SAN FRANCISCO — Two teams as snug in the game as they remain in the standings exchanged counterpunches late into the night Monday as they tried to avoid being the first of them eliminated, officially, from the playoff race.

With less than a week remaining in the regular season, both the Cardinals and Giants – once again dueling toward the end of their seasons – swapped leads through the early innings before the Cardinals struck against Justin Verlander for a four-run rally. A mix of power from Ivan Herrera and small ball from groundouts boosted the Cardinals toward a 6-5 victory against the Giants at Oracle Park. Jose Fermin, a last-minute addition to the lineup due to Brendan Donovan’s injury, had two doubles and RBI to rally the Cardinals, and Herrera’s homer catapulted them to the lead in time for Michael McGreevy to nab the win.

JoJo Romero pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

The win moved the Cardinals into a tie with the Giants, at 77-80.

The Cardinals must win their remaining five games to have a winning record, and both teams are on the brink of official elimination from contention for the third and final wild-card berth.

Veteran starter Verlander, gathering momentum even at the end of his second decade in the majors, allowed one run in his previous 25 innings and only one run in three previous starts this September. The Cardinals put four runs on the right-hander in a burst during the fifth inning that bounced him from the start.

Verlander allowed six runs (four earned) in 4 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals pelted him with nine hits, three of them from Alec Burleson.

McGreevy (8-3) matched Verlander (3-11) inning for inning and was able to quiet the Giants just enough that he outlasted Verlander by finishing the fifth.

Herrera keeps on slugging

Almost immediately after he revealed that he’ll need surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow and free-up his right arm for better throws, Herrera has been on a tear.

For the second consecutive game, Herrera homered, and this time his two-run shot hoisted the Cardinals back into the game by tying it, 4-4. Herrera’s 18th homer of the season tied him with Burleson for the second-most on the team. Both players have five games remaining to join Willson Contreras as Cardinals with at least 20 homers this season.

Herrera’s Monday was his seventh of September.

The Giants opened up a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, and it took the Cardinals precisely two batters into the fifth inning to answer. Lars Nootbaar struck a leadoff single against Verlander, and Herrera followed with a homer to center field – right smack dab into the Giants’ bullpen. Herrera crushed a 92.1-mph fastball from Verlander and sent it an estimated 412 feet.

The Cardinals took the lead and extended it over the next five batters. A double by Nolan Arenado combined with an error allowed the Cardinals two score two runs on groundballs and open up a 6-4 lead.

No San Francisco sequel for McGreevy

The start that best positioned right-handed rookie McGreevy for his role this season and finish in the big-league rotation was a start a year ago on the final day of the season against the Giants at Oracle Park. McGreevy pitched eight superb innings and limited the Giants to one run.

That was the impression that lingered through the offseason, into spring training, and throughout his yo-yo stretch as the starter called up when needed from Class AAA Memphis.

It took the Giants three pitches, not eight innings, to get a run Monday.

Leadoff hitter Heliot Ramos pulled the third pitch he saw in the bottom of the first inning for a solo homer. Ramos drilled an 82-mph sweeper from McGreevy and put it into the seats. Two pitches later, Rafael Devers lofted a ball that Jordan Walker caught with his back to the right-field wall. So it went for McGreevy. His five innings echoed with loud outs. Devers’ long fly ball to right field in the first inning was a harbinger of his home run to left-center field in the fifth inning. Ramos’ solo homer was matched three innings later by his two-run single off McGreevy.

The Cardinals’ rookie mixed in just enough groundballs to get through the middle innings of his start, quiet the Giants for the Cardinals to rally, and then get his footing back to leave the bullpen a lead and 12 outs to get.

McGreevy, who is set to start the season finale again this year, allowed five runs on six hits and three walks through five innings. Only two of his past nine starts have gone fewer than six innings. He allowed the two homers but remained in line for the win.

Curious non-call proves costly

If anything, as the play unfolded and the replays later revealed, Thomas Saggese’s confused expression and jitterbug run down the third base line made more sense.

In the second inning, Saggese ripped a double down the left-field line. He took third on a groundout, and he seemed poised to tie the game with a ball in play.

That’s when things got weird.

With the Giants’ infield in to make a play at the plate, Walker chopped a two-strike pitch from Verlander that had odd movement on it as it reached shortstop Willy Adames. Saggese broke from third, stopped, slowed, and then broke for home. He was beaten easily by the throw from Adames. Walker reached first. Upon seeing Saggese caught in the vise of a rundown at third, Walker broke for second – and he was thrown out there for the unconventional double play.

Why he ran at all, why the play continued at all – all were questions.

A replay showed what the Cardinals’ dugout and manager Oli Marmol argued: The ball went off Walker’s foot before swerving out to Adames. It should have been a foul ball, a dead ball. That explained why Saggese, who had a good view of what happened, paused. Marmol sought a review of the call that could not, by rule, be challenged because of where the fair-foul decision took place. Marmol had an animated exchange with home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher. And when that didn’t get him ejected, he continued jawing with first-base umpire Malachi Moore from the dugout.

Marmol remained in the game.

The double play meant the Cardinals were out of the inning.

Seesaw through 4 ½

The lead Ramos’ solo home run took in the bottom of the first was gone by the middle of the third. The lead the Cardinals held after the top of the fourth did not surve the bottom of that same inning. And so it went for the two teams dueling for on the far periphery of the wild-card race.

The Giants took a lead. The Cardinals answered.

The Cardinals took a lead. The Giants answered.

Fermin’s leadoff double to start the third eventually tied the game, 1-1, on Burleson’s RBI single. In the fourth, Fermin’s double scored Walker from second to give the Cardinals their first lead. Both of the Cardinals’ first two runs scored with two outs. And in the fifth inning, they scored two runs before Verlander could get an out.

When the Cardinals took a lead in the top of the fifth inning it was already the fourth time there had been a lead change in the game.

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