ST. LOUIS — Left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim had blanked San Francisco and Chicago for seven and then six innings, respectively, in his final two starts for the Cardinals before the All-Star break. That stretched his scoreless innings streak to 15 but he had even more incentive to continue that run Saturday night.
Kim, who will be 33 next Thursday, was pitching in front of his family from South Korea for the first time since he signed with the Cardinals before the start of the 2020 season and before the coronavirus pandemic. And he continued the run, blanking the Giants, who have the major leagues’ best record, for the second time in 12 days.
This time, Kim limited the Giants to three singles over six innings and rode a solo homer by Tyler O’Neill homer and Paul Goldschmidt’s third homer in three games, a two-run shot, to a 3-1 victory on Goldschmidt Jersey Night at Busch Stadium. The largest crowd of the season at Busch, 40,489, enjoyed the moments.
Kim’s wife, Sang Hee; 7-year-old daughter, Minjoo; 5-year-old son, Minjae; mother and mother-in-law arrived in St. Louis this past Tuesday for a visit that will last until this Thursday after which the family must quarantine for 14 days in Korea, according to Matt Slater, a Cardinals special assistant to the general manager. Slater was one of those responsible for Kim’s signing here before the 2020 season.
Kim’s family wasn’t able to fly here last year because of the pandemic.
Winning for the fourth consecutive start, Kim breezed through the first two innings, getting four ground-ball outs. He then was given a 1-0 lead by virtue of O’Neill’s 16th home run, an opposite-field drive to right field to open the Cardinals’ second against right-hander Anthony DeSclafani.
Eight of Kim’s first 12 outs were recorded via the ground ball with shortstop Paul DeJong handling six chances. The Giants’ lineup was without All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford, who had suffered a cramp in his hamstring late in Friday’s game.
The Giants had two runners on base only once in the first five innings. In the fifth, the Cardinals chose to walk No. 8 hitter Thairo Estrada intentionally ahead of DeSclafani with two out in the fifth. DeSclafani, who has one hit in 36 at-bats this season, complied by striking out for the 23rd time.
When he was lifted after 85 pitches through six innings, Kim had extended scoreless streak to 21 innings, longest by a Cardinals left-handed starting pitcher since John Tudor’s 23 in 1988 and 1990 (Tudor had been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-1988 only to return two years later).
But the Cardinals did nothing with DeSclafani after the first inning until Dylan Carlson ended a nothing-for-12 skid (six strikeouts) with a double to deep center in the sixth. Goldschmidt followed with his 15th homer, a 409-foot drive over the Cardinals’ bullpen in right and it was 3-0. The Cardinals' first baseman also had two singles for the night.
DeSclafani, who was 7-4 against the Cardinals when he pitched for Cincinnati, had held opponent batters to a .185 average in road starts this year.
Ryan Helsley ran into some trouble in the seventh, allowing a run on a walk, a passed ball, a hit by Steven Dugger and O’Neill’s outfield error.
When Estrada also singled off Helsley, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt went to left-hander Genesis Cabrera, who had allowed eight runs in his previous 3 1/3 innings. But a well-rested Cabrera was up to the moment this time, striking out left-handed-batting pinch hitter Alex Dickerson and inducing Austin Slater to ground to second baseman Tommy Edman.
Cabrera was pulled for pinch hitter Edmundo Sosa with DeJong at first after DeJong’s second single in the seventh. It should have been a double but DeJong stumbled making the turn at first. With first baseman Darin Ruf holding DeJong on, Sosa lined to Ruf for the final out.
Giovanny Gallegos pitched a perfect eighth and Alex Reyes wrapped up his 21st save in 21 tries and 23rd in succession from the start of his career with a scoreless ninth.
That tied former Minnesota reliever LaTroy Hawkins for the most consecutive saves from the start of a career.
