WASHINGTON -- Nearly six hours after first pitch Sunday, Nationals outfielder Chris Heisey smashed a 1-1 pitch over the left-center field fence to send the Nationals to a 5-4 victory and series sweep over the Twins and end a game that had more twists than a season of Game of Thrones.
Heisey's home run capped one of the craziest games of the season, one that featured a Bryce Harper game-tying homer, a key bunt single by a relief pitcher and three replay reviews. Brian Dozier launched a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning, but Harper tied the game in the ninth with a pinch-hit blast to right-center. The teams traded scoreless frames for five innings before Miguel Sano drove in the go-ahead run in the 15th. But Washington responded with a walk, a stolen base and an Oliver Perez bunt that induced a throwing error, allowing the game-tying run to score. An inning later came Heisey's homer.
Long before the late-inning heroics at the plate, Sunday's game was a pitchers' duel. Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 Twins in 7 1/3 innings before allowing the home run to Dozier, while Minnesota's Tyler Duffey allowed one run in four innings but was forced to exit the game after being hit in the arm by a line drive in the fifth.
Jamal Collier covers the Nationals for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jamalcollier.
Alex Putterman is a reporter for MLB.com based in Washington.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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