Goldschmidt a one-man show in Cards' loss to Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- No opposing hitter has ever done more at Oracle Park than reigning National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt, but not even another stellar night from the superstar first baseman could shake the Cardinals from a puzzling freefall that continues to grip the club.

Goldschmidt briefly brought hope to a Cardinals club that has had little of late, homering in his first two at-bats before the sun fully set over McCovey Cove to stake the visitors to an early two-run lead. On his third at-bat, Goldschmidt doubled down the right-field line to move into second place behind only Hank Aaron for extra-base hits among opposing players in San Francisco.

However, by Goldschmidt’s fourth at-bat -- one in which he singled back through the middle -- the Cardinals had already crumbled and faced another daunting deficit. It was clear on this night that no amount of damage done by Goldschmidt could undo another unsightly 7-3 loss to the Giants and another night where the Cardinals didn’t pitch or defend well enough to keep themselves close.

“Obviously, we’re losing and we’re not playing good enough to win and that’s what’s happening,” said Goldschmidt, who came to the plate in the ninth with the bases loaded and needing a third home run to knot the game, but he lined sharply into a double play. “There are no excuses. We’re doing everything we can to play better, but it hasn’t been good enough so far. Each of us is trying to do everything we can to help us win and hopefully it starts tomorrow.”

By the time the night was done, Goldschmidt finished 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and two RBIs. He had half the team’s eight hits on a night where the depth the Cardinals thought they would have from their lineup was missing. Nolan Arenado, a finalist for the NL MVP award that Goldschmidt eventually won last season, went 0-for-4 for a second straight game. He is in a 5-for-40 skid with just one extra-base hit and one walk against 14 strikeouts in the past 10 games.

“We will [get other hitters around Goldschmidt going], but he had a really good day today,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “The guys behind [Goldschmidt] will get going and we’ll be in a good spot. We trust those guys and they’ll get going at the right time.”

The Cardinals' ninth loss in the last 13 games gave them their worst start since 1973 when the franchise opened 5-20. The Cardinals needed 2021 free-agent acquisition Steven Matz to be a stopper on Wednesday, but he was out of the game after just four innings when he let a 2-0 lead slip away and was forced to pitch through traffic in each inning. Matz allowed a fourth two-strike home run on Wednesday, tied for the most in baseball.

“Extremely disappointing because I told myself going in the game that I wanted to go at least seven [innings] today, and I felt like I was right there and then I took a step back today,” said Matz, who held the Giants to two runs despite being forced to scatter six hits, three walks and the home run in four innings. “I’m definitely going to have to address some things and I’m not thrilled about that.”

Goldschmidt gave the Cardinals some early hope with a 109.6 mph laser to left field and a 107.2 mph smash to right-center for solo home runs in his first two at-bats. With hits in his first three at-bats against Anthony DeSclafani, he is 17-for-30 (.567) with 10 extra-base hits and four home runs against the San Francisco righty. That left Giants manager Gabe Kapler shaking his head.

“In some ways you start to game-plan around that one hitter,” Kapler said. “When he comes to the plate, and you have nowhere to put him, like tonight, you just kind of hold your breath that he hits it hard right at somebody, and he did.”

Goldschmidt’s latest performance pushed his career totals at Oracle Park to 15 home runs, 61 RBIs, 26 doubles and 44 extra-base hits -- all MLB highs over the past 23 seasons among all opposing players. Goldschmidt had no answers for his San Francisco success -- much the same with the St. Louis skid.

“I know I’ve played well here over the years and stuff like that is kind of unexplainable like when there are places you struggle or certain pitchers you can’t figure out how to get a hit off,” Goldschmidt said. “I don’t really know how to explain that and I don’t pay much attention to it. For me, every day is a blank slate and I just try to prepare to the best of my ability.”