Nationals vs. Giants: Game 3 Time, TV Info, Live Stream and More

After battling in the longest postseason game in MLB history, it's safe to say both the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants used the day off to their advantage. But it's right back to the diamond Monday for Game 3, as the Giants return home and look to sweep the series.

San Francisco heads back to AT&T Park with a surprise 2-0 advantage, but it didn't come without a substantial fight. After Jake Peavy set the Giants up for a 3-2 win in Game 1, Saturday night's contest went 18 innings and over six hours before a Brandon Belt home run proved to be the difference and propelled them to a 2-1 victory.

The National League's best team throughout the season, the Nationals have gotten off to a disastrous start in the National League Division Series and have nothing to show for two hard-fought games in their home stadium. It will take two straight wins on the West Coast to even up the series and send it back to Washington.

Without further ado, let's get to it and break down everything you need to know for Game 3.

Where: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California

When: Monday, October 6

Start Time: 5:07 p.m. ET

Watch: MLB Network

Live Stream: MLB Postseason TV (requires $4.99 subscription)

Pitcher	W/L	ERA	WHIP	K-BB
Doug Fister (Nationals)	16-6	2.41	1.08	98-24
Madison Bumgarner (Giants)	18-10	2.98	1.09	219-43

Top Giants Storyline

Can Madison Bumgarner's Playoff Dominance Get Giants into NLCS?

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Giants ace Madison Bumgarner rose to the occasion in his team's Wild Card Game win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they'll need him to do so again when he's given the ball for Game 3.

In a winner-take-all contest against the Pirates, Bumgarner was untouchable. He pitched a complete-game shutout, giving up only four hits while striking out 10 and walking one in an 8-0 Wild Card victory.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

The 25-year-old has long been one of the Giants' most important pitchers, but he's emerged as the team's ace over the last season-and-a-half, lowering his ERA to below 3.0 and WHIP below 1.10 in 2013 and 2014 for the first time since his rookie season.

Bumgarner is already a wily playoff veteran, too, despite the ripe age of 25. Monday will mark his ninth career postseason start thanks to the Giants' 2010 and 2012 World Series championships—both of which they won as big underdogs.

Those experiences early in his career helped out in a big way Wednesday.

"

I think it helped a lot, just being out there in the big games like that.  Just knowing that you've been there before and knowing the success that we've had, it made a big difference for me. 

For me, I have to push all the nerves and things outside and find a way to just concentrate on pitching.  If you don't, you get amped up and start leaving balls over the middle.  That doesn't work too well in this league.  Fortunately for us, it worked out tonight.

"

As the NL Wild Card winner and going against the league's best team, the Giants faced an underdog status again this October. But starting with Bumgarner's dominant opener and ending with two big victories in Washington, this team has taken a confident shape entering Game 3.

Add that to the form Bumgarner has shown on the mound as of late in the playoffs, as shown by ESPN Stats and Info, and the Nationals have their work cut out for them:

Far from a strong hitting team throughout the season, the Giants have tended to rely heavily upon their aces. Although the offense has picked up somewhat in the playoffs, it struggled mightily in Game 2 before Belt saved the day.

The desperate Nationals will be coming at their opponents in furious fashion on Monday, looking to slow down Bumgarner's effectiveness early and generate any sort of lead for Doug Fister. As demoralizing as Saturday night's marathon was, Washington won't be lacking confidence in its ability to get back in the series.

Bumgarner better be ready for Nationals batters to throw the kitchen sink at him.

Top Nationals Storyline

Gut-Check Time: With Backs Against the Wall, How Will Nats Respond?

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Given the Nationals' sparse playoff appearances and the franchise's history of turmoil, it would be pretty safe to assume they've never been in a position like this before. And that would largely be correct, considering they have never faced an 0-2 deficit in a playoff series.

This team did face a gut-check, however, two years ago in its first-ever playoff appearance since moving to Washington. Down 2-1 in the NLDS to St. Louis, the Nationals rallied back to even the series and even took a 7-5 Game 5 lead into the top of the ninth before an epic Cardinals rally broke their hearts.

This is an older and more battle-tested team, though, and one that has made huge strides in fortifying its lineup for a postseason run. And as such, it wasted no time getting back to the field to hammer out the mistakes made in Games 1 and 2, per Sam Ryan of MLB Network:

There's no doubt that those left from the 2012 collapse are hungry to make up for what happened against the Cardinals, but it will have to come once again versus a peaking and dangerous Wild Card foe that has had their number early in the series.

The problem areas to work on for the Nationals are piling up. Other than Jordan Zimmermann's stud-like performance on the mound, Washington was lethargic at the plate, and manager Matt Williams' ejection in the 10th inning certainly didn't help things.

However, the possible return of Ryan Zimmerman—who is injured—to the starting lineup could give the team a much-needed boost, as ESPN's Jayson Stark noted:

Zimmerman doesn't boast a strong career success rate against Bumgarner, going 3-for-17 against the Giants ace. But with Bryce Harper posting a 3-for-9 clip with a homer and Adam LaRoche going 6-for-21 against him, the bats could start to wake up on Monday.

But none of that will happen if the Nats aren't able to pick themselves up from their bootstraps and notch a win with their backs against the wall. San Francisco's AT&T Park will be rocking in the hopes of eliminating the NL's top team, and it will be gut-check time for the Nationals to see how they respond.