ST. LOUIS (AP) – Barry Zito pitched the San Francisco Giants back into the NL championship series, dominating into the eighth inning of a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night that narrowed their deficit to 3-2.

The defending champion Cardinals might have thrown away a chance to clinch a second straight World Series trip. Pitcher Lance Lynn’s toss on a possible forceout deflected off the second-base bag, paving the way for the Giants’ four-run fourth.

Pablo Sandoval homered for the second straight night and Zito made an extremely rare offensive contribution with a perfectly executed bunt for an RBI single.

Game 6 will be in San Francisco on Sunday, with Ryan Vogelson pitching for the Giants against Chris Carpenter.