The Washington Nationals are in pretty great shape. The Nats beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 on Monday night in D.C. to take a 3-0 lead in the NLCS.
Stephen Strasburg was sensational in seven innings for Washington, allowing zero earned runs and zero walks, while striking out 12.
Players with 10+ Ks in 4 of their first 7 #postseason starts:
Bob Gibson
Cliff Lee
Stephen Strasburg pic.twitter.com/ZIn6yyLqRM— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) October 15, 2019
Stephen Strasburg, postseason career:
1.32 ERA in 41 IP, with 5 BB and 57 K.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 15, 2019
The right-hander didn’t need much help in this one, but he got some anyway from the Washington offense against St. Louis ace Jack Flaherty. Howie Kendrick continued to his trend of getting big hits, with three doubles and three runs batted in. One of his doubles came in Nats’ four-run fourth inning:
Victor Robles singled.
Stephen Strasburg sacrificed.
Adam Eaton singled.
Anthony Rendon doubled.
Juan Soto walked.
Howie Kendrick doubled.END 4 // #Nats 4, Cardinals 0 pic.twitter.com/udCdd6do5M
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 15, 2019
So, the Cardinals are in a very, very difficult spot here. They were unable to get a win with their ace on the mound, and now have to win four straight games against a more talented Nats team that would start ace-level arms — Strasburg, Max Scherzer, and Patrick Corbin — in at least three of the four remaining games. You never know in baseball, but this an extreme longshot (Five Thirty Eight gives the Nats a 96% chance to win the series).
Corbin takes the mound on Tuesday in Game 4 against Dakota Hudson to try to put an end to this series quickly and give the Nats their first NL pennant in franchise history.
