Gilbert's 10th-Inning HR Lifts Giants Past Cards

Drew Gilbert came off the bench and hit a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the 10th inning as the San Francisco Giants hung on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium. Reuters, ESPN, and NBC Sports Fantasy all tracked the same late swing after San Francisco blew a lead in the ninth and still found a way to take two of three in St. Louis.

Gilbert jumped on the first pitch from Riley O'Brien (3-9) and drove it over the center-field fence, scoring automatic runner Grant McCray and putting the Giants ahead 6-4. Joel Kuhnel walked two and allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the 10th but converted his eighth save. Reiver Sanmartin (3-0) picked up the win after retiring one batter in the ninth.

How the ninth got messy

San Francisco took a 4-2 lead into the ninth behind Anthony Molina's 5 2/3 innings (six strikeouts) and timely hits from Jonah Cox and Andrew Knizner. Dylan Smith then blew his fifth save. Jose Fermin's sacrifice fly and Leo Bernal's two-out RBI single tied it at 4-4 and forced extras. The Cardinals (75-78) have now lost six of nine.

Cox finished with three hits, two stolen bases, and an RBI. Knizner, the former Cardinal, also had three hits and drove in a run. Cox's baserunning figured into San Francisco's first run in the third against Matthew Liberatore, and his seventh-inning RBI single helped build the lead the Giants almost gave back.

Fantasy managers streaming Giants bats for a midweek road slate just got a reminder that Gilbert can change a game from the bench. One first-pitch homer in extras is not a full-time lock, but it is the kind of board that keeps him on the short list when San Francisco needs a lefty bat late.

What it means for both clubs

The Giants (64-89) took the series after sweeping St. Louis at home last week. JJ Wetherholt returned from the injured list (right wrist tendinitis) and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his first game since Aug. 29. That activation matters for St. Louis's Rookie of the Year conversation even on a loss day.

The sourced stamp is simple. Gilbert pinch-hit, first-pitch two-run homer in the 10th, Giants 6-5, series win. No invented exit velo. No invented magic number. Just a late swing that cleaned up a blown ninth and sent San Francisco out of Busch with the series.

Pinch-hit thunder in extras. Series secured. That is the Gilbert board.

First pitch, gone. Giants take two of three.