Kevin Pillar out-slugs Paul Goldschmidt, Giants take down Cardinals in wild finish

ST. LOUIS — Paul Goldschmidt is a six-time All-Star, a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and one of the most physically imposing hitters in all of baseball.

Kevin Pillar has never made an All-Star team, never received a MVP vote and never been the type of player opponents pitch around.

The Cardinals’ top power-hitter and the Giants’ top power-hitter went head-to-head on Wednesday in St. Louis. If it wasn’t David vs. Goliath, it wasn’t far off.

Goldschmidt had a chance to throw the last punch, but Pillar was the man who landed the final shot. That was the difference in a 9-8 Giants win.

“I’m constantly trying to learn from these guys from afar and he’s a perfect example of a guy I strive to be like,” Pillar said.

With a two-run home run off Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos in the top of the eighth inning, Pillar gave the Giants (67-72) their third different lead of the night. His 440-foot home run landed far beyond the visiting bullpen at Busch Stadium and gave the club hope their losing streak would end at four games.

“Every time I hit one, it’s still special,” Pillar said. “They all feel like my first in some way and I’ve been able to do it a little more frequently this year, but you still get that same feeling.”

Goldschmidt came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth with a runner on third and a chance to tie the game, but he whiffed at a 3-2 slider from Giants closer Will Smith to end the inning.

“That was huge,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

The Giants took a 4-0 lead in the third inning and a 7-4 lead in the sixth, but the first-place Cardinals twice clawed back on the shoulders of Goldschmidt, who has tormented San Francisco throughout his nine-year career.

Goldschmidt’s two-run triple off the glove of Giants rookie right fielder Jaylin Davis –who made his MLB debut Wednesday– in the bottom of the fifth tied the game at 4-4 against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.

Bochy attempted to create a favorable matchup against Goldschmidt in the bottom of the sixth by using submarine-style reliever Tyler Rogers, Goldschmidt crushed the first pitch he saw into the right center field gap for a go-ahead, two-run double.

The first baseman’s heroics appeared destined to carry the Cardinals to a series-clinching win, but Pillar has earned the “Superman” nickname for a reason. After third baseman Evan Longoria singled against reliever Andrew Miller, Pillar extended his career-high with his 21st home run of the season to stun the Cardinals.

Bochy called on Smith to earn a four-out save after fellow left-hander Tony Watson made an incredible defensive play to record the second out of the eighth inning. With a runner on second and one out, Watson picked up a Kolten Wong bunt attempt between the mound and first base and raced toward the foul line.

The reliever made a full-extension diving tag on Wong, who was initially ruled safe at first base. After a 30-second replay, the call was overturned and Watson gave the ball up to Smith.

“That’s one of the better plays I’ve seen,” Bochy said. “You’ve got speed going down the line with how quick he was and he found a way to get an out there and it saved the game probably for us.”

Bochy said Watson went for a X-Ray postgame after landing on his left wrist. The Giants will update Watson’s status on Thursday, but Bochy said he would not have faced Goldschmidt after making such a difficult defensive play.

The Giants’ offensive outburst was a welcome sight for a club that watched Bumgarner struggle on Wednesday. Bumgarner has been one of the best pitchers in the National League since July 1, but he turned in his worst outing in more than two months against the Cardinals.

“Obviously I’d like to make it a little easier on everybody when I go out there, but it don’t always work that way,” Bumgarner said.

Bumgarner’s offense spotted him a 4-0 lead in the third inning, but St. Louis collected six extra-base hits and six runs in five-plus innings. Despite shaky command and fifth-inning struggles, Bumgarner earned a chance to redeem himself in the bottom of the sixth after shortstop Brandon Crawford slugged a two-out, three-run home run to put the Giants on top 7-4.

Crawford’s homer came after Cardinals shortstop made a mind-boggling error when he had an easy throw to first base and instead made an off-line flip to second in an attempt at a force play.

“That was huge,” Crawford said. “We did a good job all night of putting runs across but that turned out to be a pretty big play.”

Bumgarner failed to record an out in the sixth, giving up a leadoff double to catcher Yadier Molina before rookie third baseman Tommy Edman knocked him out of the game with a RBI triple.

The six earned runs Bumgarner allowed matched a season-high, but Bumgarner said it’s much easier to handle a rough outing when his team wins.

“One-thousand times yes,” Bumgarner said. “One-hundred percent.”

After scoring one run in the first 20 innings of their series, the Giants tallied four in the third against Cardinals reliever Tyler Webb. Rookie right fielder Mike Yastrzemski hit his 19th home run of the season to lead off the inning and brought home three more runs on a wild pitch and a pair of singles.

Pillar picked up the first of his three RBIs on Wednesday with a single into left field before second baseman Corban Joseph recorded his first career hit as a Giant. The newcomer extended the Giants’ lead to 4-0 with a line drive into left center field on an 0-2 offering from Ryan Helsley, who took over for Webb after he retired just one of the five batters he faced.

Cueto optimistic after setback

Manager Bruce Bochy revealed Tuesday that starter Johnny Cueto is dealing with back tightness that will force him to push back his first start of the year. Cueto was lined up to pitch in Los Angeles this weekend, but he will now throw a bullpen at Dodger Stadium before the Giants determine when he might start.

“It’s frustrating,” Cueto said through Spanish-language translator Erwin Higueros. “But I understand and I just have to wait and hope that it goes away.”

The veteran starter said it was during his last rehab start that he began to experience tightness, but he wasn’t initially concerned.

“It feels like air in the back and a little discomfort,” Cueto said. “I hope it’s something that will just go away and then I’ll be ready.”

Sandoval undergoes surgery

Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval underwent Tommy John surgery in Los Angeles Wednesday to reconstruct the UCL in his right elbow.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache also performed an arthroscopic procedure to remove loose bodies in the back of his elbow. Sandoval will become a free agent at the end of the season, but the Giants are expected to assist in his recovery process during the offseason.