Lars Nootbaar drove in one run and scored another as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the visiting San Franciso Giants 4-3 Sunday afternoon.
The Cardinals (72-72) won for the fourth time in five games while the Giants (72-71) suffered just their third loss in 14 games.
Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (13-8) allowed three runs on two hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six.
Riley O’Brien earned his third save.
Giants starter Kai-Wei Teng (2-4) allowed four runs on three hits and five walks in four innings. He struck out eight.
Gray retired the Giants in order through 3 2/3 innings, until Willy Adames drew a fourth-inning walk. Adames stole second, but Gray struck out Dominic Smith to strand him.
The Cardinals threatened in the fourth inning when Nolan Gorman hit a one-out single and Masyn Winn walked. But Teng struck out the next two batters.
St. Louis broke through for a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning. Jordan Walker, Nathan Church and Jose Fermin drew walks to open the frame.
After Nootbaar hit an RBI single, Jose Buto relieved Teng and allowed Ivan Herrera’s RBI single. Gorman walked to force home a run, then another run scored on Winn’s double play grounder.
Gray walked Drew Gilbert and Andrew Knizner starting the sixth inning. With one out Rafael Devers ended Gray’s no-hit bid with an RBI single.
The runners advanced on a passed ball, then Adames walked to reload the bases. Smith’s RBI single knocked Gray out of the game, then Matt Chapman greeted Matt Svanson with an RBI single to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 4-3.
Walker and Church hit one-out singles in the bottom of the inning, but relievers Spencer Bivens and Matt Gage got the Giants out of the inning unscathed.
Wilmer Flores hit a two-out double in the eighth inning and Chapman got an intentional walk, but JoJo Romero struck out Jung Hoo Lee to protect the lead.
