SAN FRANCISCO - Shay Whitcomb's chopper found the hole at short with one out in the 11th, and Nate Furman scored the run that finally closed a night the San Francisco Giants refused to give away.
The Associated Press reported it as Whitcomb's first career game-ending RBI. The Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 in 11 innings in the series opener, a result that handed a playoff-chasing visitor a costly loss after St. Louis had erased a three-run deficit.
ESPN's box matches the final and lists Whitcomb 2-for-5 with the decisive RBI. Drew Cavanaugh's sacrifice bunt against George Soriano (6-4) moved automatic runner Furman into scoring position, and Whitcomb's slow roller beat the throw. Jason Foley (3-1) worked two innings for the win after holding St. Louis scoreless in the top of the 11th.
Early lead, late scramble
Rafael Devers doubled home Turner Hill in the first, then Bryce Eldridge pushed the margin to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third and to 3-0 with an RBI double in the fifth. ESPN's play log and batting details credit Eldridge with three RBI on the night and Devers with two doubles, two walks, and an RBI.
The Associated Press noted Devers' first-inning double made him the first Giant with 35 home runs and 35 doubles in a season since Jeff Kent in 2002.
Logan Webb gave San Francisco six innings of that early cushion: three hits, one run, two walks, and eight strikeouts on 99 pitches. ESPN listed his game score at 68 and his ERA at 4.10.
Alec Burleson's splash homer into McCovey Cove in the sixth was the only run off him - the 183rd overall splash hit at Oracle Park and the third by a Cardinal, per the AP.
St. Louis chipped away. Nathan Church's seventh-inning double made it 3-2. Pinch-hitter José Fermín's sacrifice fly in the ninth tied it after Dylan Smith loaded the bases.