NLDS Survival

There will be two game 4's tomorrow as both NLDS's were extended today.


The Nationals had Doug Fister on the mound to attempt to save their season as they were facing a 2-0 deficit in the series against the San Francisco Giants. AT&T park was the place of game 3, and Madison Bumgarner was the pitcher going for the Giants. This looked like it was going to be another sweep in the world of October baseball for 2014. That was far from the case.


From the beginning, Bumgarner couldn't find the consistency of the strikezone and he seemed frustrated especially in the 1st inning. Eventually he settled down though and Fister looked just as good matching up with him eye to eye until the 7th inning when finally the Nationals broke out the bats and Madison made a game costing error that would dictate what would happen next in the series. Wilson Ramos laid down a sacrifice bunt in the top of the 7th and Ian Desmond was heading for 3rd as Bumgarner decided to throw to third to get the force. He threw wildly and both Desmond and Harper, who was on first, came into score to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead. Wilson Ramos went to 2nd on the error and Asdrubal Cabrera eventually knocked him in to make it 3-0 Nationals heading into the 7th inning stretch.


A shocker considering how well Bumgarner had played in his previous appearance in Pittsburgh. The came would cruise to the 9th where the door was finally slammed on the Giants as Bryce Harper hit a solo smash to make it 4-0 Nationals. The Giants made a 9th inning rally scoring 1 run in the process, but the lead was just too much as the Nationals ultimately won 4-1 cutting the series to 2-1 with San Francisco leading. Both teams play tomorrow at 6 pm pacific time (9 pm eastern) on Fox Sports 1.


The other game was similar in that there was little action but there was definitely more drama. The Los Angeles Dodgers headed to St. Louis to play the Cardinals where the NLDS had been knotted up at 1 win a piece and Ryu was pitching for the Dodgers for the first time in nearly a month where as Lackey was ready to get the party started for the Cardinals. It definitely was a nerves party, but, it was another fantastic finish.


The action started in the Bottom of the 3rd inning where Matt Carpenter (that guy again) hit a solo shot to make it 1-0 Cardinals. The game would cruise until the 6th inning when the Dodgers answered with a Puig triple (to end his 7 strikeout streak) and a Hanley Ramirez base hit to tie the score up at 1-1.


The game would again slowly move into the 7th where the magic happened for the Cardinals once again. Yadier Molina started off the inning with a leadoff double, and then came up Kolten Wong. A young man who's 24th birthday is in 4 days and is from the beautiful islands of Hawaii hits a 2 run homerun to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead ultimately sealing the victory for the Cardinals. The Cardinals now lead the series 2-1 and they play tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm pacific (5 pm pacific) on Fox Sports 1.


We'll see tomorrow if Game 5's will be afoot or if the NLCS will be determined after nights end. But for now, another October night is in the books.