Alex Cobb's shutout carries SF Giants to 4-0 victory over Cardinals
The SF Giants have their first winning streak of the season after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 at Oracle Park on Monday night. While the Giants offense wasted multiple fantastic chances to score runs early, starting pitcher Alex Cobb picked up the slack with his best outing in over a decade. Only in need of a run, San Francisco's lineup delivered a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning that proved to be enough. The Giants are now 9-13 on the season.
SF Giants starter Alex Cobb throws a pitch against the Cardinals on April 24, 2023.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
In an era of Major League Baseball defined by the strikeout, Cobb showed a starter does not need swing-and-miss stuff to deliver a masterful outing. While the veteran righty only induced four swinging strikes over his nine innings of work, the Cardinals were rarely ever to generate solid contact. He allowed just six hits and a walk with four strikeouts en route to his second career shutout and first since 2012.
Cobb needed just 28 pitches to get through three perfect innings to start his outing, and did not allow a baserunner until Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt lined a double to the right-field corner with one out in the fourth.
The Cardinals best opportunity to score came when they loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning, but even that rally only came on an infield single and a soft grounder down the third-base line that only got through the infield because of a shift. With two outs in the inning, Davis made an excellent play on a ground ball by Lars Nootbar to help Cobb escape the jam unscathed.
The Giants offense welcomed back a pair of key right-handed bats on Monday, activating Austin Slater and Mitch Haniger from the injured list. In the lineup against Cardinals left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery, it looked like the pair would help get the Giants on the scoreboard early. Slater led off the game with a single, Haniger walked two batters later, and J.D. Davis followed them up with a single to load the bases with one out. However, Michael Conforto fouled out and Wilmer Flores struck out swinging, stranding the bases loaded.
While Cobb was a master of efficiency, Montgomery was constantly working around baserunners in the early going. He threw 31 pitches in the first inning and had thrown 78 by the end of the fourth inning. Yet, despite allowing a runner into scoring position on three occasions, he did not allow a run to score across six innings pitched.
Mike Yastrzemski reached on an error by Tommy Edman to lead off the seventh inning, he was the last hitter Montgomery faced. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol turned to righty Drew VerHagen. Even without the platoon advantage, catcher Joey Bart lined a double down the right-field line.
Bart appeared to be in some discomfort running the bases on the play, and manager Gabe Kapler had a prolonged conversation with him at second base following the play. Kapler opted to remove Bart from the game, replacing him with a pinch-runner. Bart revealed after the game he was dealing with some right groin tightness.
Kapler had Joc Pederson pinch-hit for Slater, but Marmol countered by walking the lefty to load the bases. VerHagen would have to face Thairo Estrada, Haniger, and Davis. He struck out Estrada, but Haniger hit a sacrifice fly to right field that gave the Giants a 1-0 lead before Davis connected with a 2-0 cutter for a three-run home run. It was Davis' team-leading fifth home run of the season.
Now pitching with a lead, Cobb kept attacking the zone against St. Louis' lineup. Nootbar hit a high fly ball to left-center field with one out in the eighth. Haniger flinched in anticipation of an oncoming Yastrzemski from center field and the ball bounced between them. Communication errors are not surprising with Haniger new to the team's outfield, but it probably turned an out into a double. Cobb, though, remained unphased, inducing a groundout from Goldschmidt before striking out Nolan Gorman to end the inning.
While Cobb's pitch count reached triple digits in the ninth inning, he retired all three Cardinals he faced, striking out Tyler O'Neill to end the game. After the loss, St. Louis falls to 8-14 on the season.
The SF Giants will host the Cardinals for the second game of their four-game series on Tuesday, first pitch is scheduled for 6:45 PM Pacific. The Giants have yet to announce a starting pitcher, although Jakob Junis seems like the most likely candidate. Whoever gets the start will face off against Jake Woodford.
