SAN FRANCISCO -- The familiar combination of pitching and defense brought the Giants to a familiar place Tuesday night: the National League Championship Series.Ryan Vogelsong and four relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Giants outlasted the Washington Nationals, 3-2, to win Game 4 of the NL Division Series and set up a confrontation against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS beginning Saturday. 
With a jam-packed crowd at AT&T Park standing in nervous anticipation, Santiago Casilla sealed the triumph by weathering a two-out walk to Bryce Harper and coaxing Wilson Ramos' game-ending groundout to second base. The Giants then began celebrating, cavorting in the middle of the field.San Francisco completed its 3-1 Division Series triumph while scoring none of its runs with the benefit of a hit and squandering multiple scoring opportunities.It didn't matter. Giants pitchers allowed only two runners to stray beyond second base except for Harper, whose seventh-inning homer off Hunter Strickland tied the score at 2.In the Giants' half of the seventh, Joe Panik and Buster Posey launched San Francisco's go-ahead rally with one-out singles off Nationals reliever Matt Thornton. In came rookie Aaron Barrett, who walked Hunter Pence to load the bases. Barrett's 2-1 delivery to Pablo Sandoval skipped in the dirt for a wild pitch, scoring Panik. Ordered to walk Sandoval intentionally, Barrett sailed a pitch to the backstop, but catcher Ramos quickly recovered the ball. Ramos' throw to Barrett, who covered home plate, beat the sliding Posey, and a replay review confirmed there was no violation of the blocking rule.Multiple lapses by the Nationals helped the Giants open the scoring with a pair of unearned runs in the second inning off Washington starter Gio Gonzalez. After Brandon Crawford singled with one out, Juan Perez tapped a comebacker that, despite being softly hit, caromed off Gonzalez's glove for an error. Vogelsong tapped a bunt toward third base that Gonzalez declined to field, leaving it for a teammate. But third baseman Anthony Rendon, who had been stationed deep, had no play.Gonzalez, who issued 11 walks in 10 postseason innings entering the game, walked Gregor Blanco on four pitches to force in a run. Panik's groundout scored Perez.Washington remained close, scoring a fifth-inning run on Ian Desmond's leadoff single and Harper's double.Jayson Werth pinned Hunter Pence against the right-field fence with a long sixth-inning drive. But Pence held on to the ball to make a remarkable catch. That was the last batter faced by Vogelsong, who surrendered two hits in 5 2/3 innings.Chris Haft / MLB.com
With a jam-packed crowd at AT&T Park standing in nervous anticipation, Santiago Casilla sealed the triumph by weathering a two-out walk to Bryce Harper and coaxing Wilson Ramos' game-ending groundout to second base. The Giants then began celebrating, cavorting in the middle of the field.San Francisco completed its 3-1 Division Series triumph while scoring none of its runs with the benefit of a hit and squandering multiple scoring opportunities.It didn't matter. Giants pitchers allowed only two runners to stray beyond second base except for Harper, whose seventh-inning homer off Hunter Strickland tied the score at 2.In the Giants' half of the seventh, Joe Panik and Buster Posey launched San Francisco's go-ahead rally with one-out singles off Nationals reliever Matt Thornton. In came rookie Aaron Barrett, who walked Hunter Pence to load the bases. Barrett's 2-1 delivery to Pablo Sandoval skipped in the dirt for a wild pitch, scoring Panik. Ordered to walk Sandoval intentionally, Barrett sailed a pitch to the backstop, but catcher Ramos quickly recovered the ball. Ramos' throw to Barrett, who covered home plate, beat the sliding Posey, and a replay review confirmed there was no violation of the blocking rule.Multiple lapses by the Nationals helped the Giants open the scoring with a pair of unearned runs in the second inning off Washington starter Gio Gonzalez. After Brandon Crawford singled with one out, Juan Perez tapped a comebacker that, despite being softly hit, caromed off Gonzalez's glove for an error. Vogelsong tapped a bunt toward third base that Gonzalez declined to field, leaving it for a teammate. But third baseman Anthony Rendon, who had been stationed deep, had no play.Gonzalez, who issued 11 walks in 10 postseason innings entering the game, walked Gregor Blanco on four pitches to force in a run. Panik's groundout scored Perez.Washington remained close, scoring a fifth-inning run on Ian Desmond's leadoff single and Harper's double.Jayson Werth pinned Hunter Pence against the right-field fence with a long sixth-inning drive. But Pence held on to the ball to make a remarkable catch. That was the last batter faced by Vogelsong, who surrendered two hits in 5 2/3 innings.Chris Haft / MLB.com
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