St. Louis needed to get out to an early lead to gain some control in this elimination game, and got on the board first with a run in the top of the 3rd inning.
San Francisco responded with a two-run homer from Joe Panik in the bottom of the inning to reclaim the lead at 2-1, but the Cardinals came back with two solo shots from Matt Adams and Tony Cruz in the top of the 4th.
The score stayed 3-2 until the bottom of the 8th, when Michael Morse came in to pinch hit for Madison Bumgarner and hit a game-tying homer.
St. Louis had a great chance to take the lead in the top of the 9th, loading the bases, but were unable to push a run across. The Giants capitalized, as Travis Ishikawa hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning to put San Francisco in the World Series.
Turning Point: Morse's home run suddenly gave life to the Giants and to AT&T Park. They had been dead since the scoring stopped in the 4th inning, and it gave San Francisco a ton of momentum, which they rode to a 9th inning score and a berth in the World Series.
San Francisco MVP: Ishikawa easily takes the cake here. His 9th inning homer was his only hit of the game, but it put the Giants in the World Series. It won't get much bigger than that.
St. Louis MVP: Tony Cruz, starting at catcher for the injured Yadier Molina, turned in a dominant performance. He went 1-2 with that solo home run, two walks, and two runs scored.
What’s Next? The Giants were able to pull off a dramatic late-inning comeback to win the NL Pennant, and will now face the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, which starts Tuesday on Fox. St. Louis has been eliminated, and will look get back to the NLCS for the fifth straight season next year.
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