ST. LOUIS — In a vacuum, the Giants had an acceptable road trip. They dropped the rubber match to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday at Busch Stadium, but with a sweep of the Colorado Rockies , they'll fly home with four wins to two losses. The Giants do not exist in a vacuum. With 19 games remaining, with a record of 72-71, they're at a juncture where acceptable is not enough. They had an opportunity in St. Louis to inch closer to that final NL wild card spot, but Saturday's walk-off loss combined with Sunday's 4-3 loss leaves them four games behind the New York Mets. Now, they enter their most important home stand of the season. Three games against the surging Arizona Diamondbacks, who are making

Kai-Wei Teng vs. Sonny Gray

It was only a matter of time for Justin Verlander. The San Francisco Giants pitcher was going to reach No. 8 on the all-time strikeout list, knocking a Bay Area legend down a peg on the list. Verlander (3-10) absorbed a no-decision on Saturday against St. Louis, a game the Giants eventually lost and needed to win as they remained four games out of the National League Wild Card playoffs' final spot. When the game ended, he had 3,536 strikeouts, which moved him to No. 8 on the all-time list.

The San Francisco Giants weren't able to overcome a four-run fifth inning from the St. Louis Cardinals in Sunday's loss.

After cooling down for a night, the San Francisco Giants will try to restart their offense when they close their weekend road series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. The Giants (72-70) had won five straight games and 11 of 12 before squandering a ninth-inning lead in their 3-2 loss on Saturday night.

The Arizona Diamondbacks look to stay alive in the National League wild-card race. They hit the road for six games from Sept. 8-14.

Another week of Giants baseball is wrapping up. What do Giants fans think was the highlight of the week?

The Chicago Cubs could have used some of the offense from Friday's game in their 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs (81-61) blew out the Nats on Friday to get a little closer to their goal of claiming a playoff berth. But, on Saturday, the Cubs scored just one run in a 2-1 loss, courtesy of a Carson Kelly RBI groundout. Chicago can't put it on starting pitcher Matthew Boyd, as he allowed seven hits and two earned runs in seven innings. The Cubs were just unable to get much going offensively. As a result, Chicago was reliant on others to help its magic number to claim a playoff berth. Cubs Magic Number to Clinch Playoff Berth Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Entering

San Francisco Giants (72-70, third in the NL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (71-72, fourth in the NL Central) St. Louis; Sunday, 2:15 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Kai-Wei Teng (2-3, 7.23 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 20 strikeouts); Cardinals: Sonny Gray (12-8, 4.43 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 173 strikeouts) BOTTOM LINE: Both the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday. St. Louis has a 71-72 record overall and a 40-34 record in home games. The Cardinals have a 27-10 record in games when they hit two or more home runs. San Francisco has a 72-70 record overall and a 37-36 record on the road. The Giants are 47-24 in games when they record eight or more

San Francisco Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo extended his hot streak with another multihit performance, his third in a row, in a 3-2 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday. Lee started as leadoff hitter and center fielder and went 2-for-4 at the plate. In his first at-bat, Lee reached base on a fielder's error.

Justin Verlander pitched a historic game, but the Giants lost 3-2 as the Cardinals rallied for a ninth-inning win.

The St. Louis Cardinals staged a dramatic ninth-inning comeback to defeat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 at Busch Stadium on Saturday, with Jordan Walker delivering a walk-off, two-run double that ended a three-run frame. The win improves the Cardinals' record to 70-72, placing them fourth in the NL Central, while the Giants fall to 72-70, remaining in third place in the NL West. The game was largely a pitcher's duel for the first eight innings. Cardinals starter Andre Pallante allowed two runs on five hits over six innings, striking out three and walking one.

Jordan Walker snapped a 0-for-25 slump with a walk-off two-run double to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Saturday night. The Cardinals (71-72) trailed 2-0 going into the ninth inning before scoring three times against Giants closer Ryan Walker (5-5). Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn hit singles to start for St. Louis, then Jimmy Crooks was hit by a pitch.

The Giants lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Saturday night at Busch Stadium as closer Ryan Walker allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth without recording an out, ending San Francisco's winning streak at five games. Nolan Gorman and Mason Wynn led off the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back singles, then Walker loaded the bases by plunking Jimmy Crooks.

CINCINNATI — The New York Mets knew their rookie pitchers would get tested this month. The first test for Jonah Tong came Saturday night in his second big league start. In the thick of a playoff race, the Cincinnati Reds let the Mets and rookie righty Jonah Tong know that they aren’t going down without a fight. The Reds crushed three home runs off Tong to take the second game of a three-game ...

Justin Verlander vs. Andre Pallante.

The Giants' heartbreaking collapse in their 3-2 loss to the St, Louis Cardinals highlighted a fatal roster flaw as San Francisco chases a playoff bid.

It’s bleak out there for the Cincinnati Reds, again. They’ve lost 3 in a row. They’ve gone just 2-8 in their last 10 games, and just 3-11 over their last 14. They’re playing the New York Mets – the team who occupies the playoff spot they’re chasing – and lost to them at home in […]

Yankees' play-by-play announcer gets brutally honest about struggling reliever

While the streaking San Francisco Giants climbed back into the playoff race, pitcher Justin Verlander added to his Hall of Fame credentials. Verlander (3-10, 4.29 ERA) will be back at it Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series at St. Louis. The Giants (72-69) won 8-2 Friday night for their fifth victory in a row and their 11th win in 12 games. The Cardinals (70-72) fell 6 1/2 games behind the Mets and Padres.