St. Louis Cardinals lose to Washington Nationals 3-2 in Game 1 of NLDS – MLB Recap
St Louis Cardinals lost to Washington Nationals 3-2 in Game 1 of their National League Divisional Series on Sunday, October 7 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
"I'm kind of from the Earl Weaver school, just keep swinging, Don't like to steal that much, either. I don't like to give up outs," Nationals' manager Davey Johnson said after the game regarding his team’s performance.
Washington played much better than the Cardinals and in the end, surpassed their offence with ease.
"Not many people have probably watched too many Nationals games, but we have a great starting rotation and a great bullpen, They keep us in the ballgame some timely hits from this kid, and the rest of the guys coming off the bench," said Ian Desmond with confidence.
Nationals’ starter Gio Gonzalez pitched five solid innings and received only two runs. He struck-out five while he maintained his ERA at 3.60. He showed great temperament and literally earned a great victory for his team.
"All the credit in the world goes to the bullpen, I've been saying it all year. The reason why we've been so successful is these guys come in and shut it down," Gonzalez said.
Along with pitchers, the Nationals’ batters also performed beautifully and proved too good for the Cardinals’ offence.
Left fielder Michael Morse batted four times and received one run and one hit on his consistent slugging percentage at .250.
Shortstop Ian Desmond also added one run on his three hits. He kept the Cardinals' batters under pressure and eventually proved one of the winning factors for his team.
On the other hand, the Cardinals entire side played under pressure during the whole game. They did not show any fighting spirit and could not save the game in the end.
Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright pitched over five innings spell and received one run and six hits. Though he struck-out ten Nationals’ batters but he could not save the game for his team.
Along with pitchers, the Cardinals’ batters also could not live up to the expectations and lost in the end.
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