high. It marked Birdsong's second career double-digit strikeout game after fanning 12 at Colorado on July 21. He gave way to Taylor Rogers after back-to-back RBI singles by Donovan and Burleson in the fifth.
Burleson also had a two-run single in the sixth. San Francisco finished 80-82 — with one more win than last season's 79 victories — in manager Bob Melvin's first season and with a total home attendance of 2,647,736 over 80 home dates since the Giants hosted a doubleheader. The Giants won the NL West in 2021.
Brett Wisely's seventh-inning RBI single got the Giants on the board. San Francisco third baseman Matt Chapman exited to a warm ovation in the top of the third when replaced on defense by Casey Schmitt. Chapman, who earlier this month received a $151 million, six-year contract for 2025-30, started 153 games this year.
And right fielder Mike Yast.
