Nationals manager Matt Williams: 'I kicked myself all night'

After 18 agonizing innings, after faltering in their latest test of resolve, after coming within one out of victory -- only to let it slip away -- the Nationals endured a cross-country trip. It proceeded as quietly as expected.

From the bus ride to the airport to the five-hour red-eye flight, centerfielder Denard Span described a group cloaked in "frustration'' and "exhaustion.''

In the silence, Matt Williams reflected on pulling a dominant Jordan Zimmermann with two outs in the ninth inning, a decision that backfired in Saturday's 2-1, 18-inning loss to the Giants in Game 2 of this National League Division Series.

"I kicked myself all night,'' Williams said Sunday, a day after closer Drew Storen blew the save. "That's human nature.''

One out away from wrapping up a three-hit shutout, Zimmermann walked Joe Panik. With Buster Posey at the plate, Williams pulled the righthander based on the at-bats he saw earlier in the game.

"Buster missed a breaking ball on him, hit a deep fly ball to rightfield on a fastball, hit a first-pitch slider and lined it to third base that Anthony [Rendon] made a great play on,'' Williams said. "All of those things go into the decision.''

Williams also weighed the situation from Storen's standpoint. He didn't want a situation in which he entered the game with runners on first and second.

Even when starters are given a chance to finish the game, it's common for closers to warm up in case of trouble. On Saturday, Williams said Storen had been warming up with Posey in mind.

Said Williams: "That's standard practice.''

What followed was anything but standard. Storen allowed a single by Posey and Pablo Sandoval's tying RBI double. Although the Nats executed a perfect relay to nail Posey at the plate, it only delayed the outcome until the 18th, when Brandon Belt's homer made the difference.

The chain of events began with Williams bringing out the hook.

"Could you say it was the wrong move? Of course you can. You could say that,'' the first-year manager said. "Could you say it was the right move? Yes, you could say that, as well. It didn't work out.''

The consequences couldn't be clearer for the Nationals, who face an 0-2 series deficit with Giants 18-game winner Madison Bumgarner facing Doug Fister on Monday in Game 3.

Only twice has a team won a best-of-five playoff series after losing the first two games at home. The last time came in 2012, when the Giants helped to establish their battle-tested reputation by roaring back to knock off the Reds in the NLDS.

"It can certainly be done,'' Williams said. "But you have to start with the first one.''