Giants’ heartbreaking collapse in loss to Cardinals highlights fatal roster flaw

The Giants were rolling. The New York Mets lost. It was lining up to be a perfect day for a team that was dead in the water three weeks ago, on the cusp of finding themselves only three games back from an MLB postseason spot with the most valuable asset in baseball on their side — momentumAnd then in the blink of an eye, it all came crashing down in heartbreaking fashion. With San Francisco holding a 2-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, Giants manager Bob Melvin handed the ball to reliever Ryan Walker to get the final three outs of the game.Walker instead coughed up three runs without recording a single out, as the Giants watched their five-game winning streak snapped in horrific fashion. Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker’s RBI double landed in left field with the impact of a dagger to the chest as the Giants fell 3-2 to St. Louis in a game that very well could be looked back at three weeks from now if San Francisco narrowly misses out on playoff baseball.Justin Verlander was stellar, tossing six shutout innings while also moving past Giants legend Gaylord Perry for the eighth spot on MLB’s all-time strikeout leader list. In what has become a tragic routine...