SAN FRANCISCO — Inside the ’ clubhouse, where beverages rained and mayhem reigned, the wild-eyed right fielder Hunter Pence delivered an invocation before a tight mosh pit formed around him, with players bouncing to the cranked-up music. A drenched Brandon Belt, escaping for a moment to wipe his eyes and catch his breath, said, “That was one of the rougher ones I’ve been in. ”As exuberant as the Giants were Thursday night about their trip to the World Series — Jake Peavy nearly tackled Travis Ishikawa before Ishikawa reached third base after his game-winning, pennant-winning blast — they also maintained a sense of order about their celebration. It was confined to a small plot within the clubhouse, perhaps 20 square feet. And when it was over, it was over. Family members could share hugs and take selfies, and members of the news media could carry out interviews without rain gear. Morse’s pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth — his first hit since late August — tied the score at 3-3 and led Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny to bring in Michael Wacha, normally a starter, instead of his closer, Trevor Rosenthal, in the ninth. The Giants’ third-base coach, Tim Flannery, who dabbles as a folk singer, recalled a line he wrote for a song in a documentary on another former October star, outfielder Andres Torres, who struggled with attention deficit disorder before flourishing when he consented to treatment late in his career. “I promise you will see, it’s never too late to be the person you were meant to be,” said Flannery, who sang the national anthem before Game 3 with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. “I don’t know. It’s like they’re touched. ”The home runs by Morse and Ishikawa were as poetic as another critical moment in the ninth inning of Game 5 — when Pablo Sandoval, the plump third baseman whose form belies his athleticism, dived for a ground ball in the hole and deflected it to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who got a forceout at second. It was another case in these playoffs of fortune smiling on the Giants, and of them making the most of it. “That’s when you start going, ‘What the hell?' ” Flannery said. Another one of those moments came in the aftermath of Ishikawa’s home run, when Flannery saw Peavy, who jumped over the dugout railing, go sprinting past him to tackle Ishikawa, who had to wave Peavy away so he could reach third base. So Peavy moved aside for Ishikawa, who spiked his helmet as he rounded third and ran toward his waiting teammates. He was heading home, and the Giants were going back to a familiar place.

• published: 19 Oct 2014
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