Giants 3, Nationals 2: Joe Panik scored on a wild pitch in the seventh inning to snap a tie and help host San Francisco wrap up the National League Division Series in four games.

Panik and Buster Posey hit one-out singles off Matt Thornton (0-1) before Aaron Barrett walked Hunter Pence to load the bases for Pablo Sandoval, who watched Panik race home on a wild pitch to put the Giants ahead. Barrett proceeded to sail an intentional ball to Sandoval over catcher Wilson Ramos' head, but Posey was thrown out at the plate to keep it a one-run game.

Hunter Strickland (1-0) was credited with the victory despite allowing a run in one inning and Santiago Casilla worked around a walk in the ninth to notch his second save for the Giants, who advanced to the NL Championship Series for the third time in five years. Panik finished with two hits and an RBI and Gregor Blanco also drove in a run for San Francisco, while Bryce Harper went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs for Washington.

San Francisco, which will face St. Louis in the NLCS for the second time in three years, failed to score after putting two runners on in the first but cashed in against Gio Gonzalez an inning later, loading the bases on two singles and an error before Blanco drew a walk and Panik hit an RBI groundout. Washington, which was hitless over the first four frames, halved the deficit in the fifth as Ian Desmond led off with a single and scored on Harper's double.

Ryan Vogelsong escaped the inning without further damage and the Giants had a golden opportunity to expand their lead in the bottom half by loading the bases with one out, but Tanner Roark induced a pop out by Sandoval and Jerry Blevins came on to strike out Brandon Belt. The Nationals drew even in the seventh as Harper victimized Strickland for the second time in the series, belting a one-out solo homer into McCovey Cove.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Sandoval went 0-for-3, ending his franchise-record 14-game postseason hitting streak and keeping him one shy of Marquis Grissom's NL mark. ... Harper has hit four playoff home runs before the age of 22 - a major-league record. ... Gonzalez allowed two unearned runs and four hits in four innings, while Vogelsong yielded a run and two hits over 5 2/3 frames. ... The Giants improved to 75-1 in the postseason when leading after eight innings and have won an NL-record seven straight playoff series.