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Cincinnati • Joaquin Arias hit a grounder toward third base and took off, covering those 90 feet in a blink as a full-to-capacity ballpark went silent with angst.

Which would get there first, the infielder or the ball? Who would win the decisive playoff dash?

"That's the fastest I've ever run to first," Arias said.

Fast enough to extend the San Francisco Giants' season one more day.

Reds third baseman Scott Rolen bobbled the short-hop, giving Arias enough time to beat the throw as the go-ahead run scored for a 2-1 victory Tuesday night that avoided an NL division series sweep.

Hardly able to get a hit the last two games, the Giants turned a passed ball and a misplayed grounder into a win that cut their series deficit to 2-1 and extended Cincinnati's 17 years of home postseason futility.

"These are the type of games we've played all season long," said Sergio Romo, who pitched the last two innings for the win. "We are a gritty and grinding team."

And, with their season on the line, a little lucky, too.

"We got a break there at the end," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Left-hander Barry Zito will pitch Game 4 on Wednesday for the Giants, who have won the last 11 times he started. The Reds have to decide whether to try ace Johnny Cueto, forced out of the opener in San Francisco on Saturday with spasms in his back and side.

Manager Dusty Baker said after the game that they hadn't decided whether to let Cueto try it, bring back Mat Latos on short rest again, or replace Cueto with Mike Leake, who wasn't on the division series roster.

Switching out Cueto would leave the Reds ace ineligible to pitch in the championship series should the Reds get that far.

"It's very difficult, but it all depends on if your ace can't go or whatever it is," Baker said. "That's part of the conversation — us going without him. We realize what's at stake."

They were hoping to avoid having to make that choice. One grounder forced the issue.

The Giants managed only three hits against Homer Bailey and the Reds bullpen, but got two of them in the 10th — along with a passed ball by Ryan Hanigan — to pull it out. San Francisco won despite striking out 16 times.

Rolen, an eight-time Gold Glove winner, couldn't cleanly come up with Arias' grounder, which put him in a tough position.

"I've gone through the play many times in my mind between then and now, and I think I would play it the same way," Rolen said. "It hit my glove. I just couldn't get it to stick."

The Reds haven't won a home playoff game since 1995. Giants 2, Reds 1

10 innings

San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

Pagan cf 3 0 0 1 0 1 .083

Scutaro 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .083

Sandoval 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .154

Posey c 4 1 1 0 0 2 .273

Pence rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .083

Belt 1b 4 0 0 0 0 3 .111

G.Blanco lf 1 1 0 0 0 1 .333

c-Nady ph-lf 2 0 0 0 0 2 .000

B.Crawford ss 1 0 0 0 1 1 .000

d-Arias ph-ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 .333

Vogelsong p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-

a-A.Huff ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Affeldt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-

e-Theriot ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000

S.Casilla p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-

Ja.Lopez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-

Romo p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Totals 32 2 3 1 1 16

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.

B.Phillips 2b 5 0 1 0 0 2 .400

Cozart ss 4 1 0 0 1 1 .167

Votto 1b 2 0 0 0 2 0 .333

Ludwick lf 3 0 1 0 1 1 .333

Bruce rf 3 0 1 1 0 0 .333

Rolen 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .182

Hanigan c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Stubbs cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .167

H.Bailey p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000

b-Frazier ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Marshall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-

A.Chapman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-

Broxton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 —-

f-Paul ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500

Totals 33 1 4 1 4 7

San Francisco 001 000 000 1 — 2 3 0

Cincinnati 100 000 000 0 — 1 4 1

a-struck out for Vogelsong in the 6th. b-grounded out for H.Bailey in the 7th. c-struck out for G.Blanco in the 8th. d-flied out for B.Crawford in the 8th. e-grounded out for Affeldt in the 8th. f-grounded out for Broxton in the 10th. E—Rolen (2).

LOB—San Francisco 4, Cincinnati 7. RBIs—Pagan (1), Bruce (4). SB—B.Phillips (1). S—Vogelsong. SF—Pagan. Runners left in scoring position—San Francisco 2 (Scutaro, Romo) Cincinnati 3 (Rolen, Bruce, Hanigan). RISP—San Francisco 0 for 5 Cincinnati 1 for 4.

San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO ERA

Vogelsong 5 3 1 1 3 5 1.80

Affeldt 2 1 0 0 0 1 0.00

S.Casilla 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 4.50

Ja.Lopez 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Romo W, 1-0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO ERA

H.Bailey 7 1 1 1 1 10 1.29

Marshall 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00

A.Chapman 1 0 0 0 0 2 4.50

Broxton L, 0-1 1 2 1 0 0 3 0.00

Inherited runners-scored—Ja.Lopez 1-0. HBP—by Affeldt (Bruce), by H.Bailey (G.Blanco). PB—Hanigan. Umpires—Home, Gerry Davis First, Dan Iassogna Second, Tom Hallion Third, Chad Fairchild Right, Brian O'Nora Left, Phil Cuzzi. T—3:41. A—44,501 (42,319).