*Photo from CBS Sports*
Washington leads series 2-0
Anibal Sanchez almost had a no hitter, so Max Scherzer thought he'd give it a try. Scherzer threw 6 no hit innings, Michael A Taylor homered, and the Washington Nationals topped the St.Louis Cardinals 3-1 to take a 2-0 series lead in the NLCS. Sanchez pitches with deception and precision, while Scherzer pitches with strength and fire. Two styles, two absolute gems. Scherzer said that "We really want to win here, so that's what's going to happen, we're going to compete and win."
The Nationals got on the board in the 3rd inning, when Taylor hit a solo homer to left field on the first pitch to make it 1-0. It stayed that way until the 8th, when Adam Eaton doubled to right field to score two runs and make it 3-0. In the bottom of the 8th, Jose Martinez got the Cardinals on the board with an RBI double. That was all St.Louis could muster.
Scherzer went 7 dominating innings, and gave up just one hit and two walks. Patrick Corbin came in for relief duty, and got the first out of the 9th inning, and Daniel Hudson finished the 9th for his 3rd save of the postseason. In the 2013 ALCS, when Sanchez and Scherzer were apart of the Detroit Tigers, they began the ALCS with consecutive no hit bids that each fell short. The Tigers ultimately lost the series in 6 games to the Boston Red Sox. Taylor said that "It's a good ballclub, but we've got great pitchers, they went out and executed pitch after pitch." The Nationals have won 4 straight games.
Adam Wainwright got the loss for the Cardinals, going 7 1/3 innings and giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and one walk. He struck out 11 in a losing effort. Wainwright said that "They have a pretty strong advantage right now." The bats continued to struggle, but Wainwright still believes in them, saying that "I've got a lot of confidence in our hitters. I think our hitters are going to do something special in Washington." Yadier Molina said that "We trust in each other. We've been in this position before, we just have to figure out how to get better."
The series shifts to Washington for at least two games, with game 3 on Monday night in Washington. It doesn't get any easier for the Cardinals. Washington sends out postseason warrior Stephen Strasburg to the mound. The Cardinals send ace Jack Flaherty to the mound, looking to force at least a game 5.
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