Photo: San Francisco Giants’ Bryce Eldridge hits an RBI double against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
By Vince Cestone
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants nearly suffered another loss to a bullpen meltdown, but they survived on a clutch Bryce Eldridge hit in the 10th and a Shay Whitcomb infield hit in the 11th to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in extra innings.
With the Giants up 3-2 in the ninth inning, manager Tony Vitello went to Dylan Smith for a two-inning save, but just like it did against the Cincinnati Reds in the third game of the series, his outing went south but to a lesser extent. The Giants didn’t blow a 9-3 lead this time, but the Cardinals were able to even the score. After Joshua Baez started the inning with an infield hit, shortstop Thomas Saggese singled. The next batter Nathan Church tried to bunt but popped out. With the runners staying put, Bryan Torres then walked, setting it up for pinch hitter Jose Fermin, who hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at three. Smith retired the next batter Alec Burleson on a flyout to send the game to extra innings.
Before all the craziness, it looked good for the Giants. Ace Logan Webb was on the hill for the Giants, and he did a great job, pitching six innings of one-run ball. He struck out eight batters, gave up three hits, and walked only two batters. Webb looked like he was going to get the win, until the bullpen meltdown happened a few innings later.
Before then, the Giants started the scoring in the very first inning. Left fielder Turner Hill led off the bottom of the first with a walk. The following batter Rafael Devers doubled him in to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. The next three batters were retired in order by Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy.
The Giants added on in the third inning, with the help of the Cardinals defense. After Christian Koss singled on a comebacker to the pitcher who seemed to have mishandled the ball but still was deemed a hit, McGreevy airmailed the ball to first over the head of Burleson, allowing Koss to get to second. The next batter Hill grounded out to first, advancing Koss to third. The hot-hitting Devers then walked. That set it up for Eldridge, who hit a sacrifice fly to center field to increase the Giants’ lead to 2-0.
The Giants tacked on a third run in the fifth inning on back-to-back doubles from Devers and Eldridge. Both collected two hits in the game.
But then the Cardinals came roaring back. In the top of the sixth inning, the Cardinals got on the board with a two-out, solo home run by Burleson off Webb. That made the score 3-1 and the comeback was on.
St. Louis scored again in the seventh inning after a leadoff walk by Nolan Gorman. After the relief pitcher Trent Harris struck out the next two batters, Nathan Church doubled in Gorman, who advanced to second earlier in the inning on a passed ball, to cut the Giants’ lead to 3-2. This set up the ninth-inning comeback by the Cardinals.
After the Giants left the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth, the Cardinals brought in their ghost runner in the 10th. Right fielder Jordan Walker grounded out to start the inning, advancing the ghost runner Burleson to third. The next batter Leo Bernal hit a bloop single to right, just in front of Jung Hoo Lee, to give St. Louis a 4-3 lead.
But the Giants answered right back in the bottom of the 10th. With Hill as the ghost runner at second for San Francisco, the Cardinals intentionally walked Devers when the count got to 3-1. The next hitter Eldridge promptly singled to center, brining Hill home to tie the score at four. Later in the inning, the Giants had the bases loaded and one out, but Drew Gilbert grounded into an unusual 2-1 double play that ended the rally for the Giants. The catcher Bernal picked up the little tapper that landed right in front of home plate, stepped on home, and then threw to first to end the threat. The Cardinals had survived and went to the 11th with the game still tied.
After Giants reliever Jason Foley held St. Louis scoreless in the top of the 11th, San Francisco went to work in their half of the inning. Drew Cavanaugh, who came into the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth, led off the inning with a sacrifice bunt, advancing the ghost runner Nate Furman to third. That left it up to the third baseman Whitcomb, who punched a high chopper over the head of the shortstop Saggese, bringing in the winning run as the Giants walked off the Cardinals 5-4.
For the Cardinals, the starting pitcher McGreevy went 6 2/3 innings, giving up six hits, three runs, and two walks. He struck out four batters.
Nearly 26,000 fans showed up at Oracle Park on Labor Day Monday, an unusually small crowd on a holiday. But the ones that showed up saw a great game, as the Giants’ grit displayed on Monday night bodes well for 2027.
Up next, the Giants will try to make it two in a row against the Cardinals on Tuesday night. The Giants’ Landen Roupp (8-13, 4.17 ERA) will take on the Cardinals’ Quinn Matthews (1-2, 4.38 ERA). Game time is at 6:45 p.m. at Oracle Park.
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