The San Francisco Giants defeated the Nationals, 2-1, in 18 epic innings at home Saturday in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
The game lasted 6 hours and 23 minutes -- the longest postseason game in MLB history.
The win gives the Giants a 2-0 lead in the NLDS. The two teams will face off in San Francisco on Monday.
Fans weighed in on the lengthy game on Twitter:
@nbcwashington This game is so long that I raised a sheep, sheared it, spun some yarn and knitted a @Nationals sweater. — Ashley Kongs (@ashleykongs) October 5, 2014
@nbcwashington @clala303 This game is so long, @patcollins4 just measured DC's first snowfall. — melanie collins (@possums4ever) October 5, 2014
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The game tied the mark for most innings in the postseason and forced the teams to use 17 pitchers and 24 position players, combined.
The Giants can close out the best-of-five NLDS at home Monday in Game 3, with Madison Bumgarner — who tossed a shutout against Pittsburgh in the wild-card game — facing Doug Fister.
That would be quite a sudden end to 2014 for the Nationals, who won the NL East and led the league with 96 wins.
But this is familiar territory for the Giants; this was San Francisco's 10th consecutive postseason victory.
Brandon Belt gave the Giants the win with a homer off Tanner Roark leading off the 18th. The Giants had been down to their final out Saturday while trailing 1-0 in the ninth, the Giants tied it on Pablo Sandoval's RBI double.
Then, Nationals manager Matt Williams and second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera were ejected in the 10th.
Yusmeiro Petit entered in the 12th and threw six scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven, to earn the win. Hunter Strickland got the save with a scoreless 18th.
Roark, Washington's ninth pitcher, came on in the 17th. An inning later, he threw a 94 mph fastball on a full count to Belt, who missed 96 games this season because of a broken thumb and concussion.
Only one other postseason game in baseball history lasted 18 innings — when the Astros beat the Braves 7-6 in a 2005 NLDS. That one held the previous record for most time, too, at 5:50. Tim Hudson started that game for Atlanta — he was the Giants' starter in this one.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
