The San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals are playing in the NLDS on Tuesday night at AT&T Park and the radio coverage is from ESPN on the airwaves and online from ESPN.com as the Nats try and stay alive down two games to one in the National League Division series as ace Gio Gonzalez is on the mound against Ryan Vogelsong after Washington was able to stay alive in the last game with a win.
The Giants had been on amazing postseason winning streak before losing in the last game and now they are trying to start a new one. The team pulled up 2-0 in the series after beating the Nationals in the 18 inning game and now they are hoping to get the series done with on Tuesday night. The two pitchers are making their postseason debuts for this year and that makes the matchup even more interesting for both sides. Doug Fister pitched very well against Madison Bumgarner in the last game and now the Giants and Nats are looking to get off to good starts in this game.
The Nationals are up against it and it comes after they were the best team in the NL this year. The Nats won the NL East by a wide margin and many felt they were the pick for the World Series from the National League. Stephen Strasburg finally got a taste of the postseason after what happened a couple years ago, but they quickly went down 2-0 and now have the series at 2-1 with the chance to push it to five games.
The 18 inning game will go down as one of the best ever and Tim Hudson started that one after doing the same for the Braves in the last 18 inning game, yeah, that can only happen in baseball. The Nationals were an out away from getting the series to 1-1, but the Giants do not ever give up and they were able to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning after Jordan Zimmermann was taken out. Matt Williams will be asked about that decision for many years if the Nationals don't win this game, as he was dealing after he pitched a no hitter to end the season and then Storen blew the save. Things may not have gotten so heated after, but Brandon Belt hit a HR late and that gave the Giants the game and the Nationals plenty of time to second guess.
The Giants and the Dodgers battled all season in the NL West and that left San Fran to play against the Pirates in the wild card game. The team was not a home run hitting team this season, but they have mashed in the playoffs and they did that against the Pirates. Bumgarner pitched a shutout and now the Giants are hoping that his mistake doesn't haunt the team as they try and win on Tuesday night.
The Giants are the more experienced team, but many see the Nationals as the better team. The pitching matchup may dictate how the game goes on Tuesday and if Vogelsong can do his thing against Gio, the Giants will be in position to win and end the series. The Cardinals and the Dodgers are also playing Game 4 on Tuesday in St. Louis.
Check here for the San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals radio coverage.