After Saturday's ring ceremony, the Giants posed for a photo and made a statement of unity by asking Miguel Tejada and Brandon Belt to be in the shot, even though they were not on the World Series team and didn't receive rings.
Several hours later, Tejada made a statement about his desire to get what his new teammates have. With two outs in the ninth inning, the Giants down a run and down to their last strike, Tejada took a swing that won the game.
He hit a long drive to left-center field that popped out of Colby Rasmus' glove as he tried to make a basket catch at the warning track. Two runs scored and the Giants won 3-2, beating the Cardinals after trailing in the ninth for the second straight game.
Two emotional wins after two emotional pregame ceremonies.
"It was a great day," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Now we won't just remember getting the rings, but we'll remember winning the game."
One cloud hovered over the celebration. Center fielder Andres Torres strained his left Achilles tendon while charging a Lance Berkman line drive in the fourth inning. Torres will get an MRI exam today. Only then will the Giants offer a prognosis.
Bochy termed the initial diagnosis "good news" because Torres did not tear the Achilles. Torres called this "a little strain," though his walking boot and crutch suggested he will be out a while.
Nate Schierholtz replaced Torres and had three hits, including a triple. Aaron Rowand, who started in right, shifted to center, where he will start in Torres' absence.
With Cody Ross still nursing a calf strain and only now cleared to start jogging, the Giants will have to do without two-thirds of their regular postseason outfield for a while, testing the one-for-all, all-for-one theme of last year's championship.
"We found a way to do it," said Pat Burrell, the only healthy outfielder of the three. "When you win a game like this early, it's a little carryover from last year. We believe we can do it late. We had the right guy up at the right time."
Matt Cain was two outs away from his first loss, after allowing his first two runs of the season, when Buster Posey lined a single to right against Ryan Franklin. Burrell, who scored the first Giants run on a Mark DeRosa single after Jaime Garcia hit him on the helmet, walked.
Rowand flied out, leaving the game in Tejada's hands. He fell behind 0-2 but worked the count full before driving a fastball into a cold, blustery wind.
"When I hit it, I thought the ball was out of the park," Tejada said. "After that, I thought, 'Oh no, the wind got me.' "
No, it got the center fielder Rasmus, who said, "I went after it as hard as I could. Then it chewed me up."
Posey and pinch-runner Brandon Belt scored and the Giants frolicked on the field again.
Tejada watched the ring ceremony from the dugout and said it will motivate him for the entire season. During the photo, when teammates held out their hands to display the rings, Tejada put his behind his back.
"Even though I didn't get a ring, I feel a part of this team," he said. "This is my opportunity to be in the situation I've been looking for my whole career."
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