SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — On a night the slumping Giants broke out of their offensive funk and ended a four-game losing streak, second baseman Joe Panik was forced out with a groin strain and is likely headed to the disabled list.

Such is life for manager Bruce Bochy and his beleaguered ballclub this season.

Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI single to drive in Hunter Pence from second base in the seventh inning and the Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Friday night.

But San Francisco’s win was tempered by the loss of Panik, who was injured while running from first to third on Gorkys Hernandez’s double in the fourth.

Panik, a Gold Glove winner in 2016, missed 31 games this season with a sprained left thumb. His latest injury had Bochy and his staff scrambling to make roster moves after the game. Rookie Alen Hanson is the likely replacement until Panik returns.

Pence reached on a pinch-hit single off John Brebbia (1-2) leading off the seventh. After Hanson sacrificed Pence to second and Posey was intentionally walked, McCutchen pushed a 2-2 pitch into left field to drive in the go-ahead run.

Pablo Sandoval homered, Buster Posey singled twice and Brandon Crawford scored on a wild pitch to help the Giants’ slumping offense break out.

Reyes Moronta (5-1) retired one batter to earn the win. Will Smith pitched the ninth for his third save.

Kolton Wong had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals.

St. Louis was limited to five hits after setting a season-high with 18 on Friday.

DEJONG RETURNS

Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong was activated from the disabled list after missing 45 games with a fracture in his left hand. DeJong had not missed a game this season before getting hurt.

“I was kind of anxious before the game just to get out there and start playing because I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while,” said DeJong, who went 1 for 3 with two runs scored.

UP NEXT

Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (5-4, 3.20 ERA) goes for his third consecutive win Saturday. Martinez pitched two-hit ball over nine innings, but left with a no-decision the last time he faced the Giants on May 20, 2017. RHP Jeff Samardzija (1-4, 6.56) will come off the disabled list to pitch for San Francisco in his first start since May 29.

Creston 6 , Atlantic 3
Atlantic 5, Carroll 3
AC/GC 9 , Orient-Macksburg 1
CB Thomas Jefferson 5, St. Albert 4
Denison-Schleswig 7 , Bellevue 0
Glenwood 7 , CB Abraham Lincoln 3
Harlan 14 , LeMars 9
Harlan 4 , LeMars 0
Martensdale-St. Marys 15 , Des Moines, Hoover 7
Martensdale-St. Marys 17 , Des Moines, Hoover 1 (4 Innings)

Class 1A

Region 6
Martensdale St. Marys 12, Moravia 5
Wayne 4, Lenox 1

Region 7
Glidden-Ralston 9, Grand View Christian 8 (10 innings)
Collins Maxwell 4, Coon Rapids-Bayard 0

Region 8
Akron-Westfield 6, Westwood 4
West Monona 1, Riverside 0

Class 2A

Region 2
Mount Ayr 1, Treynor 0
Logan-Magnolia 9, Underwood 4

Region 3
IKM-Manning 8, Panorama 1
Earlham 4, Ogden 1

Class 3A

Region 3
North Polk 5, Kuemper Catholic 1
Roland-Story 11, Saydel 2

Region 4
Atlantic 8, Creston 1
Clarke 6, Chariton 2

The Atlantic softball team picked up an 8-2 win over Creston on Friday night in a Class 3A Region 4 Semifinal. The Trojans used strong pitching and some hot hitting streaks to advance to a Regional Final for the third straight season.

Creston struck first with a lead-off single from Chloe Hagle that eventually scored, but the Trojans immediately responded. Atlantic ripped off 4 straight hits in the bottom of the first and brought home three runs to grab control of the lead and the game. Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann loved the way his team responded.

Ally Anderson was phenomenal in the circle allowing 2 runs on 6 hits with 11 strikeouts and 2 walks. After the game Ally said she felt better about her performance compared to the Tuesday win over Shenandoah.

Baylee Newell had a three run night as she led off the game with a single and sparked a two out rally in the fifth with a single. She was excited about the opportunity to play in the Regional Final on Monday.

Kaylee LeMasters took the loss for Creston allowing 6 earned runs on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts and 7 walks. Creston ends the season at 12-19.

Atlantic improved to 29-5 on the season and will next host Clarke of Osceola on Monday in the Class 3A Region 4 Final. Clarke won their Semifinal game 6-2 over Chariton. We’ll have coverage of that Regional Final on KJAN with pregame at 6:40pm and first pitch at 7:00pm on Monday.