O’Neill’s walk-off blast lifts Cardinals over Giants

Tyler O’Neill hit a two-out walk-off home run off Mark Melancon in the 10th inning Saturday afternoon, allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to record a 5-4, walk-off win over the San Francisco Giants in St. Louis.

Yadier Molina powered a two-run, game-tying homer in the seventh for the Cardinals (86-69), who moved two games up on Colorado (83-70) in the race for the second National League wild-card playoff spot pending the Rockies’ night game at Arizona.

Melancon (0-3), the losing pitcher when he was charged with two runs in the eighth inning in Friday’s 5-3 loss, retired the first two batters he faced in the 10th before O’Neill hit a 2-2 pitch over the fence in left-center to end the game.

The home run was the ninth of the season for O’Neill, who had entered the game in a double-switch in the seventh inning.

Carlos Martinez (8-6), who struck out Austin Slater to end the top of the 10th with the bases loaded, got the win.

Both starting pitchers helped out their own cause at the plate.

Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright produced the game’s first run with an RBI single in the second inning.

The Cardinals led 2-1 entering the seventh before Giants rookie Aramis Garcia blooped a two-run single to give San Francisco its first lead at 3-2.

After San Francisco right-hander Dereck Rodriguez advanced Garcia to third with a single, Gregor Blanco made it 4-2 with a fielder’s choice grounder.

Wainwright was pulled one out into the three-run seventh, charged with four runs (three earned) in 6 1/3 innings. He gave up eight hits and did not walk a batter, striking out six.

Rodriguez pitched two batters into the last of the seventh, but it was enough to lose the lead when he walked Jedd Gyorko before serving up Molina’s 19th home run of the season, a two-run shot that got the Cardinals even at 4-4.

Rodriguez left after allowing four runs and seven hits in six-plus innings. He walked one and struck out two.

Gyorko scored twice, Paul DeJong had two hits and Molina collected two RBIs for the Cardinals, who won for the fifth time in their last six games.

The walk-off win was their 11th of the season.

Garcia had four hits, Joe Panik three and Hunter Pence two for the Giants (72-83), who out-hit the Cardinals 11-8.

–Field Level Media

–Field Level Media