Ryan Mattheus survives bases-loaded jam as he kept St. Louis Cardinals at bay - MLB Update
Washington Nationals’ relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus was incredible on the mound the other day. He stepped on the mound in the first game of the National League Division Series between the Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals at a time when the bases were
loaded.
Far from leaking runs and allowing Cardinals to make the most of the bases loaded jam, Mattheus threw quality pitches and escaped the situation successfully.
By finishing off the inning without letting the Cardinals to take the game away from the Nationals, Mattheus kept chances of his team’s victory alive.
It was because of him that when Tyler Moore struck a single and brought two runs later on, the Nationals went ahead of the Cardinals and won the game eventually.
If Mattheus was roughed up, the Cardinals would have substantiated their lead. As a result, the contribution by Moore later on may have been rendered useless.
The game saw the Nationals’ starter Gio Gonzalez struggling with his command and allowing runs initially.
He was heading to suffer the loss until Mattheus blocked the Cardinals and stopped them from clinching the victory.
At the end of the game, Gonzalez talked of the contribution of bullpen in the game.
He was all-praise of the kind of relievers that the Nationals possess. He termed them the most reliable hurlers when it comes to protecting lead during penultimate innings.
Gonzalez was extremely pleased with the fact that his poor show did not end up costing him the loss in such an important game.
What differentiates Mattheus from others is the fact that he absorbed pressure of high profile game better than others.
Mattheus comments on how he outwitted batters in the game. He exploited the aggression they were showing at the plate and employed those pitches that forced them to commit mistakes.
"I did figure they were going to be aggressive because one swing can put the game out of reach right there," said Mattheus. "You can feed off that aggressiveness of a hitter and throw something just out of the strike zone and hope he hits one of your pitches."
Mattheus will be looking to continue throwing solid innings throughout the season.
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