WASHINGTON (Interstat) — In a game defined by missed opportunities and relentless resilience, the San Francisco Giants outlasted the Washington Nationals 7-6 in 12 innings on Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park, securing their third consecutive victory in a marathon contest that defied pregame projections.

A crowd of 35,527 witnessed a back-and-forth affair that saw the Giants overcome an early four-run deficit, squander a late lead, survive a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the 10th, and finally prevail on Matt Chapman’s tie-breaking RBI single in the 12th.

The decisive moment came against Nationals reliever Cionel Pérez, who took the loss to fall to 1-2. Chapman led off the 12th with a sharp ground ball single to left field, scoring automatic runner Luis Arraez from second base. The Giants’ bullpen, which delivered 6 1/3 innings of scoreless, two-hit relief, then sealed the win. Caleb Kilian, who pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts, worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 12th, inducing a game-ending called third strike on Daylen Lile to earn his first major league win and improve to 1-0.

The most critical juncture of the nearly four-hour contest, which lasted 3 hours and 32 minutes, came in the bottom of the 10th inning. Washington, having just tied the game in the ninth, loaded the bases with nobody out against Giants reliever Ryan Walker. Yet, the Nationals failed to score. Walker struck out Lile and Nasim Nuñez swinging before getting Jorbit Vivas to ground out to shortstop, extinguishing the monumental threat and setting the stage for extra-inning heroics.

The game began with a quick strike from Washington’s James Wood, who launched a solo home run, his seventh of the season, off Giants starter Adrian Houser in the first inning. The Nationals then erupted for four runs in the second, capitalizing on a costly error by San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames. The inning featured a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded by Wood and a two-run single by Luis García Jr., staking Washington to a 5-1 lead.

San Francisco chipped away, scoring once in the second on an RBI single from Drew Gilbert and twice in the third on a two-run double by Casey Schmitt that was aided by a fielding error from Nationals left fielder Lile. The Giants then seized their first lead in the sixth when Heliot Ramos, the game’s top star, blasted a two-run homer to left field, his second of the year, scoring Jung Hoo Lee for a 5-5 tie. San Francisco added another run in the seventh on an RBI single by Rafael Devers to go ahead 6-5.

Ramos finished 3 for 5 with the home run, two RBIs and two runs scored, continuing a hot streak that included a grand slam in Friday’s series opener.

Washington forced extra innings with a dramatic rally in the ninth against Giants closer Erik Miller. A leadoff double by Vivas and a subsequent flyout put him on third with one out. After an intentional walk to Wood, a fielder’s choice cut down Vivas at home for the second out. Brady House then delivered a clutch two-out single to center, scoring Wood. The Nationals attempted to win it as Curtis Mead tried to score from first, but a perfect relay from center fielder Gilbert to Chapman at third cut down Mead to end the inning and preserve the 6-6 tie.

Following the Nationals’ missed chance in the 10th, both teams were held scoreless in the 11th before Chapman’s winner in the 12th.

The Giants pounded out 16 hits, while Washington managed 10. Both teams’ records moved to an identical 9-12. The result went against the prediction of Interstat’s game simulator, which had projected a 6-3 Nationals win, though San Francisco entered as a slight betting favorite.

Key performances beyond Ramos and the winning pitcher Kilian included strong relief work from San Francisco’s Matt Gage and Ryan Borucki, who combined for 1 1/3 perfect innings. For Washington, reliever Richard Lovelady tossed two perfect innings with two strikeouts, and starter Cade Cavalli allowed one earned run over four innings in a no-decision.

The series concludes Sunday afternoon. The Giants will look for a series sweep before returning home to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, while the Nationals will turn around to host the Atlanta Braves.