*Photo from Federal Baseball*
Two teams that weren't world series favorites entering the playoffs. Both of these teams knocked off the squads they had to face in the NLDS through teamwork and hard,gritty effort. It's the NLCS, with the Washington Nationals facing the St.Louis Cardinals, with the winner getting a chance to claim the ultimate prize of a world series trophy. Let's have a look at how these teams got here.
These last few weeks, it has become pretty clear that the Nationals did not need Bryce Harper. They started off the season 19-31, but turned it around and have been one of the league's top teams since. Even then, they couldn't catch the Atlanta Braves and wound up in the wild card game, where they quickly fell into a 3-0 hole in the second inning. They came back and won that game in dramatic fashion. Even after that win, they had to face the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers. After they lost the first game 6-0, many people thought they were done. Game two came, and they took a win away from the Dodgers thanks to Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer. Game 3 came, and they had a lead, until Patrick Corbin came in and the Dodgers scored 7 straight runs, leading to a painful loss. On the brink of elimination in game 4, they rose to the occasion, and Corbin and Scherzer shut down the Dodgers. Game 5 started with them in a 3-0 hole, and they climbed out of it at the end of the game, and won in 10 innings.
The Nationals got here because Dave Martinez made the right moves, and they were hungry. The bullpen, their biggest weakness this season, was supposed to be their downfall. Martinez used starting pitchers in the bullpen, with the big 3 of Corbin, Strasburg, and most memorably Scherzer, all came out in relief during the NLCS, with Strasburg making an additional relief appearance in the wild card game. The two actual relievers he has used on a consistent basis this playoffs, Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson, have pitched phenomenally. The hitting game has gotten hits in the right moments too. From Soto's hit in the wild card game, to Anthony Rendon and Soto hitting back to back homers to tie up game 5, to Howie Kendrick's grand slam in the 10th inning, they have shown up at the right time. That is what has gotten them here.
The Cardinals won the NL central on the last day of the regular season. They were able to avoid the wild card game, and faced the hotshot Braves in the NLDS. In game one, they pulled away in the 9th and held off a late onslaught for victory. After losses in games two and 3, they came back from a one run deficit in game 4 and won the game in extra innings. Game 5 came, and they quickly exploded, scoring 10 runs in the first inning on the way to a 13-1 embarrassment of Atlanta in the win or go home game. The pitching, which was their strength all season, was shaky and inconsistent in the NLDS against Atlanta. The hitting game, a weakness all year, carried the day. From the 4 run 9th inning in game one to the heroics of Yadier Molina in game 4, to the 13 run outburst in game 5, this hitting corps is getting hot at the right time. These guys can be sneaky good. They get homefield advantage as well in this series.
Game one is on Friday night at Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals will send NLDS game one starter Miles Mikolas to the mound, and the Nationals send NLDS game 3 starter Anibal Sanchez to the mound. Scherzer is a likely candidate to start game two, given that he didn't pitch in game 5 last night, whereas Corbin and Strasburg did.
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