The San Francisco Giants prevailed in the longest game in postseason history on Sunday, taking 6 1/2 hours to defeat the Washington Nationals 2-1 in Game 2 of the NLCS in D.C.
One win away from a spot in the National League Championship Series, the San Francisco Giants seemed well aware of what Game 3 meant for their championship hopes.
A desperate Washington Nationals squad wasn't about to give up their season without a fight, however, with the first six innings providing a pitchers' duel of epic proportions between SF's Madison Bumgarner and Washington's Doug Fister.
A huge two-run throwing error (on an extremely ill-advised throw) by Bumgarner, however, would break a scoreless tie in top the 7th. Nats shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera would also add an RBI single in the frame to give Washington an insurance run and a 3-0 lead.
Bryce Harper's solo bomb to right in the 8th (which made it 4-0) appeared to be just a needless add-on with how silent the Giants' bats all day long. However, SF would put together a major threat in the bottom of 9th with runners on 2nd and 3rd and nobody out.
Closer Drew Storen would tightrope out of it with just one run scored (a Brandon Crawford sac fly), though, and the Nats had a season-saving 4-1 win in the bank.
Turning Point: Speaking of that throwing error...it changed everything. With runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out in the top of the 7th, Nats catcher Wilson Ramos laid down a less than academic bunt right to Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner, in the heat of the moment, would make the split-second decision to try and get the lead runner at third.
Despite his good intentions, Bumgarner's throw would sail down the left field line, plating two for a suddenly-invigorated Washington side.
Add in Cabrera's single and Bryce Harper's mammoth eighth-inning HR (a screamer that almost took a dip in McCovey Cove), and that was all she wrote on this afternoon by the Bay.
Nationals MVP: Doug Fister – 7 IP, 4 hits, 0 earned runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts
You've got to hand it to the former Tiger. After missing the first month of the 2014 season due to injury, the veteran quickly settled into his role as defacto stopper in Washington's starting rotation.
He played that role to perfection on Monday, limiting the Giants to a sporadic threat or two while giving the Nats offense time to put something together against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. Fister's start will go down as one of the biggest outing in Nats history so far, carrying the team with the NL's best record back into this series.
Giants MVP: Madison Bumgarner – 7 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts
Other than his disastrous 7th inning, Bumgarner once again asserted himself as one of baseball's best on Monday. Other than the damage he did to himself and Cabrera's single, the 25-year-old right hander stifled Washington's bats all afternoon long. Someone had to take the fall in this one and it's going to be Bumgarner.
However, his whole body of work so far this postseason is still something worth applauding if you're a Giants fan.
What’s Next?
The teams return to AT&T Park tomorrow for Game 4, with first pitch slated for 9:07pm EST. Gio Gonzalez (10-10, 3.57) will take the hill for the Nats' second-straight elimination game against San Francisco hurler Ryan Vogelsong (8-13, 4.00).
Including today's win, the Nationals are 4-1 in San Francisco so far in 2014.
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