San Francisco Giants’ Gregor Blanco is safe at first as St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong fail to catch the throw during the 10th inning of Game 3 of the National League baseball championship series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, in San Francisco.SAN FRANCISCO – Once the Giants finally got a bunt down, the rest was easy.
A wild throw by reliever Randy Choate on a bunt allowed Brandon Crawford to score the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants over the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 on Tuesday for a 2-1 lead in the NL Championship Series.
Crawford drew an eight-pitch walk from Choate to begin the inning, ending a stretch of 16 straight Giants retired since Tim Hudson’s two-out single in the fourth. After failing on two sacrifice attempts, Juan Perez singled to bring up Gregor Blanco.
Blanco fouled off a bunt try, too, but then pushed one to the left side of the mound and the left-handed Choate’s sidearmed throw sailed past lunging second baseman Kolten Wong, who was covering first base.
“We don’t do anything easy,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We might have got a little lucky there with Perez when he couldn’t get a bunt down and he gets a base hit. But Blanco laid down a beauty. … I don’t know if that’s luck as much as great bunt, great speed to put pressure on them.”