Giants Walk Off In 13th To Beat Cubs 6-5, Force Game 4

Joe Panik doubled off the wall in right-center field, scoring Brandon Crawford to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 6-5 home victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.

Giants Walk Off In 13th To Beat Cubs 6-5, Force Game 4

When the crowd of 43,571 at AT&T Park finally departed, completely amazed, the Giants had cut the Cubs’ lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1.

Game 4 will be Tuesday in San Francisco.

Panik’s big hit ended a five-hour game that was only 29 minutes shy of the total duration of the first two games last week at Wrigley Field.

“This is October baseball,” Cubs starter Jake Arrieta said. “We know games are going to be very closely contested. [The Giants] are no slouch with their pedigree in the playoffs. We have our work cut out for us.”

The Giants, who won the World Series in 2010, ’12 and ’14, recorded their 10th consecutive win when facing postseason elimination after Crawford opened the 13th with a double off Mike Montgomery, who was pitching his fifth inning of release. Then came Panik, whose drive bounced off the right-field wall as Crawford dashed home.

“I think that ball hung up a little longer than I wanted it to,” Panik said after the Giants recorded their seventh postseason walk-off victory in franchise history. “I knew I hit it well and I knew it was going to at least get the wall, but it felt like forever to get that thing off the wall.”

Chicago gained a lead on Arrieta’s three-run, second-inning homer off Madison Bumgarner. That ended Bumgarner’s playoff scoreless stretch to 24 straight innings, matching Lew Burdette for the third-longest ever.

“He’s had tremendous postseason numbers that speak for themselves,” Arrieta said of Bumgarner. “You have to ask our hitters. Some of our guys might like to face him. He’s really good, but he’s beatable.’’

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that although Bumgarner did relatively well in five innings of work, he wasn’t as good as he normally is.

“He didn’t have his best stuff, but he willed his way through five innings,” Bochy said.

The Giants trimmed their deficit to a single run before exploding for three in the eighth. Conor Gillaspie, whose three-run, ninth-inning homer accounted for the scoring in Wednesday’s NL Wild Card Game victory over the Mets in New York, accelerated this rally with a two-run triple off Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman, who apparently was set to attempt a two-inning save.

“Everything’s possible,” Chapman said when asked if he was surprised Gillaspie could square up the 102-mph fastball. “It was high in the zone and it went well for him.”

Then the Cubs, who finished a Major League-best 103-58 this season, erased the Giants’ 5-3 lead in the ninth on Kris Bryant’s two-run homer off Sergio Romo, who allowed his first homer to a right-handed batter in 26 postseason appearances. Bryant’s drive bounced off the top of a cartoon automobile that forms part of the left-field barrier and extends above the rest of the wall.

In the NL Wild Card Game, Bumgarner needed just 21 pitches to get through the first three innings — exactly seven in each. This time, he flung 37 pitches in the second inning alone, reflecting his lack of command and difficulty with command and putting away hitters.

“I didn’t see the bigger number on the board, but he still pitched well and effectively,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

Cubs righty John Lackey will make his 21st career postseason start Tuesday in Game 4. He’s 8-5 with a 3.11 ERA in 23 total playoff appearances. Left-hander Matt Moore, who finished 6-2 down the stretch to help San Francisco stay close in the NL Wild Card race, will start Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – OCTOBER 10: Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants heads home to score the game winning run in the thirteenth inning against the Chicago Cubs during Game Three of their National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park on October 10, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)