A team's entire mentality completely shifts when they're playing in the comfort of their own home, especially if you possess an energetic atmosphere like AT&T Park as home. Coming into this current home stand, the San Francisco Giants were in desperate need of some kind of boost. In their first series of the six-game homestand they seized two out of three games from the Chicago Cubs, but now face an even bigger test with the St. Louis Cardinals.

To kick off the series, Mike Leake took the mound on Friday night searching for his first win in a Giants' uniform. He got off to a solid start through his first three innings, racking up a pair of strikeouts without allowing a single base runner. It's not as if Leake has been pitching poorly, he's actually been competing at a very high level, it's just that the run support has been lacking and the bullpen blew a lead in his last start. As for the Giants, they had a good opportunity in the first to score with runners on first and second with no outs, but failed to plate a run.

It wasn't until the third that the Giants could finally cash in against Cardinal right-hander Michael Wacha. They managed to load the bases due to a couple of errors and a hit by pitch. Marlon Byrd came to the plate with one out, looking to give his club an early lead and provided in a huge way. For the second night in a row, a Giants hitter blasted a grand slam to energize the offense. Byrd reacted on a hanging curveball and lifted a deep shot to center. It looked like Tommy Pham could potentially have a chance to rob him, but the ball landed just out of his reach to put the Giants up 4-0.  

In the very next inning, the opportunistic Cardinals struck back with a vengeance. Matt Carpenter finally picked up their first hit against Leake and ended up scoring off a single provided by Yadier Molina. Unfortunately, the run scoring didn't cease there as a double from right fielder Stephen Piscotty pushed two more runs across home plate. Just like that, the Giants' lead had diminished to a single run, and Leake's excellence that he demonstrated in the first few innings seemed to slowly be drifting away. He regained his form in the following inning, though in the fifth he allowed the Card's fourth run on a wild pitch.

Despite singles in the fourth and fifth, the Giants couldn't score and watched helplessly as the Cardinals tied the game. Leake was pulled in the seventh in favor of Josh Osich, while Wacha was replaced in the seventh as well by left-hander Randy Choate. As he did Thursday, Osich dominated in his 0.2 of an inning of work while Choate lasted only one hitter with Brandon Belt getting a base knock; although, this hit went to waste without producing a run. Sergio Romo entered the game to deal with the eighth and did his job with a three up, three down frame.

Both teams' offense came to a halt heading into the ninth. Javier Lopez was the man Bruce Bochy called upon to hold the tie in the ninth. Like Romo before him, he put together a quick inning by retiring all three hitters he faced. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, the middle of the order were due up for the Giants as they attempted to take the lead. Kevin Seigrist, a reliable left hander, was trusted upon to pitch for the Cardinals in extra innings. To get the winning run on base, Belt singled for his second hit of the game. Walks to Buster Posey and Gregor Blanco followed as the bases became juiced for rookie Kelby Tomlinson. Last night he did extreme damage with the bases loaded by tallying his first career grand slam, and had an opportunity to notch another first of his career: a walk-off hit. On a 2-2 count, Tomlinson beat the infield shift by lining a single into center in order to take the lead and win the game.

This win represents proof that the Giants can compete against any team in the league, but once again Mike Leake was cheated out of a victory. Javier Lopez received the win in the end as the relievers delivered excellently. Although the great two-hit night from Tomlinson was impressive, other offensive performances from multiple Giant hitters provides a source of positivity for the rest of the series. Of course there was the grand slam from Marlon Byrd, but Belt smacked two singles while every starting position players besides Posey recorded a hit in the game.

Tomorrow's game will feature Chris Heston (11-7, 3.34 ERA) and Jaime Garcia (6-4, 1.77 ERA) in a showdown beginning at 4:05 PM EST Saturday.