Giants Beat Cubs in 13, Nationals Win, Indians Sweep

By ESPN

Sure is hard to send these San Francisco Giants home in October.

Joe Panik doubled off the right-center wall in the 13th inning to drive in Brandon Crawford, and the Giants outlasted the Chicago Cubs 6-5 on Monday night in Game 3 to extend their NL Division Series.

Boosted by Conor Gillaspie's go-ahead triple in the eighth off Aroldis Chapman, the Giants rallied from a three-run deficit and won their 10th straight game when facing postseason elimination.

San Francisco overcame Kris Bryant's two-run homer off closer Sergio Romo that tied it 5-all in the ninth, and an early three-run shot by pitcher Jake Arrieta against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner.

"Just because we're down, we're not out. If we're breathing, we're still fighting," Panik said.

The wild-card Giants forced Game 4 at their raucous ballpark, postponing a potential Cubs clinch party in the visitors' clubhouse. Chicago leads the best-of-five playoff 2-1 and will send John Lackey to the mound Tuesday night opposite lefty Matt Moore.

"We played it hard, we played it right -- and they beat us," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

Teammates piled on Panik in celebration after he came through on the 57th pitch from Mike Montgomery, beginning his fifth inning of relief. Crawford hit a leadoff double on an 0-2 curve, bringing Panik to the plate.

His big hit ended a 5-hour, 4-minute game that was only 29 minutes shy of the total time it took to play the first two series games combined last week at Wrigley Field.

Gillaspie hit a two-run triple in the eighth and Crawford added an RBI single to give the Giants a 5-3 lead.

"There's a sense of calmness," Panik said. "It's like we've been there before."

Rookie left-hander Ty Blach earned the win, escaping a 13th-inning jam when pinch-hitter David Ross bounced into a double play.

Bryant's tying drive hit the top of the left-field fence and bounced into the seats, silencing the orange towel-swirling sellout crowd. The slugger received a warm hug of congratulations in the dugout from Chapman, who had just given up the lead.

On a night when the early focus was the marquee pitching matchup between Bumgarner and Arrieta, the bullpens decided this one hours later.

Arrieta's three-run drive in the second held up most of the way.

"The game had everything -- pitching, timely hitting on both sides. It was just a fun game to be involved with," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Arrieta's shot ended Bumgarner's postseason scoreless streak at 24 innings. The left-hander had also thrown 24 straight shutout innings with the Giants facing postseason elimination, a separate string that was snapped as well.

Nationals 8, Dodgers 3

Jayson Werth always wanted to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium when he played two seasons in the venerable ballpark. His latest attempt came close with a 450-foot blast into the upper reaches of the left-field pavilion.

Werth's homer helped break open a one-run game in the ninth inning, moving the Washington Nationals within one victory of taking a postseason series for the first time with an 8-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday and a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five NL playoff.

Heck, he even tied Babe Ruth with his 15th career postseason homer, good for 11th all-time.

"Ever since Dusty (Baker) moved me into the two-hole, I just felt like my job is to get on base for the animals behind me," said Werth, whose three hits tied a postseason career high.

Four relievers combined for 4 2/3 shutout innings, putting the Nationals in position to wrap up the NL Division Series on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

"They work quick and they're not afraid to go after anybody," said third baseman Anthony Rendon, who hit a two-run homer in a four-run third that chased Kenta Maeda.

Werth added, "It gives us confidence. I feel like the bullpen is going to hold up and that might not have been the case or the feeling in years past."

NL East champions for the third time in five years, the Nats were unable to advance during their two previous trips to the postseason. They lost in the Division Series to St. Louis in 2012 and San Francisco in 2014.

Cleveland Sweeps Red Sox

The ball settled into the right fielder's glove, the Cleveland Indians poured onto the diamond and the Fenway fans fell silent.

Then, slowly from the crowd rose a chant of "Pa-pi!"

Cleveland swept the Red Sox out of the postseason and sent David Ortiz into retirement on Monday night with a 4-3 victory that completed a three-game AL Division Series sweep. But even as the Indians frolicked on the field in their celebratory hats and T-shirts, Boston fans weren't ready to let their beloved Big Papi go.

"I'm glad he didn't get a hit to beat us," manager Terry Francona said after leading the Indians to just the second postseason sweep in franchise history. "I thought it was an honor to be on the field, competing against him in his last game, because he's truly one of the best. You could tell the way people were hanging around yelling his name and everything. He deserves every bit of that."

Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer , closer Cody Allen got four outs and the Indians advanced the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2007. That year, they took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against Boston before losing three in a row.

Cleveland also blew a 2-0 lead against Boston in the best-of-five round in 1999.

But this year there would be no fold.

Perhaps inspired by the Cavaliers' NBA title -- the city's first pro sports championship since 1964 -- the Indians shut down Ortiz and the most prolific offense in the league. Rookie Tyler Naquin delivered a two-run single and Josh Tomlin pitched five strong innings for the Indians, who will open the ALCS at home against Toronto on Friday.

Tuesday, October 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

Washington at Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at San Francisco, 7:30 p.m.

NLDS -- Game 4

Wednesday, October 12 Schedule (Time Central)

No games scheduled

Thursday, October 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Los Angeles Dodgers at Washington, 4 p.m.

NLDS --  Game 5

San Francisco at Chicago Cubs, 7:30 p.m.

NLDS --  Game 5

Friday, October 14

No games scheduled