MIAMI–Fifteen years after Marlins catcher Ivan Rodríguez withstood first baseman J.T. Snow’s attempt to barrel through him at home plate on the final play of the NLDS, Rodríguez’s son Dereck attempted to return the favor on behalf of the Giants by rolling through the Marlins on Thursday.
Fifteen years later, the Marlins took a shot and once again hung on as long as they possibly could.
This time, Ty Blach and Pablo Sandoval finished the job for the Giants, combining for extra-inning heroics that helped San Francisco clinch a marathon 6-3, 16-inning victory.
Rookie right-hander Dereck Rodríguez set a new career-high with 6 u2154 innings of two-run ball Thursday, but the Giants needed 6 2/3 more scoreless innings of relief from Blach to salvage the final game of an otherwise miserable series.