ST. LOUIS -- The sudden chill that swept over downtown St. Louis gave Saturday's matinee an October vibe. Here were the Giants and Cardinals, so often playoff foes, Adam Wainwright on the mound and a breeze in the air. The stakes, though, skewed disproportionally high for one side. The Cardinals are fighting for their playoff lives with a week left to play. The Giants are not.
Which is why any win for St. Louis, at this critical juncture, classifies as paramount. The Cardinals survived a season-high four errors and a barrage of bad luck to earn a 5-4 win over San Francisco in 10 innings.