The Giants Win the Pennant!
San Francisco punches World Series ticket on a walk-off home run.
— -- Thursday might as well have been Oct. 3, 1951, all over again for the Giants.
San Francisco clinched a World Series berth Thursday, winning the pennant on a walk-off home run by Travis Ishikawa.
The game was tied 3-3 before Ishikawa’s blast, which cleared the right field bleachers at AT&T Park. Following the home run, Ishikawa skated and danced around the base paths, seemingly failing to touch the ground. The team celebrated at home plate, a 6-3 victory for the chance to face the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, which begins Tuesday.
After the home run, fireworks erupted in the San Francisco night.
Ishikawa’s home run represents one of the most notable moments in franchise history. The Giant, then in New York, also reached the World Series on a home run in 1951, with Bobby Thompson delivering the clutch hit against the Brooklyn Dodgers, a hit known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World."
Thompson’s blast was also a three-run home run.
This time, it was Ishikawa’s turn. As Ishikawa’s home run settled into the stands, the fans – a sea of black and orange – erupted, cheering on the National League’s champions for 2014.