Tyler Moore rescues Washington Nationals in first game of Division Series - MLB Update
Rookie Tyler Moore stole the show for Washington Nationals on Sunday as he led his side in a come-from-behind win against St. Louis Cardinals in the first match of the Division series.
The Nationals were dull and down throughout the match and were gradually heading toward defeat. Their starter Gio Gonzalez was below par as he struggled with his control.
Watching their top pitcher struggling on the mound in such an important game was the last thing that the Nationals wanted.
Following the unimpressive show from Gonzalez, the Nationals needed something spectacular coming off from the relievers in order to clinch the victory.
Under pressure throwing quality innings was not easy for the relievers.
Fortunately, relievers realised their responsibility as they ended up handing the team a much needed win.
More often than not when a starter struggles on the mound, relievers find it extremely difficult to help the team eschew the defeat.
However, the Nationals are different from other teams in this regard. They boast a solid bullpen. They have quality arms that are capable of protecting a lead during the penultimate innings.
More than the relievers, what ascertained the victory on Sunday for the Nationals was the timely single struck by Moore in the eighth inning.
Without the two runs posted on the scoreboard due to his single, Washington will not have been victorious regardless of how effective the relievers could be.
Reliever Drew Storen is not surprised with the way the game panned out for the Nationals from the beginning. He is conscious of the fact that during the playoffs anything can be expected. Only those teams that are good at fighting with the circumstances
and producing positive results out of them survive.
"That's playoff baseball. Nothing goes to plan in the playoffs," Drew Storen said. "The good teams are the ones that can handle it and really grind it out and get the victory. That's what we expect. We don't expect it to go by the book."
Moore feels lucky to be part of such a high profile game and more importantly standing out in it. "I'm a blessed man. It's pretty unbelievable," Moore said. "I'm just happy for us as a team to get this first one out of the way."
Moore will like to continue his success at the plate. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the upcoming matches.
Tags: