September 23, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) pitches the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images The San Francisco Giants hope to break even when they take on the visiting St. Louis Cardinals in Sunday afternoon's regular-season finale.
The two teams, which have hovered around .500 all season, split the first two games of the series. The Cardinals won 6-3 on Friday and the Giants bounced back to win 6-5 on Saturday.
The win moved San Francisco (80-81) to just one win shy of a .500 season. The club went 81-81 in 2022 but lost four of its final five games last season to go 79-83.
Cardinals starter Michael McGreevey (2-0, 2.40 ERA) has been solid in three career games. St. Louis (82-79) won all three games, starting two of them with righties.
McGreevey has never faced the Giants, who are expected to go against rookie Hayden Birdsong (5-5, 4.66). He is 2-0 in his last three starts, allowing just five runs in 15 2/3 innings.
Birdsong, who grew up about 125 miles northeast of St. Louis, will make his first appearance against the Cardinals.
Multiple individual and team honors will be announced on the final day of the season.
Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley broke the club's single-season save record with his 49th during the Cardinals' win on Friday and will try to become the 18th in major league history on Sunday. Reached a record of 50 saves. He did not play Saturday.
“Last September, when I came back (from a forearm injury), I was just closer and had seven saves,” he said. “I was like, ‘If I get seven times six a month , that's 42 times, so that's a pretty good year, obviously, I've surpassed that, which is fun.
Brendan Donovan took advantage of Nolan Arenado's Saturday off to put the Cardinals' batting champions ahead by four runs. Donovan went 3-for-5 with a double and two singles, raising his average to .276. Arenado batted .272.
The Cardinals' home run championship is also up for grabs. Paul Goldschmidt has 22 home runs this season, followed by Alec Burleson with 21.
Matt Chapman has all but secured the Giants' lead in home runs and RBIs this season. He hit 27 home runs and drove in 78 runs, leading Heliot Ramos, who had 22 home runs and 72 RBIs, in both categories. Chapman needed two runs to reach 100 points for the third time in his career.
The veteran had some pretty good results in his first season with the Giants. He learned Friday that he won the team's Willie Mack Award as the most inspiring player.
“This is really the icing on the cake of a great month,” he said. “Obviously it would be even better if we could make the playoffs. That's my goal. I'm going to work hard this offseason to get there next year. become possible.”
In his first full season in the majors, Ramos nearly won the batter's title for San Francisco. The 25-year-old hit .269 in 475 at-bats.
–Scene-level media