St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - The first postseason game in 79 years for a
team based in the city of Washington turned out to be well worth the wait.
Pinch-hitter Tyler Moore delivered a two-out, two-run single in the top of the
eighth inning as the Washington Nationals opened up their National League
Division Series against the defending world champion St. Louis Cardinals with
a 3-2 come-from-behind win Sunday at Busch Stadium.
Moore's clutch hit came after Nationals reliever Ryan Mattheus (1-0) worked
out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the seventh.
Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen set St. Louis down the rest of the way to nail
down the first playoff contest involving a Washington team since the Senators
participated in the 1933 World Series, as well as the Nationals' postseason
debut since moving from Montreal following the 2004 season.
The Expos participated in only one playoff series in their 36-year residence
in Montreal, losing in five games to the Dodgers in the 1981 NLCS.
Adam Wainwright struck out 10 batters over 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball for
St. Louis, but was let down by his team's bats as well as its defense.
Mitchell Boggs (0-1) was charged with the two eighth-inning runs, both of
which were unearned due to a fielding error by rookie shortstop Pete Kozma.
The Cardinals also went hitless in eight at-bats with men in scoring position
and stranded a total of 10 runners for the game.
Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez surrendered just one hit and struck out five
over five innings, but walked seven batters and was reached for two runs.
The Sports Network