ST. LOUIS — Hunter Strickland has solved his home-run problems this season, but last October’s issue bit him in a big spot Wednesday.
Yadier Molina smoked a Strickland curveball into the left-field seats in the eighth inning, giving the Cardinals a 4-3 win. The homer was just the second all season against Strickland.
The Giants dropped two of three to the league’s best team and now go to Pittsburgh for four games against the second-best team.
Matt Cain’s first three innings were filled with rockets, but he escaped with just two runs on the scoreboard. Juan Perez helped in a big way, climbing the wall in center two batters into the game to rob Stephen Piscotty of a solo homer.