If just one thing went a different way, Paul Goldschmidt might have gone to bed knowing he’d provided the biggest hit of the night and helped lift the Cardinals to a series-opening win over the San Francisco Giants — a club he’s been a one-man wrecking crew against his entire career.
Instead, the inherently cruel nature of baseball left the National League’s reigning MVP lamenting the outcome of his last at-bat which also ended up being the final at-bat of the Cardinals 4-3 loss to the Giants at Busch Stadium on Monday night.
His sharply-hit one-hopper back to the pitcher for the final out of the ninth inning put the finishing touches on a third consecutive loss, the 16th one-run loss of the season for the Cardinals.