The Giants Win the Pennant on a Walk-Off Home Run

In a wild game at AT&T Thursday night, the San Francisco Giants won the National League pennant in the most dramatic fashion since Bobby Thomson's "shot heard 'round the world" back in 1951, when they were still the New York Giants.

This time, the unlikely hero was journeyman Travis Ishikawa, playing left field despite having little experience at the position.

That inexperience cost the Giants early on when Ishikawa let a fly ball get over his head. Cards 1, Giants 0.

Giants rookie Joe Panik later hit a two-run homer. Giants 2, Cards 1.

The die-hard Cardinals came back with two homers in the fourth. It stayed 3-2 Cardinals until the bottom of the eighth when Michael Morse, pinch-hitting for Giants starter Madison Bumgarner, blasted a solo home run to left.

Game tied, 3-3 to the ninth. The Giants closer Santiago Casilla didn't have his A stuff, so he left with the bases loaded and two outs, when Jeremy Affeldt, who did bring his A stuff, came in to shut down the Cardinals' rally, and the game went to the bottom of the ninth.

If you were in the stadium, as I was, you could sense that something special was about to happen. I cannot explain it; it's just the way it was.

Here is what happened: Pablo Sandoval singled and with one out Brandon Belt walked. At that point Ishikawa stepped up and redeemed himself for the early misplay by driving his dramatic three-run home run into right-center.

AT&T went wild.

Afterwards, walking down the ramp out of the park, the fans broke out in a brand new chant: "Ishi-kawa, Ishi-kawa!"