SAN FRANCISCO -- For a while, the Giants appeared destined to be doomed by another night of defensive ineptitude. But with a little inspiration from rookie catcher Joey Bart, they found a way to flip the script.?

Bart breathed life into the Giants¡¯ dugout with a sixth-inning pep talk and then hit the first of three home runs off All-Star closer Josh Hader to ignite a six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth that propelled San Francisco to a stunning 8-5 win over the Brewers on Friday night at Oracle Park.

The Giants trailed, 5-2, heading into the bottom of the ninth, but they pulled within one on solo shots from Bart and pinch-hitter Darin Ruf and then capped their improbable comeback on a walk-off grand slam by Mike Yastrzemski?.

? Hader 'just searching' after 3-homer outing in walk-off loss

It was the Giants¡¯ first walk-off home run since August 2020 and their first walk-off grand slam since Bobby Bonds did it in 1973. It also marked the first time in MLB history a team hit three homers in an inning including a walk-off grand slam, according to Stats by STATS.

¡°Only time will tell, but I think that was a really good reminder that we should never give up,¡± Yastrzemski said. ¡°We should always keep our minds in the game and just keep playing no matter what happens because the mistakes that we¡¯ve made somebody else can make them or we can just get right in the game by swinging the bats really well.¡±

The miraculous finish salvaged what had otherwise been a frustrating night for the Giants.

LaMonte Wade Jr. gave San Francisco a 2-0 lead with a two-run triple off Brandon Woodruff in the second inning, but Milwaukee surged ahead with a five-run, two-out rally in the fifth that was prolonged by several defensive miscues by the Giants.

Left-hander Alex Wood opened his final start before the All-Star break with four scoreless innings and then struck out Luis Ur¨ªas and Pedro Severino to start the fifth, but the Brewers¡¯ offense began to stir when Kolten Wong shot a single just past a diving David Villar at third. Jonathan Davis followed with a grounder down the third-base line that looked like it might roll foul, but it stayed fair after bouncing over the bag, allowing Davis to beat out Villar¡¯s throw for an infield single.

The floodgates swung open when Wade booted Christian Yelich¡¯s routine ground ball to the right side, allowing Wong to score from second and cut the deficit to 2-1. Wade¡¯s error prompted manager Gabe Kapler to lift Wood and bring in submariner Tyler Rogers, who walked Willy Adames to load the bases and then surrendered a three-run double to Andrew McCutchen.

The Brewers added another run on Ur¨ªas¡¯ bases-loaded walk to stretch their lead to 5-2, draining morale in the Giants¡¯ dugout. That¡¯s when Bart decided to speak up. The 25-year-old turned to veteran Curt Casali and told him that the team had to keep fighting, a message that ended up resonating throughout the entire dugout.

¡°It was actually really refreshing,¡± Yastrzemski said. ¡°It felt like the energy was sucked out of the dugout. I think it just kind of grinded Joey¡¯s gears. He was just a little fired up that there wasn¡¯t any positive energy at the time. It was really good to hear and really good to kind of see him fired up like that. It wasn¡¯t towards anyone, and it wasn¡¯t aggressive. He was just like fed up.¡±

¡°As a young player, I don¡¯t feel like it¡¯s really my role to try and go and speak out, but that¡¯s just how I was feeling at the time,¡± Bart said. ¡°Like, ¡®Hey, it¡¯s not over yet. Let¡¯s keep going, let¡¯s find a way to win.¡¯ And magic happened, for sure.¡±

Bart led off the ninth with a no-doubt shot off Hader, hammering an inside sinker halfway up the left-field bleachers to kick off the Giants¡¯ decisive rally. After returning to the dugout, Bart continued to stoke the Giants¡¯ belief by immediately strapping on his shin guards to prepare for the possibility of extra innings.

¡°It¡¯s almost like good luck,¡± Bart said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to leave them off.¡±

The Giants continued to feed off his confidence, with Ruf adding another monster, pinch-hit blast to left-center field to make it 5-4. Austin Slater followed with a single -- his fourth hit of the night -- Yerm¨ªn Mercedes reached on a hit-by-pitch and Thairo Estrada added another single to load the bases with one out. That brought up Yastrzemski, who drove a first-pitch sinker out to right-center field to win the left-on-left matchup with Hader and complete the epic comeback.

¡°It was probably the wildest one of my whole career, to be honest,¡± Wood said. ¡°Three bombs off Hader in the ninth? I still don¡¯t believe it. It was just crazy. We needed it. The boys pulled it off, and hopefully we¡¯ll carry some good momentum the next two days.¡±

Hader's struggles on Friday came just two days after his last ineffective outing, when he did not retire a single batter and allowed a three-run, walk-off homer to Jose Miranda in a loss in Minnesota.

The four-time All-Star was asked if he is healthy, and he said, ¡°Yeah.¡±

When asked if he was hurting at all, Hader replied, ¡°No.¡±

¡°I feel like I¡¯m trying to feel things I don¡¯t need to and I lost the aggressiveness that I normally have,¡± said Hader. ¡°So, it¡¯s just little things. But I¡¯ve just got to move on and bring it tomorrow.¡±