The San Francisco Giants have now lost four games in a row after falling to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The San Francisco Giants fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in their series opener on Monday, 2-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
The Giants have now lost four games in a row. What can be taken away from this defeat?
Missing Devers
On Sunday, the Giants had to place Rafael Devers on the 60-day Injured List, effectively ending his season. Now, his absence is glaring.
Before landing on the IL with a core muscle injury, Devers was having one of his more memorable seasons. After a rough start to the season, the 29-year-old began to catch fire at the plate.
With his 2026 campaign now over, Devers finishes with a .258 batting average, a .340 on-base percentage, a .525 slugging percentage and an .865 OPS with 37 home runs across 148 games. That kind of production is why San Francisco traded for him, and without him in the lineup, the offense has suffered.
It was an especially bad night for the Giants’ batting order, as they went 6-for-31 at the plate with 12 strikeouts. The only run they could secure came in the top of the sixth inning when Jonah Cox hit an RBI single to center field after Grant McCray hit a leadoff double.
At that point, it looked as if San Francisco could mount a response to the two-run inning the Cardinals put together in the fifth, but that was not the case as both teams went scoreless the rest of the way.
It is probably for the best that President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey did not trade Devers at the MLB Trade Deadline in August — not that his contract would have made it easy to do so — because the type of value and production he brings at the plate has kept the Giants in many games this season.
Roupp’s bad year continues
Perhaps it is not fair to pile on San Francisco right-hander Landen Roupp, given that the Giants have had a rough season overall, but his own decline is worth mentioning.
Roupp made his 29th start of the season on Monday, and it was less than stellar. In 4.1 innings of work, he allowed five hits, two earned runs and three walks while striking out four batters.
Had Roupp been better, perhaps the Giants could have won this game. It is not all on him, as the offense struggled mightily, but since that has already been covered, it is time for Roupp to earn some of the blame.
Roupp earned the losing decision, which dropped him to 9-14 on the year. The 28-year-old is in his third Major League Baseball season, and in each of them, his ERA has gotten worse as his role has grown.
In 2024, Roupp logged a 1-2 record with a 3.58 ERA in 23 appearances, four of which were starts. Last season, he made 22 starts and went 7-7 with a 3.80 ERA. This season, his ERA has climbed to 4.01 along with a well-below .500 record.
Hopefully, for the Giants’ sake, Roupp can take a step in the right direction. But just like the rest of the team, he needs this season to end so he can start fresh.
