The final touchups have been made to the NLDS logo
When Anibal Sanchez exited with a 2-1 lead after the 5th inning, the bullpen needed to keep it close, and once again that did not happen. They clobbered Patrick Corbin who came in as a bullpen piece then they smashed Wander Suero, and Hunter Strickland to win this game 10-4, and take a 2-1 lead in this series. The Nationals have to win tomorrow or it’s a go home situation, and they will look to Max Scherzer to deliver a win to force a game 5.
The Nationals had their chances to add-on runs, and make some plays to change the course of the game that just did not happen. Much credit to the Dodgers offense, and they were relentless as they pushed the pedal to the metal and did not let up.
For the Nats offense, Juan Soto blasted a 2-run home run in the first inning, and that lead held up until that 6th inning when it all unraveled. The Nationals made a charge to get back into the game, and that fizzled after pushing across two runs.
We will see what manager Dave Martinez can put together tomorrow to get his team to even this series. This is a team game, and they certainly lost as a team. The “L” is next to Patrick Corbin’s name, and he will wear the results as will Suero and Strickland.
“It was a fastball in and I think it was where we wanted it,” Corbin said about the groundball single by David Freese. “Just kind of found a hole and the inning continued.”
The decision to pull Sanchez who had thrown 87 pitches and was going through the lineup for the third time seemed like a wise move at the time that just did not work out. In hindsight, you certainly pull Corbin quicker, but you cannot change the results as they are in the books.
