Definitely Werth It!

(Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Jayson Werth sent the nation's capital into a frenzy with his walk off home run in game 4 of the NLDS.  Werth's Washington Nationals tied the series at 2-2 with their exhilarating 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, setting up a deciding game 5 tomorrow night.  After being shut out in game 3 of the series, the Nationals were finally able to put a couple of runs on the board off the bats of Werth and Adam Laroche who hit a home run in the 2nd inning.  Werth's towering solo homer came off a fastball from converted reliever Lance Lynn, as a result of a magnificent 13 pitch at bat.

(John McDonnell/Washington Post)

Southpaw Ross Detwiler, a St. Louis native completing his first year in the National's starting rotation, shook off his nerves and pitched a 6 inning gem, in which he allowed no earned runs.  Starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann pitched a flawless 7th inning out of the bullpen, striking out all three batters he faced.  Tyler Clippard, Washington's setup pitcher, and Drew Storen, the team's closer, struck out 5 combined batters.

Gio Gonzalez, a 21 game winner and a Cy Young candidate, will start the series finale Friday night against Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals.

Nationals win first postseason game in 79 years

Tyler Moore hit a game winning 2 run double
(Jeff Roberson/AP)

On Sunday afternoon the first postseason baseball game in 79 years was played by a Washington D.C. Major League Baseball franchise.  The Washington Nationals, the pride of the nation's capital after winning an MLB best 98 games during the 2012 regular season, continued their historic season by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 in game 1 of the NLDS.

Gio Gonzalez, a National League Cy young candidate after winning a majors leading 21 games this season, started the game for Washington.  Gonzalez gave up only 1 hit in 5 innings pitched, but struggled with his command and walked a season high 7 batters.  Gonzalez walked 4 in a wild second inning in which he gave up the only 2 runs of the game on a wild pitch that got by catcher Kurt Suzuki, and on a sacrifice fly by Jon Jay with the bases loaded.  Nationals manager Davey Johnson decided to trust his ace and allowed Gonzalez to continue to pitch for three more innings.

The Cardinals' starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, struck out 10 batters in a masterful 5 and two thirds innings pitched.  Wainwright baffled the Nationals and demonstrated complete control of his knee buckling curve ball.  Wainwright only struggled for a brief stretch of the second inning during which Suzuki put the Nats on on the scoreboard first with an RBI single to the left field gap that brought home first baseman Adam Laroche.

Jayson Werth robbed the St. Louis of a home run
(Dilip Vishwana/Getty Images)

Two crucial momentum shifting defensive plays by the Nationals prevented the Cardinals from pulling away in the latter innings of the game.  In the 6th inning, right fielder Jayson Werth leaped over the right field wall and robbed Daniel Descalso of a 2 run homer that would have given the Cardinals a 3 run lead.  The second crucial event occurred after Washington relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus entered the game with the bases loaded and 0 outs in the 7th inning.  On the first pitch Mattheus threw, the Cardinal's Allen Craig hit a ground ball to Washington shortstop Ian Desmond who threw to home plate for a force out that prevented the Cardinals from scoring.  On the very next pitch, Mattheus got St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina to chase a pitch outside.  Molina hit a ground ball to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who flipped it to Danny Espinosa at second base.  Espinosa then leaped over a sliding Cardinal and threw the ball to Laroche at first base for the double play, allowing the Nationals to escape the dire situation unscathed.

Drew Storen struck out Matt Holiday
to end the game
(photo by Nir Levy)

In the top of the 8th inning with left fielder Michael Morse and Desmond both on base, rookie Tyler Moore pinch hit for Mattheus and hammered a 2 run double to put the Nats ahead.  Moore's hit was the biggest of the year for the Nationals and continued a trend of bench players coming up huge for the team.  Reliever Tyler Clippard and closer Drew Storen each disposed of all three of the batters they faced in the last two innings to retain the lead for the Nats.  Storen struck out 6 time all-star left fielder Matt Holiday on three pitches to end the game.
The series will continue tomorrow with the Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann facing Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals.

Gio Gonalez and the Nationals shut out the Cardinals

Gio Gonzalez pitched the first complete game shutout of his career as the Washington Nationals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 10-0 to earn their 80th victory of the season.  With the win, the Nationals extended their lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East to 6.5 games and continued their impressive run following a recent 5 game losing streak.

Gio Gonzalez pitched a complete game shutout
(photo taken by Nir Levy)

Gonzalez won his MLB leading 17th game of the season, struck out 8 and lowered his ERA to a career best 3.10.  Gonzalez retired the first 9 batters he faced and did not allow a hit through 4 innings.  Following the game, manager Davey Johnson claimed that Gonzalez would have been limited to 120 pitches in the game; his pitch count ended up being 119.  Gonzalez was acquired this offseason from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for three of the Nationals' top nine prospects.  He has been nothing short of an absolute ace this season, leading the NL in opponents' batting average and slugging percentage, ranking 4th in strikeouts, and nearly ranking in the top 10 in both ERA and WHIP.  After the game Gonzalez was honored with a gatorade shower and a whipped cream pie to the face by teammate Edwin Jackson.

Bryce Harper has been very hot of late
(photo taken by Nir Levy)

Gonzalez was provided with ample run support by the Nationals' offense, which has outscored opponents 26-5 over the team's current three game win streak.  Right fielder Jayson Werth had 3 hits, and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, center fielder Bryce Harper and first baseman Adam Laroche each provided the team with 2 RBIs in the offensive explosion, which included Zimmerman's 17th home run of the season.  Werth and Harper, the first two batters in the lineup, have been especially hot of late, with Harper batting 0.428 with 3 homers and 8 RBI over the team's 3 game win streak, and Werth batting 0.358 during the month August.


All Photos were taken by me, Nir Levy.