Nats Do What They Do Well: Win
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By DERON SNYDER
ST. LOUIS — The 2012 season represented uncharted territory for the Washington Nationals, as the vast majority of players had never experienced the pressure of pennant races or the joy of first-place finishes. But venturing out this far, with baseball’s best record and the NL East division title already in tow, is nothing like navigating the postseason’s deep waters.
The previous 162 games provided no indication of how Washington would respond in the National League Division Series. No matter how much Davey Johnson and his players try to downplay their lack of seasoning — the team’s, not the 69-year-old manager’s — playoff baseball is just different.
Here, every pitch and subsequent action is magnified, with only three guaranteed games left to be played. Across the field in the home team’s dugout are the battle-tested St. Louis Cardinals, winners of two of the past six World Series titles. They don’t have to wonder what it’s like to need a big out or a clutch hit when each defeat feels like a week’s worth.
But after Sunday, the Nats don’t have to wonder, either. They treated the NLDS opener like a midsummer game in Houston or Pittsburgh, just another chance to keep proving themselves. The evidence on this occasion was a 3-2 victory, courtesy of rookie Tyler Moore’s pinch-hit single in the eighth inning.
