Any individual baseball game has a roller coaster of emotions for fans. The 18-inning affair between the Pirates and Nationals on Sunday (PIT 2, WAS 1) was particularly so for a young Bucs fan in Washington D.C.
Daniel Murphy's game-tying homer off Mark Melancon in the ninth and then Starling Marte's go-ahead home run in the 18th proved to be the key moments of this marathon of a game. Let's run the gamut with this little guy:
My favorite one is easily the reaction to the Murphy shot. We've all been there, even if only on the inside most of the time. Classic.
Also of note in this one: Nationals manager Dusty Baker wanted to intentionally walk Marte before the decisive home run (pitcher Jon Niese was on deck), but he didn't relay the sign in time.
''That was my fault because I didn't put the (four) fingers up in time soon enough to walk him,'' Baker said. ''Before I could, he hit the first pitch out of the ballpark.''
Marte's homer was on the first pitch, so if he fouled it off or didn't swing, he would have been walked. Baker voluntarily fessed up after the game.
The game was also the longest in Nationals history.
The loss means the Nationals lead is trimmed to a still-solid six games in the NL East.
For the Pirates, the win moves them to within 2 1/2 games of the NL wild card. It also provided us with the fun footage of the above kid.
