'Rafi gives me more confidence': Devers, Eldridge blossoming into 1-2 punch for Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Between Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge, the Giants might just have the makings of their next great power-hitting duo.

The pair continued to feed off each other on Monday night, combining to go 4-for-7 with four RBIs before Shay Whitcomb delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning to help the Giants edge the Cardinals, 5-4, at Oracle Park.

“We showed the fight that we’ve got,” Eldridge said. “We’ve been fighting all year, and people have counted us out. We’ve had some tough games. We’ve had some ups and downs, but we’re in the middle of September now, and the will to win tonight was pretty strong. I think you could sense that from everyone in the dugout.”

The Giants took a 3-2 lead into the top of the ninth, but the Cardinals came back to tie the game against right-hander Dylan Smith, who needed only 11 pitches to get through a scoreless eighth but ultimately fell short of converting a six-out save.

Smith allowed St. Louis to load the bases on a pair of singles and a walk in the ninth, setting the stage for pinch-hitter José Fermín’s game-tying sacrifice fly to left field.

The Giants also loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Cardinals reliever Ryne Stanek coaxed a flyout from Turner Hill to send the game to extra innings.

St. Louis took a 4-3 lead on Leo Bernal’s run-scoring bloop single off Jason Foley in the top of the 10th before the Giants pulled even in the bottom half of the inning. Riley O’Brien intentionally walked the red-hot Devers to bring up Eldridge, who made the Cardinals pay by lining a single to center field to score Hill -- the automatic runner -- from second.

“I knew [Devers] wasn’t going to get pitched to,” Eldridge said. “It’s kind of something that I prepare myself [for] before the inning even starts. It gives me more confidence, honestly. Rafi gives me more confidence, too. If they pitch around him, they throw around him or they intentionally walk him, he looks at me and he’s pumping me up. I love that guy. I have his back, and he’s got my back. That gives me a lot of fuel.”

Jonah Cox followed with a sacrifice bunt that put runners on second and third with one out, prompting the Cardinals to intentionally walk Jung Hoo Lee to load the bases. That brought up Drew Gilbert, who ended up hitting a squibbler in front of the plate that resulted in a 2-3, inning-ending double play.

Foley returned to the mound in the 11th and worked a scoreless inning with the help of Eldridge, who made a phenomenal scoop at first base to end the frame. The Giants went on to stage their final rally in the bottom of the 11th. Drew Cavanaugh laid down a sacrifice bunt to move automatic runner Nate Furman to third before Whitcomb bounced an infield single to the left side to end the game.

Devers finished 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, becoming the first Giant to record 35 doubles and 35 homers in a single season since Hall of Famer Jeff Kent in 2002.

Devers has been on fire over the last couple of weeks, batting .421 (24-for-57) with nine homers, five doubles and 22 RBIs over his past 15 games. He homered six times in seven games during the Giants’ recent road trip to Atlanta, Pittsburgh and New York and quickly kept that hot streak going upon returning home on Monday.

After Hill opened the bottom of the first with a walk, Devers smoked a Statcast-projected 402-foot drive that hit off the bricks in right field and fell for an RBI double, giving San Francisco an early 1-0 lead against Cardinals right-hander Michael McGreevy.

The Giants extended their lead to 2-0 on Eldridge’s sacrifice fly in the third and then tacked on another run after Devers and Eldridge recorded back-to-back doubles in the fifth.

The two should give the Giants an enviable 1-2 punch for years to come, as Devers is signed through 2033, and the 21-year-old Eldridge is under team control through 2031.

“I think that’s an exciting topic,” manager Tony Vitello said.

San Francisco ace Logan Webb opened his start with five scoreless innings, though he allowed the Cardinals to get on the board via Alec Burleson’s splash hit homer in the sixth. Jordan Walker kept the inning going with a two-out walk, but Eldridge made a nice leaping grab on Bernal’s 102.1 mph liner to help Webb end his night without any further damage.

“I’ve been working my tail off,” Eldridge said of his defense. “It’s nice when it shows off on the field and people take note of it.”