St. Louis pitcher Luke Weaver flirted with perfection Mike Reilly Jersey , had to overcome a little frustration, and settled for domination.

The Cardinals‘ offense was pretty good, too.

Weaver pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and St. Louis beat the San Francisco Giants 11-2 on Thursday night.

”He was making quality pitches at the top of the zone, down, changeup, breaking ball,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said ”Everything was spot on but he controlled the count with his heater and got a lot of early balls in the air. He was aggressive.”

Weaver (5-7) faced two over the minimum and had seven strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before giving up a single and Hanson’s two-run homer. Weaver then bounced back to retire the final seven batters he faced.

Weaver didn’t allow a hit until Gorkys Hernandez reached on an infield single with one out in the sixth. Gyorko made a diving stop on Hernandez’s sharp liner near third base but the ball popped out of his right hand as he attempted to throw. Hanson followed with his homer.

”As soon as chopped it and Jedd had to dive, I had a feeling there was not going to be a chance to get him,” Weaver said. ”It would have had to have been an incredible slide jump-up throw and I still don’t think he would have got him. It wasn’t a big deal. I was pretty upset about the home run.”

Jedd Gyorko had three hits including a home run and drove in five runs to spoil the return of Johnny Cueto after two months on the disabled list. Matt Carpenter and Harrison Bader also went deep while Yadier Molina singled three times.

The Cardinals had a season-high 18 hits – their most since getting 19 against the New York Mets on Aug. 24, 2016.

Alen Hanson homered for San Francisco. The Giants have scored five runs while losing four straight.

Cueto (3-1) was rocked in his long-awaited return from the 60-day disabled list. He gave up four runs in the first inning – one more than he had in 32 innings before going out with right elbow inflammation.

”Everything was fine except in the first inning when I was trying to be too fine,” Cueto said. ”Instead of just pitching Morgan Rielly Jersey , I was just trying to place the ball in the strike zone. I just have to continue working my way back to where I was.”

WHAT’S THE COUNT?

San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval appeared to draw a two-out walk in the fifth and began trotting to first base before being called back after Matheny noticed there were only three balls. Two pitches later, Sandoval struck out to end a 12-pitch at-bat.

”I whistled and had the umpire stop for a second,” Matheny said. ”At about the same time, the replay called and then they figured it out on the field by the time we needed to come out of the dugout.”

BABY BULL RETURNS

Orlando Cepeda attended the game for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest in February that left the Hall of Famer in critical condition. The Baby Bull was in the parking lot of a gym when he fell and hit his head during the incident. The 80-year-old is one of the most popular players in franchise history.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: OF Dexter Fowler was reinstated from the paternity list before the game. … Tyler O’Neill was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. … RHP Matt Bowman (blister) was activated off the DL and optioned to Triple-A Memphis.

Giants: Manager Bruce Bochy said that RHP Jeff Samardzija will have fewer restrictions than Cueto when he returns from the disabled list to start Saturday’s game. Samardzija hasn’t pitched since May 29 because of shoulder tightness. … INF Kelby Tomlinson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. … RHP Roberto Gomez was released.

UP NEXT

John Gant (2-2, 3.48 ERA) pitches for St. Louis on Friday. The right-hander has had mixed success since rejoining the rotation and allowed four runs in 5 1/3 against Atlanta in his most recent start. RHP Dereck Rodriguez (3-1 3.16) starts for San Francisco.

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Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton gave New York a scare with an awkward fall in right field. An inning later, he showed everyone in the Bronx that he was just fine.

Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Kyle Higashioka each homered and New York went ahead early and hung on to beat the Atlanta Braves 8-5 on Tuesday night.

Stanton was shaken up after crashing into the right field wall chasing after Nick Markakis‘ seventh-inning home run. He knocked padding off the base of the wall, and the team’s training staff ran out to check on New York’s prized offseason acquisition a pitch later. Stanton remained in the game, made a leaping catch later in the inning, then slugged his 20th home run of the season in the eighth.

”That’s par for the course, that’s baseball Mattias Janmark Jersey ,” Stanton said. ”If you get subbed in, you usually get the ball the first time, so, something like that happens, expect it.”

Stanton’s homer gave New York some breathing room after the Braves crept on its early lead. His two-run shot off Evan Phillips made him the 11th player to reach 20 homers in each of his first nine major league seasons. Phillips was making his major league debut.

New York is a major league-best 32-13 at home. The Yankees improved to a majors-best 21-6 against left-handed starters and remain a game behind Boston for the best record in baseball.

Aaron Judge had two hits and a walk, and he stole two bases for the first time in his career. Hicks also walked twice as New York drew eight free passes.

Markakis and Ender Inciarte each hit two-run homers for Atlanta, which ended a four-game winning streak. The Braves remain atop the NL East but fell behind the Brewers for the best record in the NL.

A night after Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. barely cleared the wall to give Atlanta an 11-inning victory, the Yankees took advantage of their cozy stadium.

Hicks continued his home run binge by hitting Sean Newcomb’s 95 mph fastball two rows into the right field stands for his 15th of the season and a 2-0 lead in the first. Hicks has hit nine home runs in his last 17 games.

”He’s put together a really good season for us and right now, he’s at a really, really good place in the batter’s box,” Boone said.

Newcomb (8-3) stood on the mound shaking his head after the ball carried over the fence. The left-hander allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings in the shortest start of his career. Newcomb had posted three straight quality starts but threw a career-high 111 pitches his last time out.

”Balls kind of get sucked up out there Vincent Trocheck Jersey , so that’s frustrating,” he said.

New York scored twice in the third without a hit. Newcomb walked the bases loaded, then walked Brandon Drury to force in a run. Luke Jackson relieved, but he walked Higashioka for another run. Newcomb’s five walks matched a career high.

”He was just having a hard time controlling everything,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Staked with a six-run cushion, Yankees starter Domingo German tired in the fifth. After Johan Camargo walked, Inciarte crushed a curveball into the stands for his sixth of the season.

Rookie Ozzie Albies homered on the next pitch to draw Atlanta within three. Freddie Freeman and Markakis hit consecutive singles to end German’s night. Atlanta hit back-to-back homers for just the third time this season.

A.J. Cole, reinstated off the disabled list earlier in the day, struck out Tyler Flowers with the bases loaded to end the threat. Since being acquired from Washington on April 23, Cole (2-0) has allowed one earned run in 14 2/3 innings.

In the eighth, Chasen Shreve relieved with runners on first and second and one out and retired Inciarte and Albies to preserve a one-run lead.

Aroldis Chapman threw a scoreless ninth for his 23rd save. The hard-throwing closer was used in three straight games for the first time this season.

HAILEY’S HANDS

Eight-year old Hailey Dawson threw out the ceremonial first pitch with her 3D printed hand created by students at UNLV. Dawson was born with Poland Syndrome Steven Stamkos Jersey , a rare birth defect that left the youngster without the three middle fingers on her right hand. She has been on a quest to throw a first pitch for each MLB team.

HOMERING HIGASHIOKA

Higashioka became the third player in franchise history to homer for his first two big league hits, joining Alfonso Soriano (1999-2000) and Joe Lefebvre (1980).

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: INF Gleyber Torres (right hip stiffness) was held out of the starting lineup. The sensational rookie ”stiffened up” Monday night, according to manager Aaron Boone, but entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth. … RHP Masahiro Tanaka remains scheduled for a rehab start with Triple-A Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday. Boone is hopeful Tanaka will throw between 65 and 75 pitches. … C Austin Romine (left hamstring) was held out of the starting lineup for a third straight night

UP NEXT

LHP CC Sabathia (5-3, 3.02 ERA) pitches the series finale for New York. Sabathia allowed just seven earned runs over five starts in June (1.93 ERA) and is 3-1 in four starts against Atlanta. He’s opposed by Julio Teheran (6-5, 4.21 ERA), who gave up eight runs in 4 1/3 innings in his only appearance against New York on Aug, 30, 2015.

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