The San Francisco Giants needed every bit of their 12 innings on Saturday afternoon in Washington. They escaped a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the 10th. They survived a ninth-inning tie. Two scoreless extra innings followed before Matt Chapman put them ahead for good.
Chapman’s go-ahead single off Cionel Pérez in the 12th inning lifted San Francisco to a 7-6 victory over the Washington Nationals, their third consecutive win. Caleb Kilian closed out the bottom half for his first career major league victory.
It was messy, it was tense, and the Giants found a way regardless.
How the Giants Won It
GettyMatt Chapman of the San Francisco Giants.
The 10th inning was the turning point. Ryan Walker inherited a bases-loaded situation with nobody out and proceeded to strand all three runners. Two strikeouts set the stage, and then Willy Adames made the play of the game, fielding a sharp grounder from Jorbit Vivas, stepping on second for the force, and firing to first to complete the double play before the winning run could score.
That play kept the game alive long enough for Chapman to win it two innings later.
The ninth had its own drama. Brady House’s RBI single off Walker tied the game at 6 with two outs, with James Wood crossing home just before a tag at third to make the run count. What looked like a Giants win suddenly became extra innings.
Ramos and the Offensive Swings
Heliot Ramos was the offensive engine on Saturday, finishing with three hits including a two-run home run in the sixth that tied the game at 5. He also doubled in the second and scored on a Drew Gilbert single to pull the Giants level early.
Casey Schmitt came up with a clutch double in the third to drive in a run, with another scoring on a Nationals fielding error. Rafael Devers added an RBI single in the seventh to push the Giants ahead before the Nationals tied it in the ninth.
San Francisco had their own defensive miscues to work through. An Adames error in the second opened the door to a three-run Washington inning that briefly flipped the momentum. Patrick Bailey helped erase some of that damage, picking Daylen Lile off third base in the third to kill a promising Nationals rally.
Final Word for the Giants
Three straight wins and a resilience that is becoming a calling card for this group. Saturday was not clean, but it was a win, and wins on the road in extra innings carry real weight in April.
Robbie Ray takes the mound Sunday as the Giants go for a three-game sweep. The opportunity is right there.
Giants Get Massive Moment in Thrilling 12-Inning Victory