Giants Erase Five-Run Hole in Eighth to Stun Cardinals 7-6
SF def. STL · September 9, 2026 · Final: Giants 7, Cardinals 6
San Francisco trailed 6-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, with the Giants' win probability sitting at 1.1 percent. What the Cardinals held looked unassailable. It wasn't.
St. Louis had built the lead methodically. Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge's RBI single in the bottom of the first put San Francisco up 1-0, but Cardinals third baseman Leo Bernal's three-run home run in the top of the third flipped it to 4-1. A run scored on a double play in the top of the fifth made it 5-1, and a José Fermín sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth pushed it to 6-1.
Then the eighth inning happened.
Eldridge started it, lining a ground ball single to center that scored Drew Cavanaugh and Brett Harris to pull San Francisco within 6-3. Giants second baseman Jonah Cox followed with a ground ball single to shortstop that scored Turner Hill, cutting it to 6-4.
Giants right fielder Jung Hoo Lee then lined a double to right — his 29th of the season — scoring Eldridge and Cox to tie it at 6-6.
One batter later, Giants second baseman Shay Whitcomb drove a sharp fly ball to right for a double, scoring Lee and putting San Francisco ahead 7-6. That was the lead change that held.
Final: San Francisco Giants 7, St. Louis Cardinals 6.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 5 runs — in the top of the 6th
- Win-probability nadir
- 1.1% (down 5 in the bottom of the 8th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 8th
- Lead changes
- 2
- Final
- SF 7, STL 6 — won by 1
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | Bryce Eldridge singles on a line drive to left fielder Bryan Torres. Drew Gilbert scores. | 0-1 |
| T2 | Nolan Gorman singles on a fly ball to left fielder Grant McCray. Joshua Báez scores. | 1-1 |
| T3 | Leo Bernal homers (2) on a fly ball to right field. Iván Herrera scores. Alec Burleson scores. | 4-1 |
| T5 | Leo Bernal grounds into a double play, shortstop Christian Koss to second baseman Jonah Cox to first baseman Bryce Eldridge. Bryan Torres scores. Iván Herrera to 3rd. Alec Burleson out at 2nd. Leo Bernal out at 1st. | 5-1 |
| T6 | José Fermín out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Drew Gilbert. Thomas Saggese scores. Nathan Church to 3rd. | 6-1 |
| B8 | Bryce Eldridge singles on a ground ball to center fielder Nathan Church. Drew Cavanaugh scores. Brett Harris scores. Turner Hill to 3rd. | 6-3 |
| B8 | Jonah Cox singles on a ground ball to shortstop Thomas Saggese. Turner Hill scores. Bryce Eldridge to 2nd. | 6-4 |
| B8 | Jung Hoo Lee doubles (29) on a line drive to right fielder Joshua Báez. Bryce Eldridge scores. Jonah Cox scores. | 6-6 |
| B8 | Shay Whitcomb doubles (3) on a sharp fly ball to right fielder Joshua Báez. Jung Hoo Lee scores. | 6-7 |
Box score
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Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| SF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | 7 | 10 | 3 |
SFWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Harris3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Turner HillDH | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .270 |
| Bryce Eldridge1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .268 |
| Jonah CoxCF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .277 |
| Jung Hoo LeeRF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .281 |
| Shay Whitcomb2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .162 |
| Drew CavanaughC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .244 |
| Grant McCrayLF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .141 |
| Christian KossSS | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .227 |
| Drew GilbertCF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .232 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blade Tidwell | 4.0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 78 |
| Philip Abner | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Matt Wilkinson | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 |
| Trent Harris | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
STLLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan WalkerPH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .281 |
| Iván HerreraDH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .251 |
| Alec Burleson1B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .283 |
| Leo BernalC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .278 |
| Joshua BáezRF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .238 |
| Thomas SaggeseSS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .268 |
| Nathan ChurchCF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .244 |
| José Fermín2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .242 |
| Bryan TorresLF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .260 |
| Ramón Urías3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .157 |
| Nolan Gorman3B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .187 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Pallante | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 88 |
| Justin Bruihl | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Luis Gastelum | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| Cade Winquest | 0.2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| George Soriano | 0.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 |