Giants 5, Cardinals 4 (10): A throwing error by St. Louis reliever Randy Choate allowed Brandon Crawford to score the winning run as host San Francisco defeated the Cardinals to take a 2-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.

Crawford drew a leadoff walk off Choate (0-1) to start the 10th and Juan Perez added a line single to left. Gregor Blanco followed with a bunt toward third base and it was fielded by Choate, who threw wildly past first as Crawford scored the decisive run.

Sergio Romo (1-1) recorded the final out of the top of the 10th prior to the winning sequence. Travis Ishikawa drove in three runs for the Giants, who host Game 4 of the best-of-seven series Wednesday.

San Francisco struck for four runs in the first inning off John Lackey with the first scoring when Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval stroked back-to-back singles and Hunter Pence followed with a RBI double. After Brandon Belt was intentionally walked, Ishikawa blasted a three-run double off the base of the fence in right-center field to make it 4-0.

Jon Jay and Matt Holliday started the St. Louis fourth with singles against Tim Hudson and scored when Kolten Wong smacked a two-run triple off the wall in right-center. Jhonny Peralta bounced a run-scoring ground single in the sixth to pull the Cardinals within 4-3 before Randal Grichuk pounded a tying homer off the foul pole in left with one out in the seventh.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cardinals C Yadier Molina (oblique) missed the contest and was replaced in the lineup by A.J. Pierzynski (0-for-4). … Hudson allowed four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings, while Lackey gave up four runs and five hits in six innings. … San Francisco was 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position.