Cards Knock Off Nats

In possibly the most emotional night in D.C. sports history, the Washington Nationals playoff run ended in a dramatic 9-7 collapse to the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals.

The Nationals offense finally had the outburst that everyone was waiting for in the opening innings of the game.

Following a Jayson Werth leadoff double, Bryce Harper hit an RBI triple off the wall to score Werth. The face of the franchise, Ryan Zimmerman, then crushed a two-run homer to put the Nationals up 3-0 after one inning.

In the third inning, the Nationals had the heart of the order up and looking for more. Bryce Harper started the inning with a leadoff home run. After Ryan Zimmerman got a base hit, Michael Morse stepped  up to the plate and put one in Cardinals bullpen and the Nationals were up 6-0 after three innings.

While the offense was rocking the Cardinal pitching, the Nationals starter, Gio Gonzalez, was fairing much better against the Cardinals offense. Gonzalez held them scoreless into the fourth inning when Matt Holiday doubled to score Carlos Beltran.

In the fifth inning, Gonzalez found himself in a bases loaded jam. With Holiday at the plate, a ball took a funny bounce off of the dirt just behind home plate and skipped off and away from catcher Kurt Suzuki's shoulder pad. The wild pitch brought home David Descalso. Gonzalez then walked Holiday to load the bases. Allen Craig then drew a walk that scored Shane Robinson.

That would be the only damage done, however, as Gonzalez worked his out of it allowing just two runs to score and the Nationals lead was cut in half to 6-3 after five innings. Gonzalez's final line: 5 innings pitched, 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts.

The Cardinals continued to chip away at the Nationals lead as the innings wore on. With Edwin Jackson on the mound for the seventh, Holiday grounded out to the shortstop, Ian Desmond, which scored Jon Jay. The Cardinals had cut the lead to 2, 6-4.

Reliever Tyler Clippard came on to pitch the eighth. After allowing a leadoff homer to David Descalso, Clippard recovered to get three outs and hold the lead for closer Drew Storen.

However, Kurt Suzuki capped off his productive night (3-4 with an RBI) with an RBI single that scored Adam LaRoche. Storen was given a much needed insurance run.

With the bases loaded, David Descalso hit a hard grounder up the middle that hit off the glove of short stop Ian Desmond and into center field. Two runs scored for the Cardinals and the game was tied. Pete Kozma then followed that with a 2-RBI single and the Cardinals were suddenly winning 9-7.

Those four runs came with two outs in the inning. Five times, the Nationals were one strike away from the National League Championship Series. Five times, however, the Cardinals hitters either fouled off a pitch or took it for ball four.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals went down in order of Werth-Harper-Zimmerman.

As quickly as they had taken the lead, they lost it and their season was over. The Cardinals completed the six run comeback to defeat the Nationals 9-7 and advance to the NLCS to play the Giants. For the Nationals, who have a lot to be proud of this season, it's game over.

As I stared at my television in disbelief last night, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for (my) the Nationals. A team that lost 100 games just a few years ago made it all the way to game five of the NLDS. Not only did this team exceed expectations, they did it by being the best team in baseball.

They weren't "supposed" to go to the playoffs until next year. They were just supposed to play a good season and leave us all with something to look forward to next year. The fact that we can sit here today and debate what went wrong last night in and of itself is a blessing given to us by an overachieving baseball team.

So what exactly did go wrong? Simply put, while the Nationals exceeded expectations and got to the playoffs, they weren't ready. This team was not ready to go to the playoffs. Look at the teams in the AL/NLCS's: Yankees vs Tigers, Cardinals vs Giants. All those teams have years of playoff experience. It doesn't matter how great you play in the regular season, the best will rise in October.

The Rangers, Reds, Dodgers, and Nationals were all at the top of the baseball world at some point during the regular season. Now, however, they are all at the bottom and out of the postseason. The playoff experienced teams did what they always do: they got the playoffs and won.

The Nationals took a HUGE step forward this season. Next season, assuming a few offseason re-signings, this whole team will return. More importantly, they'll return with postseason experience. (Don't even get me started about whether or not Stephen Strasburg would have made a difference. His replacement, Ross Detwiler, won his game.)

The Nationals have a lot to be proud of. They simply were a season ahead of time. The last thing that Davey Johnson said to the press last night could sum up this entire season: "We proved our worth and we just need to let this be a lesson and ... learn from it, have more resolve, come back, and carry it a lot farther."

Thanks for the ride, Nationals. They'll be back, folks....they'll be back.

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Quote Source: Washington Post Sports website

Nats Force Game 5

Jayson Werth jumps on home plate following his walk-off home run. (Photo: dbking)

With the series, and season, on the line, the Nationals turned to a pitcher that was at one point removed from the lineup. Ironically, he's the same pitcher that replaced Stephen Strasburg in the postseason rotation.

Through six innings with not a single run was earned, one was a sac-fly, Ross Detwiler delivered possibly the best performance of his life.

Over six innings, Detwiler gave up just one run (unearned) and three hits. He walked three, including Pete Kozas to setup the Cardinals only run which was scored on a Carlos Beltran sac-fly, and struck out three. Simply put, it was the best start of Detwiler's young career.

His adversary, Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, was just as solid. He allowed just two hits. One, however, came on a solo home run to center field from Adam LaRoche in the second inning. Lohse also struck out five Nationals.

But, prior to the bottom of the ninth inning, the star(s) of the game was the National pitching staff. Detwiler made it all the way through the sixth inning allowing just one run and that's when Davey Johnson handed the game over to his bullpen.

The first pitcher in the game was game two's starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann. Zimmermann had arguably the best stuff of his season as he struck out the side on just 12 pitches. Tyler Clippard then came in for the eighth inning and kept the K-streak alive. Clippard allowed just one base runner, a walk, and struck out three in his inning of work.

The top of the ninth, and the 1-1 tie, belonged to Drew Storen. Like Clippard, Storen allowed a baserunner with a walk, but battled to strike out  two. The third out came on a ground-out and the game went to the bottom of the ninth.

When outfielder Jayson Werth stepped to the plate to leadoff the ninth for the Nationals, he had yet to collect a hit. During the season, Werth ranked fourth in the MLB for most pitches seen during an at bat. Last night, Werth had the at bat of his Nationals career.

Werth finally connected with the 13th pitch he saw and put it in the Cardinals bullpen for the walk off home run. It was the 14th home run of his playoff career. Drew Storen was credited with the win.

The Nationals had just three hits on the game, yesterday, but two of them were home runs. The only other National to collect a hit yesterday was Ryan Zimmerman.

Yesterday was an example of what the Nationals are capable of. Ross Detwiler is the bottom of the rotation starter and is only pitching in the post-season because Stephen Strasburg was shutdown. The bullpen showed us all that they still got it after not giving up a hit and striking out 8 over three shutout innings.

The only left is for the bats to pick up. The Nationals have struggled mightily this post-season offensively. If they want to have success tonight, they'll need to find a way to get the offense going.

Last night, however, all they needed was two two-run homers to win the game. Tonight, it's game five at Nationals Park and Gio Gonzalez will be facing Adam Wainwright. First pitch is at 8:37 PM EST.

Check back here on The Skinny On Sports prior to tonight's game for my game five preview!

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Nats Turn To Detwiler For Save

Detwiler, above, could become an unlikely hero in this Nationals season today. (Photo: Keith Allison)

Today, the Nationals face elimination from the playoffs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Who will be on the mound to keep their playoff hopes alive? Well, that would St. Louis native Ross Detwiler.

This season was Detwiles first full season as a starter for the Nationals. He's seen the lowest of the lows, being benched for Chien-Ming Wang, and the highest of the highs, he struckout seven in April against the Marlins while giving up just three hits in a 2-0 victory. Today's game, however is by far the most important in his career.

The last time Detwiler squared off against the team from his hometown, the Cardinals, it didn't end well. He lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up seven runs, three earned, and four hits including a home run. He walked five and struckout just three while throwing 81 pitches. It was a dismal start to say the least.

Detwiler has yet to be put in this kind of position in his young career. He's never been the guy that a team has turned to with literally the season on the line. Today, he'll get his chance to make a huge statement against a line-up that has torn apart the Nationals pitching so far this series.

So far in this series, the Cardinals have put together 18 hits collectivley. They've hit two home runs and seven RBI. David Freese, Daniel Descalso, and Carlos Beltran have been the big three for the Cardinals. Freese has a batting average of .429, Beltran has collected three RBI, and Descalso has scored three runs.

If Detwiler wants to keep the Nationals playoff run alive, he'll need to bring his best stuff; which is something we haven't seen in a while. Detwiler lost three of his last four starts in the regular season including a 6-4 loss to the Phillies and a 10-4 loss to the Cardinals.

Detwiler hasn't pitched since September 30th and that will have a huge impact on how comfortable he is to start the game. Throwing a game simulation is nothing compared to the pressure of an elimination game.

If he can survive the early innings, the Nationals will have a chance. Another thing that will need to happen is for the bats to come alive. Simply put, the Cardinals have been hitting everything and the Nationals haven't been to get something going. They'll get a leadoff double and then spoil with three poor at-bats following that.

This team has relied and Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jordan Zimmermann all season long as their aces. Detwiler has been the guy at the end of the rotation that takes up a slot. Today, however, Detwiler will have his chance to solidify himself as a regular on the Nationals rotation.

What do you think about Detwiler's chances at winning the game? Start the conversation and leave a comment below with your thoughts!!

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