Two National League powerhouses. Extra innings. Late heroics from both sides. Saturday night¡¯s Giants-Brewers game ¡°got a little crazy,¡± as Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell put it.

It also likely never should have gotten to that point. At least not according to the Statcast data.

Before the Crew lost, 9-6, in 11 innings at American Family Field, they nearly came away with a win in a low-scoring affair -- as crazy as that may sound just by looking at the final score. But the Giants were down to their final out, and Brewers left-hander Brent Suter, seeking his first career MLB save, induced a Tommy La Stella fly ball that seemed like it was going to end the game.

It left the bat with an exit velocity of 93.7 mph with a launch angle of 46 degrees for an expected batting average of .010, per Statcast. In simpler terms, an unlikely hit and a probable game-ending out.

Instead, right fielder Avisaíl García couldn¡¯t haul it in. He took an indirect route and got backed up against the wall, while the ball dropped onto the warning track -- a play initially ruled an error for Garc¨ªa, before La Stella was credited with a game-tying ninth-inning RBI triple. On Sunday morning came yet another change of heart; the official scorer¡¯s decision was changed back to an error.

¡°Avi, I know he feels terrible, and that¡¯s definitely not from a lack of trying,¡± Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff said. ¡°Sometimes the game can be brutal to you. But Avi has been such a huge part of our team, and he¡¯s played so unbelievably out in right field, and with his arm, has saved a ton of runs. It was one of those freak things that kind of happened.¡±

Suter got a rare save opportunity with left-hander Josh Hader currently on the COVID-19 injured list. And while Suter was so close to getting the job done -- and in many cases, he likely would have -- he was quick to tip his cap to the opposing side.

¡°You¡¯ve got to give La Stella some credit there, an up-and-in pitch and he just got some barrel to it,¡± Suter said. ¡°He got it up there and it was moving around and stuff. One that we thought we had, but that¡¯s a good team over there.¡±

The Crew fought back, though, even after the Giants carried their momentum into extras by rallying for three runs to take a 5-2 lead in the 10th.

At that point, Luis Ur¨ªas opened the bottom of the inning with a pinch-hit two-run homer. Two batters later, Willy Adames tied the game at 5 with a solo home run. Just like that, the Brewers were back in it with another chance to pull out a win.

But Milwaukee couldn¡¯t push across the winning run. And as the game advanced to the 11th, San Francisco pulled back ahead with a four-run rally off right-hander Sal Romano, taking the lead on a LaMonte Wade Jr. RBI single and padding its advantage with a Brandon Belt two-run homer -- his second long ball of the night -- and a Kris Bryant RBI double.

¡°It¡¯s a tough one,¡± said Woodruff, who struck out eight over six innings of one-run ball and had been in line for his first win since June 29.

The three-base error in the ninth wasn¡¯t the Brewers¡¯ only tough break of the night. They could have potentially had a larger lead to protect, because Garc¨ªa had hit a two-out double to the left-center-field gap in the fifth that should have plated Eduardo Escobar from first.

However, the ball bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, Escobar was forced to hold at third and left-hander Jos¨¦ ?lvarez got Rowdy Tellez to pop out, keeping Milwaukee¡¯s lead at 2-1.

¡°That cost us a run there, but that was the only inning we really had a rally going,¡± Counsell said. ¡°We didn¡¯t put much pressure on their bullpen, so their bullpen did a nice job.¡±

The Giants have the best record in MLB at 70-41. The Brewers are tied with the Dodgers for the second-best mark in the NL at 66-45. The two clubs could meet again in October, and so far, this weekend¡¯s potential postseason preview is living up to the hype.

On Friday, the Crew won, 2-1, in 10 innings. And while the Brewers couldn¡¯t hold on Saturday, their rotation continues to show why they could be a difficult opponent in a playoff series. Corbin Burnes tossed seven innings of one-run ball in the opener, which was followed by Woodruff¡¯s stellar outing.

¡°That¡¯s a really good lineup, and obviously a lot of those guys have multiple World Series rings,¡± Woodruff said of the Giants. ¡°There¡¯s not a moment too big for any of those guys, they¡¯ve seen it all, so it was tough.¡±

Yet, the Crew is proving it can play with the best in the big leagues. And maybe next time, the breaks will go the Brewers' way.