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Garcia strikes out nine, Freese homers for Cards

Sports

May 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jaime Garcia matched his career high with nine strikeouts, David Freese hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals gave manager Mike Matheny a victory against his old Giants team with a 4-1 win Wednesday night. Buster Posey hit a tying RBI single in the sixth against Garcia (3-2) for San Francisco, which missed multiple scoring chances yet again in what has been the biggest downfall for this bunch. Pinch-hitter Skip Schumaker added a two-run double in the eighth for the Cardinals, who improved to 13-7 on the road. In a matchup of the last two World Series champions, the Giants didn’t do enough to back Madison Bumgarner (5-3). He lost his second straight start following a five-start winning streak on a breezy Bay Area night featuring a hovering mist above the field.