Doug Fister and the Washington Nationals kept their championship hopes alive by flipping the script on Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
With Fister rising up to twirl seven scoreless innings and Bumgarner committing a critical error that resulted in the game's first two runs, the Nationals staved off elimination with a 4-1 victory at AT&T Park.
After blowing a lead in the ninth en route to a crushing 18-inning loss in Saturday's Game 2 to put its season on the brink, Washington showed its resiliency in forcing another game in this best-of-five set after dropping the initial two matchups at home.
The Nationals got some help from the usually unflappable Bumgarner, whose errant throw to third base on Wilson Ramos' seventh-inning sacrifice bunt enabled two runs to score and end a 0-0 stalemate.
Fister (1-0) did his part on the hill, holding the Giants to four singles and three walks, and Bryce Harper provided an insurance run with a solo homer in the eighth inning.
Asdrubal Cabrera added an RBI single to help Washington put an end to a 10- game postseason win streak for San Francisco that dated back to the 2012 NLCS. Bumgarner (1-1) had been on the mound for two of those triumphs, including last week's NL Wild Card Game in which the lefty spun a four-hit, 10-strikeout shutout at Pittsburgh.
The Giants' ace fanned six over seven innings on Monday, but was reached for three runs -- two earned -- on six hits.
San Francisco will try again to clinch on its home field when Game 4 takes place Tuesday.
[SportsNetwork.com]
