Sonny Gray allows 1 hit in 7 innings and Cards earn 3-game sweep over Giants with 5-3 victory

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Sonny Gray allowed one hit over seven innings and Alec Burleson drove in two runs and the St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

Brendan Donovan and Matt Carpenter also drove in runs for the Cardinals, who have won five of seven.

St. Louis swept the three-game series, which began in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday night with the tribute to the Negro Leagues.

Patrick Bailey homered for San Francisco, which has dropped five in a row.

Gray (9-4) retired the first 20 hitters he faced. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter. He threw 80 pitches, 57 for strikes and lowered his ERA to 2.81.

Bailey hit a no-doubt drive over the wall in right to break up the no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh. Gray bounced back to strike out Jorge Soler to end the inning.

Closer Ryan Helsley earned his major-league best 26th save by setting the side down in order in the ninth. He has only one blown save this year.

Burleson was a key part of a three-run first inning by driving the third pitch of the game from Logan Webb (6-6) into left field for an RBI single, Masyn Winn led off the inning with a double.

Burleson drove in Pedro Pages with a single in the second inning for a 4-0 lead. Pages hit a one-out single and then stole the first base of his career.

Wilmer Flores had a run-scoring double for the Giants in the eighth.

Brandon Crawford added a run-scoring double in the eighth for St. Louis, which moved two games over .500 (39-37) for the first time since the final game of the 2022 season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cardinals: Infielder Nolan Arenado did not start after leaving Saturday’s game with left forearm discomfort. Arenado took an injection and might be out for at least a couple of more days.

Outfielder Michael Siani did not play because of a rib injury.

UP NEXT

Giants: Host the Chicago Cubs in the first of three game set on Monday.

Cardinals: Right-hander Lance Lynn (2-3, 4.08 ERA) will face Atlanta right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach (1-2, 4.98) in the first of a three game series on Monday in St. Louis.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb