SAN FRANCISCO -- Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt no longer play for National League West clubs, but they haven’t lost their ability to terrorize the Giants.

Arenado launched a two-run home run and Goldschmidt added a pair of RBIs against Johnny Cueto to propel the Cardinals to their second straight victory over the Giants, 6-5, on Tuesday night at Oracle Park.

All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford went 4-for-5 and drove in his club’s first three runs, but timely hits proved elusive for the rest of the Giants’ lineup for most of the night. San Francisco, which is currently without Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, Brandon Belt and Tommy La Stella, finished 3-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.

“It’s hard to replace those guys, for sure,” Crawford said. “But it’s definitely big to try to get through this with some wins and not drop off too much. That would be huge. We have good players that have stepped in and done well for us. We’ve just got to try to keep that going and get a win tomorrow.”

The Giants trailed 6-3 after the Cardinals scored a pair of insurance runs off former St. Louis reliever John Brebbia, but their bats finally began to stir in the eighth, when they scored two runs to cut the deficit to one.

Pinch-hitter Jason Vosler drew a one-out walk to set up an RBI single for Mike Yastrzemski, and the Giants then capitalized on a defensive gaffe by the Cardinals, who allowed a popup from Wilmer Flores to drop in shallow center field for an RBI double that made it 6-5.

San Francisco generated another prime scoring opportunity in the bottom of the ninth when Crawford singled and Donovan Solano reached on a walk, but Steven Duggar grounded into a forceout, Chadwick Tromp popped out and Vosler lined out to Dylan Carlson in left field to end the game.

“Vos put two good swings together in that at-bat, and that one in particular, I thought he did everything he possibly could do,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It was an example of how our night went offensively. We struck a lot of balls very well.

“There are some nights -- and I think I’m pretty candid about this -- where I just don’t think we have great at-bats, and I share that with you. Tonight I thought we had really good at-bats and the ball didn’t fall for us. Obviously, we can do better, but I thought the at-bats were fairly strong.”

Despite dropping six of their last nine games, the Giants (53-32) continued to cling to their half-game lead in the NL West following the Dodgers’ 2-1 walk-off loss to the Marlins on Tuesday. They’ll try to avoid their third sweep of the season when they send left-hander Alex Wood to the mound in Wednesday night’s series finale.

Cueto gave up four runs on nine hits over six innings to end the first half at 6-5 with a 4.15 ERA over 14 starts this year. The 35-year-old veteran dazzled in his first three outings of the year, logging a minuscule 1.80 ERA, but his promising start was derailed after he suffered a right lat strain that sidelined him for nearly a month. After returning from the injured list, Cueto struggled to regain the vintage form he flashed in April, posting a 4.97 ERA over his next 11 outings.

“When Johnny’s been at his healthiest, we’ve seen him be dominant at times,” Kapler said. “In his last start, by way of example, in Arizona, I don’t think he was at his healthiest and that hurt him. Tonight, I actually thought he was and looked good. He just wasn’t able to make quite enough pitches.”

Cueto pitched through an illness in his last start against the D-backs, and on Tuesday, he was forced to face yet another crippling affliction: the Goldschmidt-Arenado duo.

Goldschmidt delivered the Cardinals’ first hit of the night with a single to right field in the first inning, and Arenado followed by pummeling a 3-2 changeup from Cueto halfway up the left-field bleachers for a two-run shot that put the Giants in an early hole. It was Arenado’s 32nd career home run against the Giants, his most against any team.

“I felt good,” Cueto said. “I think everything was working except for that one pitch that Arenado seemed to be looking for. He put a good swing on it and hit it out.”

Crawford tied the game with a two-out, two-run single off Adam Wainwright in the third, but Goldschmidt restored the Cardinals’ lead with a two-run single off Cueto in the fourth. Despite struggling to contain St. Louis’ 1-2 punch, Cueto managed to make it through six innings for the third time in his last four starts, capping his 94-pitch outing by hustling to cover first base and recording three straight outs in his final inning.

While many players will welcome the respite afforded by the All-Star break, Cueto said he doesn’t plan to take any days off next week.

“I’m going to be working hard to get ready for the second half,” Cueto said. “My goal is to stay healthy and for the rest of the team to come back strong.”