ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rafael Devers and Willy Adames hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, and the streaking San Francisco Giants matched their season best with 18 hits Friday night during an 8-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

San Francisco, which has won five straight and 11 of 12, remained four games behind the New York Mets for the final National League wild card.

Carson Seymour (1-2), making his second career start, earned his first major league win. He didn’t give up a hit through his first four innings as the Giants built a 6-0 lead against Michael McGreevy (6-3).

Seymour ended up yielding one run and two hits in five innings, with one walk and two strikeouts.

Jimmy Crooks led off the fifth with a sharp grounder for a single, then scored on an RBI single by Victor Scott II for St. Louis’ first run. Iván Herrera added a solo homer in the eighth.

Jung Hoo Lee tied his career high with four hits, including an RBI triple, and scored twice for San Francisco. Patrick Bailey had three singles, and every Giants starter got at least one hit.

Tristan Beck pitched the final three innings for his third big league save and first this season.

Lee’s single started a four-run fourth as McGreevy lost for the first time in seven starts. He gave up six runs and nine hits in four innings.

After a fielding blunder on a popup to shallow center field allowed Matt Chapman to reach in the seventh, Lee followed with his 11th triple and then scored on Casey Schmitt’s single to make it 8-1.

Key moment

Three pitches after Devers hit a 416-foot drive into the right-field bleachers, Adames sent a 401-foot homer just over the wall in left-center.

Key stat

The Giants equaled their hit total from an Aug. 29 win against Baltimore.

Up next

In his 20th season, Giants RHP Justin Verlander (3-10, 4.29 ERA) tries to win at Busch Stadium for the first time Saturday against St. Louis RHP Andre Pallante (6-13, 5.38). Verlander’s only previous starts at Busch came during the 2006 World Series and the 2009 regular season.

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