"It was a long wait, but it was worth it," manager Craig Counsell said. "Somehow, some way, we got it done tonight. We just kept playing and finally prevailed."
And it seemed fitting that the go-ahead run of this four-hour, 44-minute marathon -- a game in which both teams all but emptied their benches -- was scored by a player, Nevin Ashley, who reached base after striking out.
That's the way it went down in the 13th inning. Ashley struck out against Pirates reliever Radhames Liz, but Ashley busted it down the line, arriving safely at first.