I simply couldn’t bring myself to writing keys to the game for game three of this series. It was an 8-0 blowout, and they keys were evident from the box score alone: no offense or pitching. Thursday’s game four matchup was a different story, though. Behind excellent pitching and one huge offensive play, the Nats walked away with a 2-1 victory to force a game five today.

3. Holy bullpen, Batman

For all the talk of bullpen struggles in games one through three, game four changed the entire dynamic. Jordan Zimmermann came out of the bullpen in the seventh and set the tone for the Nats relievers. It was his first career bullpen appearance, and he struck out the side. Not to be outdone by the starter, Tyler Clippard came in and struck out the side in the eighth. Drew Storen came in and almost did the same, but instead caused Matt Carpenter to pop out on a great catch by Ian Desmond to end the inning. The bullpen struck out eight of the nine batters they faced.

2. Ross Detwiler spins a gem

All the pressure came down on Ross Detwiler as the Nats tried to stave off elimination for another day, and boy, did he succeed with flying colors. He located his fastball and sinker, worked in his slider beautifully, and never let himself get flustered, even with an unpredictable strike zone by home plate ump Jim Joyce. It was by far the biggest game of Detwiler’s career, and he put together what may be the best outing of his career, giving up one unearned run on three hits in six innings of work. If the Nats win game five today, Detwiler is a huge reason why. 

1. Jayson Werth hits walk-off homer on 13th pitch of the at-bat

What else can you say besides the header for this one? After fighting off 12 pitches from Lance Lynn, the 13th pitch came over the plate, and Werth gave it a ride into the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen. Pandemonium ensued. If you haven’t already heard Charlie Slowes’ radio call of the event, you haven’t lived. I have listened to it at least a dozen times so far, and I plan on listening over and over again.

Charlie Slowes walk-off call (audio from Washington Post)

In a night where the Nationals managed to muster just three hits, Washington was able to hang on in what had the potential to be their last game of the season by the sheer will of their bullpen.

Following a stellar start from Ross Detwiler, which yielded just three hits and one unearned run over 104 pitches, the Nats remained deadlocked in a 1-1 tie with the Cards after six.  That’s where Davey Johnson made the decision to turn to the bullpen with the hopes that the squad that the team had relied on all season would be able to succeed where they had failed in the past two games.

The result? Electric stuff from two of the usual suspects, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen, and flat out unbelievable stuff from the team’s No. 2 starter Jordan Zimmermann. In a rare relief appearance in the seventh, Zimmermann struck out all three batters he faced, using just 12 pitches. The right-hander’s fastball sat at 97 mph on the gun and his slider, which usually rests in the mid-to-high 80’s sat at 91.

“Yeah, the guys said, he needs to be our closer, “manager Davey Johnson said in his postgame press conference.

“But Zimm said to McCatty, he said “I just tried to throw it as hard as I could throw it.”

Clippard and Storen were just as effective in the eighth and ninth. Clippard struck out three of the four batters he faced, and Storen struck out two before ending the inning with a pop-up to shallow left.

At one point, the Nationals bullpen had recorded all of their eight outs as strikeouts.

In the bottom of the ninth, Werth took to the plate to matchup against Lance Lynn for the Cardinals. An epic 13-pitch at bat culminated with a walk off shot for Werth that brought the house down at Nats Park.

“He’s a remarkable guy,” Johnson said.  “He can force a pitcher ot throw a lot of pitches, and he did that time.”

Nats fans can look at tonight’s game in one of two ways. A squad which had struggled to hit the ball managed to earn just three hits on the game, and only had five base runners overall. One could wonder if the issues that have crippled the top team in baseball this series are over, or if the inevitable was merely delayed.

On the other hand, the Nationals pitching returned to its electric form. Washington won games early on in 2012 on the sheer will of their pitching and timely hitting. It was a formula that worked well until the team found their groove in the middle of the summer. It’s not ideal, but if Gio Gonzalez can take the mound tomorrow night for Washington and replicate what we saw here tonight, then Washington will , no matter what, have a punchers chance at the NLCS.

Enthusiasm was high for hours before the 1:07 pm start between the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals as fans awaited the first ever postseason game at Nationals Park. Enthusiasm quickly made way for reality, though, as the Nats were bludgeoned by the Cardinals in an 8-0 loss.

Fans at Nats Park are a notoriously late-arriving crowd, but that wasn’t the case today. Tens of thousands of the 45,017 fans that eventually came were here and waiting for any reason to explode. I even met a guy who grew up in Montreal cheering for the Expos. He’s been to every home franchise playoff game.  Unfortunately, the loudest the stadium could get was for Frank Robinson’s ceremonial first pitch, the F-16 flyover before the game began, and when the Nationals left the bases load.

Edwin Jackson was obviously amped early in the game, and it caused him to give up four runs in the first two innings of the game. The latest Nats killer, Pete Kozma, hit a three-run home run in the second that put the game out of reach for the Nats recently lethargic offense.

The Nats continued struggling with runners in scoring position. They stranded 11 runners over all and six of them in scoring position. It was a frustrating display, and thousands of fans started leaving in the sixth inning. To me, there’s no excuse for that. As ugly as the game was at the time, it’s the first ever playoff home game for the Nats. For a city that’s waited 79 years for a postseason game, I expected better.

The Nationals now face an elimination game at home on Thursday, calling on Ross Detwiler to face Kyle Lohse to force a game five. Detwiler was on the mound for the Nats on September 20 when they clinched their postseason spot, but that was his last good start of the season.

In his presser before game three, Detwiler said he was using his 11 days off during the All-Star Break as his model to approach his game four start, since he’s had 10 days off. For reference, in his first game back from that extended break, Detwiler threw seven innings of five-hit shutout baseball. That’s clearly what the Nats are hoping to get from him tomorrow.

Tomorrow is another day and another game. The Nats came home looking at the home part of this series as just a three-game home series. If that’s the case, there were five times during the regular season that they lost the first game but came back to win the second two. If the Nats follow that model, they’ll walk onto the Championship Series. This thing is far from over, but the key to victory is going to be the offense. It has to show up.

A thought:

- Jim Joyce, the first base umpire that blew the perfect game call for Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga, blew another call at first base today. Danny Espinosa was clearly safe on a bunt attempt in the second inning. It almost certainly wouldn’t have changed the outcome of today’s game, but if this isn’t the kind of call that supports calls for instant replay for major calls, I don’t know what is.

As Nationals fans try to contain their excitement about postseason baseball being played in Washington for the first time in 79 years, the Washington Nationals (1-1) are heading home to take on the St. Louis Cardinals (1-1) for the remainder of the National League Division Series.

To recap

The series is tied 1-1 after a pretty wild first two games. In game one of the series, the Nationals completed an improbable comeback, winning 3-2 after an unusual performance by Gio Gonzalez. Gio walked seven hitters in five innings, earning both of the Cardinals two runs. He was ultimately rescued by Tyler Moore, whose go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth led the Nationals to their first ever postseason victory.

The Nats didn’t fare as well in their second game of the series, getting pounded in a 12-4 loss after another uncharacteristically bad outing by one of their best starters, Jordan Zimmermann. In three innings, Zimmermann allowed five earned runs on seven hits. Overall, the Nats pitching staff allowed 13 hits in that game, four of which were homeruns. The Nats’ bats answered back with 10 hits and two home runs of their own, but leaving 18 men on base proved detrimental to the outcome of the game.

One of the Nationals biggest strengths of the season, their starting pitching, hasn’t yet shown itself in this series. If their pitching performs up to the standard it has all season throughout the rest of the NLDS, the Nationals have a great chance at winning it.

Home field advantage

With the series tied, it leaves the Nats with the necessary task of winning two out of three games at home, a feat they have accomplished consistently all year. The Nationals posted one of the best home records in baseball this season (50-31), and won 11 of 16 three-game series played at home.

The Nationals batted .267 at home during the regular season, and their on-base plus slugging percentage was .762, versus hitting .256 at away ball parks with a .738 OPS. They also hit 101 home runs at Nationals Park, eight more than they hit on the road, and they struck out an astonishing 131 fewer times when at home (597 home, 728 away).

The Nationals will try to monopolize on the differences in those numbers, and put on a good show for their fans in their home park.

“They don’t call it home-field advantage for nothing,” Ryan Zimmerman said, according to the Washington Post.

Perfecting the pitching

Referencing the Cardinals and their strong offensive performance on Monday, Davey Johnson said, with a grin, “I hope I never see this offense again,” according to MLB.com. Nationals pitchers don’t want to see it either, and they will be aiming to shut it down over the next two games at home. 

Edwin Jackson will take the mound first, facing off against Chris Carpenter in the Nats’ postseason home opener. Jackson has pitched against the Cardinals twice this year, in two starts that were polar opposites.

On August 30 he pitched eight shutout innings and struck out 10 batters, while giving up just four hits and two walks. About a month later, Jackson faced his former team again, and labored through his worst start of the season. He recorded only one out in the second inning before getting pulled from the game. He allowed eight earned runs that day (one unearned) on four walks, six hits and a home run.

Luckily for the Nationals, the better of those two starts happened at Nationals Park. As a rule, Jackson has pitched much better at home this year than he has away. In 99.1 innings pitched at home, he has a 3.35 ERA with a .231 batting average against, versus a 4.78 ERA and a .259 batting average against in 90.1 innings away. He has allowed only 9 home runs in Nationals Park (14 away) and has struck out 93 (75 away).

Pitching at home will also benefit Ross Detwiler, whose stats follow a similar pattern to Jackson’s. Detwiler’s 2.59 home ERA is drastically lower than his 4.38 away ERA, and he holds a .800 wining percentage at home (8-2) compared to a .250 percentage away (2-6).

Their teammates can take comfort in these numbers going into the home series, as they try to overpower the challenging Cardinals. 

In the opinion of Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, if the Nats can beat the Cardinals, they will not face a tougher opponent the rest of the postseason. So, if the Nationals play the game like they are capable of playing it, and can out-match St. Louis, they have a chance at pushing further into the postseason.

Worth noting

- Kyle Lohse earned the win for the Cardinals in the Wild Card game against the Atlanta Braves on Friday. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits and one home run with six strikeouts.

- Chris Carpenter is 9-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 15 postseason starts.

Who’s hot?

Allen Craig (OF) .385 AVG, .385 OBP, .769 SLG, 1 HR (in 13 postseason at-bats)

Carlos Beltran (OF) .333 AVG, .429 OBP, .833 SLG, 2 HR (in 12 postseason at-bats)

Who’s not?

Jon Jay (OF) .167 AVG, .214 OBP, .333 SLG, 3 SO (in 12 postseason at-bats)

Pete Kozma (SS) .111 AVG, .333 OBP, .222 SLG, 4 SO (in nine postseason at-bats)

Probable starters

Game 3: Edwin Jackson (10-11, 4.03 ERA) vs. Chris Carpenter (0-2, 3.71)

Game 4: Ross Detwiler (10-8, 3.40 ERA) vs. Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA)

Game 5: TBD (if necessary)

*stats listed are from regular season

Game info

Game 3: Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., MLB Network

Game 4: Thursday, 4:07 p.m., TBS

Game 5: Friday, 8:37 p.m., TBS (if necessary)

It's a beautiful 60 degrees at the ballpark a little over three hours from the first pitch as we prepare for Game Three of the National League Division Series between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals. It should be in the upper 60s and sunny with low humidity around the 1:07 pitch scheduled first pitch. All around, it will be the perfect day for the first ever postseason game at Nationals Park.

The schedule for the day is going to go a little like this:

The Nats will start batting practice around 10:15 am with the Cardinals starting an hour after that. At 12:30 pm, we'll get a welcome followed by a Season Recap Video. Then, we'll get the introductions of the Cardinals, the Nats, and then the National Anthem sung by MSGT Ryan Carson of the US Air Force Band. Expect a flyover before the Ceremonial First Pitch, which will be thrown out by the first manager in Nationals history, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. All this will lead up to the 1:07 pm first pitch. Get here early, and if you're reading this anywehre but the car or the Metro on the way to the ballpark, it's time to leave your home or office right now. You won't want to miss the festivities.

Here are the lineups for Game Three in this series, tied at one game a piece:

St. Louis Cardinals

1. Jon Jay - 8
2. Carlos Beltran - 9
3. Matt Holiday - 7
4. Allen Craig - 3
5. Yadier Molina - 2
6. David Freese - 5
7. Daniel Descalso - 4
8. Pete Kozma - 6
9. Chris Carpenter - 1

Washington Nationals

1. Jayson Werth - 9
2. Bryce Harper - 8
3. Ryan Zimmerman - 5
4. Adam LaRoche - 3
5. Michael Morse - 9
6. Ian Desmond - 6
7. Danny Espinosa - 4
8. Kurt Suzuki - 2
9. Edwin Jackson - 1

It's finally postseason time, and we've finally gotten around to talking about it. We discuss games one and two of the National League Division Series, and we preview the home half of the series. We even get down to making predictions. Since it's been a while, we also talk about the Nats 98 wins and winning the NL East crown. It might be a week old, but it's still fun to talk about.

The Nats’ performance in game two didn’t change much from game one, but the Cardinals’ certainly did. St. Louis walked away with a 12-4 massacring of the Nats in a game where runs were given up by four of the seven Nats pitchers. Two of those three guys, Christian Garcia and Ryan Mattheus, are among the least experienced pitchers on the Nats’ staff. Tom Gorzelanny was the third guy, and while he didn’t give up an earned run, he did allow a hit that charged a run to Sean Burnett.

It was an all around ugly game for the Nats, but luckily, they have time to bounce back for three consecutive games at Nationals Park. None the less, here are the three key moves that ensure the Nats their shellacking.

3. Jon Jay’s wall-banging catch

The Nats had the game within four runs in the sixth inning, and Danny Espinosa went first pitch swinging against new pitcher Joe Kelly to start the inning. He belted the ball to deep center field, and it looked like a sure double, possibly even a triple. But Jon Jay, the Cardinals’ speedy center fielder, tracked the ball down while plowing into the center field wall.

If Jay doesn’t get to that wall, it could have changed the game with four full innings left. It was a pivotal play despite the Cards already leading 7-3.

2. Carlos Beltran’s two-home run day

Some thought Beltran’s career was nearing its end with the New York Mets around the albatross of his massive contract. His last two seasons in St. Louis has shown he has something left in the tank, and his two home runs in game two were mammoth shots.

The first was 414 feet and the second was 416 feet, according to ESPN Home Run Tracker. The first homer was stopped by the facing of the third deck, though. They both would’ve gone a long, long way had they not been stopped by the seats.

Here’s a video of both monster slams and the curtain call. 

1. Seven shutdown innings from the Cardinals’ bullpen

Initially, it seemed that Jaime Garcia was pulled in the second inning by Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheney as a shrewd and gutsy move so they could try and put the Nats away early. It worked pretty well, as the pinch hitter, Skip Schumaker, grounded out but drove a run in, and then Jon Jay knocked one in, too. (Here’s video of the call to replace Garcia.) 

It turns out, though, that Garcia was pulled because of a shoulder injury, and he had an MRI on it after the game. Still, the Cardinals bullpen made it through seven innings and only allowed the Nats to tack on three more runs. It was yeoman’s work for the group for the five relievers that helped the Cardinals tie the series at one game a piece.

There’s some concern about the lackluster starting pitching from the Nats early this postseason. The starters are the main reason the Nats are where they are right now, and if they’re not able to produce, it’s hard to see how they can advance past the Division Series. It will be up to Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler to get things back on track in games three and four, respectively. Here’s hoping for some more optimistic keys in the games to come.

Today, we all woke up to reading about the Washington Nationals' lead in the NLDS, which Will wrote about late last night. Through the nail-biting, nerve-wracking contest that saw Gio Gonzalez issue seven free passes in just five innings, there were three keys to the game that gave the Nats the crucial game one victory. To the countdown...

3. Ryan Mattheus’ two-pitch, three-out inning

Craig Stammen had entered to relieve Gio Gonzalez and he danced around a single and hit-by-pitch in the sixth. In the seventh, his second inning of work, he was less lucky. The bases were quickly loaded with the first three batters Stammen saw. In came Ryan Mattheus for a nearly impossible task: give up zero runs despite the bases being loaded with none out.

Well, that’s exactly what he did. On two pitches. On the first pitch, Allen Craig grounded to short, and Ian Desmond threw home for the force out. On the second pitch, Yadier Molina grounded one to Ryan Zimmerman, who threw to Danny Espinosa and then Adam LaRoche for the inning ending double play. Ryan Mattheus, and everyone else, was jacked beyond belief. If even one run scores there, it’s a totally different game.

2. Jayson Werth’s home run robbing grab

With a runner on and one out in the sixth and Stammen on the mound, Jayson Werth flew back on a long fly ball from Daniel Descalso. Werth kept going, and going, until he stopped right in front of the wall, moving from sunlight to shadow, leapt and made an incredible catch over the wall, robbing Descalso of a two-run home run that would have given the Cardinals a 4-1 lead.

If Werth doesn’t make this catch, even the event that is number one on this list doesn’t make a difference. Werth said about the catch, “Until then, I was pretty much panicking cause it was a ball that I was pretty unsure on.” Well played, Jayson.

1. Tyler Moore’s two-run bloop single

Well, you can’t win the game without coming back and scoring the two runs that Moore put on the board in the eighth, and the events that lead up to the two-RBI single help make this the number one key to game one.

Davey Johnson pinch-hit Chad Tracy for Ryan Mattheus, and Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny countered with lefty Mark Rzepczynski. Davey then countered with right-handed rookie Tyler Moore. Matheny stuck with Rzepczynski, and Davey won the managerial battle.

Moore took a 2-2 pitch the opposite way and blooped it in front of Carlos Beltran in right field. Both Michael Morse and Ian Desmond scored, and the Nats got the lead they wouldn’t relinquish

It was an unlikely set of circumstances under which the top seeded playoff team would win a game, but that’s how the Nats have been playing all year. They never give up, and they showed why you can’t sleep on this young team this October with these three key moments.