The Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals' Sunday matinee ended up being the equivalent of two games. The showdown at Nationals Park stretched all the way into the 18th inning before the visitors prevailed, 2-1.
In terms of highlights, they were few and far between thanks to exceptional pitching by both clubs, and, well, quiet bats played a big part, too.
Pirates left fielder Starling Marte opened the scoring in the top of the sixth with an RBI double off Max Scherzer—and broke the long drought with a two-out home run off Oliver Perez in the top of the 18th:
Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reacted to Marte's game-winner:
Although Washington managed two singles in the bottom of the 18th, it couldn't plate the equalizer. Jonathon Niese capped off his third inning of scoreless work by getting Danny Espinosa to strike out swinging.
All-Star closer Mark Melancon entered for Pittsburgh to try to slam the door in the bottom of the ninth—and came close to doing so until Washington foiled his bid for his 28th save of the season.
On a 2-2 count, Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy changed the game with one swing, jacking a two-out, pinch-hit solo shot to right field to tie the game.
And then there was a whole lot of nothing in terms of scoring.
The closest call prior to Marte's decisive dinger came in the top of the 16th, when Pittsburgh's Eric Fryer drew a two-out walk. Josh Harrison doubled to center field thereafter, but the Nats threw Fryer out at home plate to preserve the 1-1 deadlock, as the team's Twitter account showed:
To that point, Washington had only one hit in the extra innings, while the Pirates had three following Harrison's extra-base hit. After another hitless inning for the Nats in the 16th, their official Twitter account noted the historical significance of Sunday's contest:
The symbolism in the photograph was appropriate. Fans may have been seeing stars as they bore witness to an extraordinarily lengthy game.
ESPN Stats & Info supplied additional context as the duel proceeded:
At least one youngster in the stands was growing impetuous as the action unfolded, courtesy of the Pirates' official Twitter account:
Thankfully for the emotional youth and the Pittsburgh faithful, Marte came through on multiple occasions to give the Pirates the win.
Homer McFanboy captured the essence of how Nationals fans had to be feeling afterward:
A lot of credit should go to Pittsburgh starting pitcher Chad Kuhl, whose appearance on the mound had to be a distant memory for anyone watching. Kuhl pitched six innings of one-hit ball with no walks and five strikeouts, setting the Pirates up to win in regulation.
Matt Sunday of DK Pittsburgh Sports praised Kuhl for the role he played in the victory:
In the midst of a tight National League wild-card race, every game holds significance for Pittsburgh. It was a much-needed triumph for the Pirates after they had dropped their prior two games to the Nationals.
Washington can take solace in knowing it has a six-game lead in the NL East—that is, until taking into account what happened last year.
Touted as 2015 World Series contenders, the Nats collapsed down the stretch and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
It'd be foolish to weigh one game so heavily with plenty of baseball left this season, but Sunday's loss had to be draining for Washington. The club will at least have a day of rest before Tuesday's home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Postgame Reaction
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle spoke on the epic play that denied his team the go-ahead run in the 16th.
"It's the best relay in the history of the game in the 16th inning. Ever," said Hurdle, per the Associated Press' Stephen Whyno.
Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post passed along a fascinating anecdote from Nats manager Dusty Baker:
Marte made light of his game-winning heroics, saying, per Brink, "Too many innings, we were tired, it was time for a home run."
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