Yusmeiro Petit Was Essentially The Giants' Second Starter Last Night

Yusmeiro Petit has a weird position on the Giants. He was passable as a spot starter, but couldn't earn a place in a strong San Francisco rotation. The Giants don't need him to close out games, either, and Petit is capable of pitching longer than only an inning. But last night, in the longest MLB postseason game ever (by time), the pitcher found his perfect opportunity.

After Pablo Sandoval's hit tied the game at one in the ninth inning, the Giants had to hold off the Nationals while not completely burning out the bullpen for Game 3 of the NLDS. After a couple of innings from Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Casilla, the Giants turned to Petit. He was phenomenal.

The pitcher who retired 46 straight batters in the regular season struck out seven, and gave up three walks and one hit over six innings. The Nationals lineup essentially had to deal with a second Giants starting pitcher in extra innings. CSN's Andrew Baggarly pointed out that Petit was the first pitcher to throw at least six shutout innings in relief and get the victory since Pedro Martinez in 1999.

Brandon Belt eventually crushed a go-ahead home run in the 18th, and the win went to Petit. The Giants turn to an actual starter, Madison Bumgarner, for Game 3.

Photo: AP