SAN FRANCISCO (Interstat) — In a back-and-forth contest defined by a decisive fifth-inning outburst, the St. Louis Cardinals edged the San Francisco Giants 6-5 on Monday night at Oracle Park.

The victory evened both teams’ records at 77-80, leaving them tied in the standings as the season enters its final week.

St. Louis right-hander Michael McGreevy, who entered the game with an 11-inning scoreless streak, saw that end abruptly when San Francisco’s Heliot Ramos launched a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning. The Giants held that 1-0 lead until the Cardinals began to chip away.

St. Louis tied the game in the third inning. José Fermín led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Victor Scott II. After a strikeout, Alec Burleson delivered a two-out single to right field, scoring Fermín.

The Cardinals took their first lead an inning later. Jordan Walker worked a two-out walk and scored when Fermín doubled for the second consecutive at-bat, lining a ball to center field to put St. Louis ahead 2-1.

The Giants responded immediately in the bottom of the fourth, mounting a two-out rally against McGreevy. Matt Chapman singled, and after a flyout, Casey Schmitt and Patrick Bailey followed with consecutive singles to tie the game. With the bases loaded, Heliot Ramos delivered again, grounding a two-run single to right field to give San Francisco a 4-2 advantage. Ramos was thrown out trying to advance to second on the play, ending the inning.

The lead was short-lived as the Cardinals erupted for four runs in the top of the fifth to seize control. Lars Nootbaar started the rally with a single off Giants starter Justin Verlander. Iván Herrera then connected on a game-tying two-run homer, sending a fly ball over the center field wall. The rally continued as Burleson singled and Nolan Arenado doubled, putting runners on second and third with no outs.

After a flyout, Pedro Pagés hit a ground ball to second baseman Casey Schmitt, who mishandled it for an error, allowing Burleson to score the go-ahead run. Jordan Walker followed with a groundout that plated Arenado, providing a critical insurance run and a 6-4 lead.

San Francisco got one back in the bottom of the fifth when Rafael Devers hit a solo home run to left-center field, cutting the deficit to 6-5. That marked the end of the line for McGreevy, who earned the win to improve to 8-3 despite allowing five runs on six hits over five innings.

The Cardinals’ bullpen took over from there, silencing the Giants’ bats over the final four frames. Ryan Fernandez, John King, and Kyle Leahy combined for three scoreless innings, handing the ball to JoJo Romero for the ninth. Romero was perfect, tossing a 1-2-3 inning to secure his eighth save of the season.

Verlander took the loss for San Francisco, falling to 3-11. He was charged with all six St. Louis runs, though only five were earned, on 10 hits over five innings. The Giants’ bullpen, featuring scoreless outings from Tristan Beck, Joel Pagero, and Matt Gage, kept the game close.

The game, played in two hours and thirty-three minutes before a crowd of 31,301, saw the combined 11 runs easily surpass the pregame over/under line of 7.5. The result was a mild upset, as Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 4-3 Giants victory, and their ELO system gave San Francisco a 56.3 percent probability to win.

The two teams continue their three-game series on Tuesday night at Oracle Park.