Braves 5, Giants 4, 11 Innings: Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus Emerge As Heroes In Postseason Classic

On Friday night, the Braves battled back in Game 2 of the NLDS to beat the Giants, and they did so just about as dramatically as an away team can do so.

Down 4-0 in the second inning, and on the heels of being on the losing end of Tim Lincecum's masterpiece of a complete game shutout, the Braves rallied to tie the game in the 8th and ultimately send it to extra innings. They have Alex Gonzalez, the slumping shortstop who stepped up with a two-RBI double, to thank for that.

In the tenth inning, closer Billy Wagner, who has been a rock for the Braves all season, left with an apparent oblique injury, and in stepped Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth, as you may remember, infamously gave up a 6-1 lead in the series-deciding Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS -- the last postseason series the Braves have played.

Farnsworth found himself with the bases loaded, one out, and slugger Buster Posey at the plate. Posey grounded to third, and fill-in Troy Glaus -- who played all of two innings at third in the 2010 regular season -- scooped it up and made the daring decision not to get the sure out at home, but to fling the ball to second and try for the double play. It worked, and the Braves survived by the skin of their teeth.

In the 11th inning, Rick Ankiel, whose story is one of the most intriguing of the last decade, hammered a Ramon Ramirez pitch into the Pacific Ocean. Ankiel is now the second hitter to hit a ball into McCovey Cove in the postseason.

Farnsworth returned to pitch the bottom of the 11th and managed to overcome a one-out Juan Uribe single to retire the side. The Braves won, 5-4 in 11 innings, and what looked hours ago to be a lost series for the Braves is now a 1-1 tie that moves to Atlanta. The young 2010 postseason has seen another great game of baseball.