Giants 5, Cardinals 4
SAN FRANCISCO -- Rookie second baseman Kelby Tomlinson lined a single to center field to score Brandon Belt from third base with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night, giving the San Francisco Giants a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a three-game series.
The Giants' third consecutive win featured a franchise-record eighth grand slam, a third-inning shot by right fielder Marlon Byrd that provided all of San Francisco's scoring before the decisive ninth.
The win allowed the Giants (69-59) to remain 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (71-56) atop the National League West.
The St. Louis loss, meanwhile, coupled with Pittsburgh's win over Colorado, allowed the Pirates (78-49) to move within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Cardinals (82-46) in the NL Central.
The St. Louis-San Francisco matchup was the first at AT&T Park since Game 5 of the 2014 National League Championship Series, when the Giants also ended the Cardinals' season in walk-off fashion.
The Cardinals, who entered with a five-game winning streak, had won two of three from the Giants earlier this month in St. Louis.
Belt's second hit of the night, a single off Cardinals left-hander Kevin Siegrist (5-1), got the winning uprising going.
Catcher Buster Posey followed with a walk, advancing Belt into scoring position at second base, and both runners moved up another 90 feet when center fielder Gregor Blanco drew a one-out walk.
Tomlinson, who hit his first career home run -- a grand slam -- earlier in the week, then stroked the two-strike game-winner.
The RBI was his 12th in 14 starts.
The Giants won despite blowing a 4-0 lead, which was the product of Byrd's eighth career grand slam off Cardinals starter Michael Wacha.
Byrd hadn't hit won since also connecting at AT&T Park on July 9, 2013, but that time for the Cincinnati Reds against the Giants.
After bouncing back quickly to get within 4-3 with a three-run fourth, the Cardinals forged a 4-4 tie in the sixth on a wild pitch by Giants starter Mike Leake that scored center fielder Tommy Pham.
The rookie almost single-handedly produced the run. After he singled to open the inning, he twice tagged up and advanced a base on a fly ball to right field, positioning himself on third base for Leake's two-out, two-strike wild pitch.
Neither starting pitcher got a decision.
Leake left one out into the seventh, having allowed four runs and six hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Giants left-hander Josh Osich inherited a two-on, one-out situation from Leake and retired the only two Cardinals he faced to retain the 4-4 tie.
Right-hander Sergio Romo and left-hander Javier Lopez followed Osich with two innings of one-hit relief. Lopez (1-0) got the win.
Wacha, a victim of two Cardinals errors before Byrd's grand slam, did not allow an earned run in his six innings. He gave up four runs, six hits and two walks, striking out six.
Tomlinson, Blanco and Belt had two hits apiece for the Giants, who outhit the Cardinals 10-7.
Right fielder Stephen Piscotty had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals.
Defensive miscues directly led to six of the game's first seven runs.
Byrd's grand slam in the third came on the first pitch after Wacha hit Posey on the elbow with a fastball, loading the bases.
The inning should have ended even before Posey came to the plate. Errors on Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter and shortstop Jhonny Peralta sandwiched the first out of the inning, putting two runners aboard and setting the stage for Posey and eventually Byrd.
All four runs were unearned.
The Cardinals countered immediately on a one-out RBI single by catcher Yadier Molina in the fourth.
Leake almost got out of the jam when he induced the Cardinals' Kolten Wong into hitting a hard grounder to Tomlinson. But Giants shortstop Ehire Adrianza bobbled the ball after getting a forceout at second, denying the possibility of a double play that would have ended the inning.
Piscotty hit Leake's next pitch for his two-run double, narrowing the Giants' lead to 4-3.
NOTES: Cardinals closer RHP Trevor Rosenthal did not make the trip from Phoenix to San Francisco. Instead, he headed home to witness the birth of his second child. He was placed on the paternity list and will miss the entire series against the Giants. ... The Cardinals on Friday named Randy Flores as their new director of amateur scouting. He fills the void created when the club fired Chris Correa after he had been accused of hacking the Houston Astros database earlier this season. ... Cardinals OF Jon Jay (stress reaction in the left wrist) began an injury-rehab stint for Memphis on Friday night. ... The Giants placed RHP Matt Cain (right elbow nerve irritation) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Chris Heston from Triple-A Sacramento. Heston immediately went into Cain's spot in the rotation. He'll start Sunday's series finale. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford (strained left hip) took grounders before the game and hopes to be back in the lineup by the end of the weekend. He has missed three straight games. ... CF Angel Pagan (right patella tendinitis) met with Giants management before the game and decided to delay his return to the active roster until it expands Sept. 1. Pagan will return to the minors for three additional rehab games.