The Washington Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 to win the NL Wild Card game. The Nats advance to the NLDS where they will face two time NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Things did not look good for the Nats early on. Nats ace Max Scherzer got into trouble right away giving up a 2-run HR in the 1st to Brewers catcher Yasmani Grandal. Eric Thames took Scherzer deep in the 2nd inning to give the Brew Crew a 3-0 lead.
Scherzer managed to settle down after giving the team five innings. But Brewers pitching was equal to the task for the first seven innings. Brandon Woodruff, Brian Suter and Drew Pomeranz only gave up one run (a solo HR by Trea Turner in the 3rd).
But Brewers closer Josh Hader was another matter when he entered the game in the 8th. Hader was very wild and overamped. Although he struck out Victor Robles, he plunked pinch hitter Michael A. Taylor (although Brewers manager Craig Counsell unsuccessfully challenged the call). After striking out Turner, pinch hitter Ryan Zimmerman hit a broken bat single. Hader loaded the bases with a walk to NL MVP candidate Anthony Rendon.
Up stepped Juan Soto. He hit a single which would have normally driven in one run. But Brewers rookie right fielder Trent Grisham misplayed the ball scoring two runs and giving the Nats a 4-3 lead. Soto didn't mind a bit being tagged out at second base. Twenty minutes before the 20-year old Soto got into the batter's box, the Nats' season appeared over.
Nats manager opted to pitch Daniel Hudson instead of Sean Doolittle to close the game. After striking out Thames, Hudson surrendered a single to Lorenzo Cain. The former Blue Jays reliever regrouped and got Orlando Arcia to pop out to catcher Kurt Suzuki before Ben Gamel flied out to Robles to secure the NL Wild Card.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the winning pitcher Stephen Strasburg. In his very first big league relief appearance, Strasburg pitched three scoreless innings striking out four while giving up only two hits.
It will be interesting how the use of Scherzer and Strasburg tonight will affect their performance against the Dodgers. Are they just getting warmed up or will they hit a wall in Chavez Ravine? The Nats could not advance in the NLDS four times between 2012 and 2017. But for the moment the Washington Nationals are triumphant.
The 2019 MLB post-season is off to a rousing start. Tomorrow night the AL Wild Card game takes place between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland A's.
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