Ross Detwiler lives up to the challenge for Washington Nationals in Game 4 of NLDS - MLB Update
Ross Detwiler rescues Washington Nationals after they were on the brink of elimination from the post-season. He has delivered when it matters.
Before the game, he was under pressure because his team was down in the series. With another loss, they will have been done for the season.
Most of the experts believed that tackling pressure appropriately will not be easy for Detwiler.
However, he showed great self-confidence during the match. Far from getting his focus derailed, he threw solid innings.
In the last two matches, the St. Louis Cardinals thrashed the Nationals' pitchers and posted a great number of runs.
If their recent upsurge was anything to go by, they will have easily put up equally dominant show against the Nationals on Thursday.
However, Detwiler did not allow them to strike hits and smack home-runs. He restricted them to just three hits in the match.
His impressive show on the mound has saved the Nationals from the fierce criticism that had to emerge against the team officials in the case of failure.
As the Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg during the regular season, their rotation has weakened. Thus, they are vulnerable in the extremely important matches ahead.
If the Nationals are eliminated from the playoffs early, most of the experts will assume that absence of Strasburg is the reason. Due to this, they will be lashing out at the General Manager Mike Rizzo, who actually declared shut-down of Strasburg.
Nationals’ catcher Kurt Suzuki has praised Detwiler for showing command and control in the game.
“Well, I think it’s pretty obvious the last two games really didn’t go our way,” Kurt Suzuki said. “When that happens, you have to look for ways to make some adjustments. We knew that’s what needed to happen. Ross really mixed his speeds well. He threw a
lot more breaking balls. And he really had command of his pitches. Ross is a power pitcher, there’s no mystery to that, but he did what he needed to today and it really worked. Man, it worked.”
Detwiler will be hoping that the Nationals win the last match of the National League Division Series and qualify for the upcoming stages of the season.
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