Biggest Takeaways from Monday's NLDS Postseason Action
With both American League Division Series wrapped up in three games, Monday's slate of contests was cut in half, but each of the NLDS matchups were still in action.
Below is a box-score look at how each game shook out, followed by the biggest takeaways from the day's postseason action. This will be updated as games go final, with takeaways added after each game.
NLDS: Washington Nationals 4, San Francisco Giants 1; Giants lead series 2-1
WP: Doug Fister (1-0)
LP: Madison Bumgarner (0-1)
HR: WAS - Harper (2); SF - None
NLDS: St. Louis Cardinals 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Cardinals lead series 2-1
WP: John Lackey (1-0)
LP: Scott Elbert (0-1)
SV: Trevor Rosenthal (2)
HR: STL - Carpenter (3), Wong (1); LAD - None
Anthony Rendon Is Pretty Good at This Postseason Thing
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Props to my colleague here at B/R Jason Catania for writing a piece entitled "Anthony Rendon Poised to Become Breakout Star of 2014 MLB Postseason" at the beginning of the month, because Rendon has been just that.
The Nationals are still facing elimination in Game 4, but Rendon has made the most of his time in October so far, and he is finally receiving some well-deserved recognition.
"Up to this point, you might have read about or seen a few highlights of Rendon here and there over the course of the season, but chances are you don't realize just how good he's been—unless you're a Nationals fan," wrote Catania.
The 24-year-old hit .287/.351/.473 with 39 doubles, 21 home runs and 17 stolen bases for a 6.5 WAR during the regular season, as the former No. 6 overall pick in the 2011 draft was the Nationals' best player this year.
Playing in his first postseason, Rendon is 7-for-15 (.467 BA) hitting out of the No. 2 spot in the Nats lineup, and he picked up two more hits on Monday night.
If the Nationals hope to pull off the comeback and advance to the NLCS, they will need Rendon to continue producing, as they look for their middle-of-the-order bats to pick things up and start driving him in.
There Is Very Little Margin for Error in October, and Things Can Go South Quick
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For the first six innings of Monday's game, starters Madison Bumgarner and Doug Fister traded zeros, making it the longest a game has remained scoreless this October.
Both pitchers threw the ball well to finish up the regular season, and Bumgarner kept that going with a brilliant performance in the NL Wild Card Game, as he threw a four-hit shutout at the Pittsburgh Pirates while striking out 10.
With a chance to send the Giants to the NLCS, Bumgarner looked to be on his game once again, as he allowed just four hits and no walks over the first six innings of Game 4.
He ran into trouble immediately in the seventh, though, allowing a single to Ian Desmond and a walk to Bryce Harper to start the inning.
Wilson Ramos came up looking to move the runners over with a bunt, and he got one down that was fielded by Bumgarner. Rather than taking the out at first, Bumgarner tried to fire the ball to third base to get the lead runner but instead skipped it out into left field.
Two runs scored on the play with Ramos ending up on second base. Asdrubal Cabrera followed with an RBI single, and just like that it was a 3-0 game.
The final score was 4-1, with Harper adding a solo home run and the Giants getting on the board against Drew Storen in the ninth inning, but the whole game boiled down to that one seventh-inning mistake.
Doug Fister Is Still a Stud in October
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The strength of the Washington Nationals in October was supposed to be their starting pitching. After all, they led all of baseball with a 3.04 ERA from their starters during the regular season.
After a so-so start by Stephen Strasburg in Game 1 and a gem from Jordan Zimmermann that was squandered by a blown save from Drew Storen, the Nationals found themselves facing elimination down 2-0 in the series.
Doug Fister took the ball in Game 3, and while he may have followed those other two in the rotation, he has by far the most postseason experience of the group.
The big right-hander was 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA in seven career postseason starts heading into Monday's game, and he kept that going with the best postseason outing of his career.
With no margin for error in squaring off against Bumgarner, Fister allowed just four hits over seven shutout innings, earning the win and lowering his postseason ERA as a starter to 1.78.
For many teams Fister would have been a Game 1 starter, after going 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in his first season in Washington.
Instead, he's a dominant No. 3 starter, and he was able to extend the Nationals' postseason run at least one more day.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers Will Go Back to Their Aces in Games 4 and 5
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This is not a takeaway from the day's action on the field, but it is significant news that was announced on Monday.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters that regardless of how Game 3 plays out, it will be Clayton Kershaw taking the ball on three days' rest in Game 4 and Zack Greinke pitching on full rest in Game 5 if necessary.
That was according to a tweet from ESPN's Buster Olney, who broke the news along with a handful of others after Mattingly announced the decision prior to Monday night's game.
Veteran Dan Haren was originally penciled in as the Game 4 starter, and while his 4.02 ERA during the regular season doesn't look great, he did finish strong with a 2.09 ERA and five quality starts in his final seven outings.
This is not uncharted territory for Kershaw, as he pitched on three days' rest in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves last year.
He allowed three hits and two unearned runs over six innings of work in that one, taking a no-decision in a game the Dodgers ended up winning behind a Juan Uribe home run, sending the team to the NLCS in the process.
Kershaw will have plenty to prove after his seventh inning collapse in Game 1, as he looks to show he can come through when it matters most.
It will be interesting to see what the Cardinals do if they drop Game 3. Sticking with scheduled starter Shelby Miller or countering with their own ace on short rest, Adam Wainwright, seem to be the top choices.
Matt Carpenter Is Seeing the Ball Really Well Right Now
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Matt Carpenter hit a grand total of two home runs in 183 at-bats against left-handed pitching during regular season.
He now has three in three games here in the NLDS, as he continued his red-hot postseason performance with another big game on Monday night.
In his second at-bat of the game, Carpenter crushed a 1-2 changeup from Dodgers' starter Hyun-Jin Ryu into the right-center field stands for his third home run of the series, giving the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead.
He also added a double in the bottom of the seventh, his third double of the series, as he is now 6-for-12 with 18 total bases heading into Game 4.
The Cardinals as a whole have stepped up their offensive game here in October, hitting six home runs six home runs already after finishing last in the National League with just 105 longballs during the regular season.
A number of guys have delivered big hits, but Carpenter is operating on another level entirely right now. He will look to continue his recent run of success against left-handed pitching in Game 4 when Clayton Kershaw takes the ball on three days rest.
The Kolten Wong World Series Pick-Off Is a Distant Memory
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Last October, Kolten Wong earned one of the last postseason roster spots for the Cardinals, after seeing just 32 games of action down the stretch during the regular season.
He was not expected to play a significant role of any sort, and was mostly brought along for his speed on the bases to be used as a late-game pinch-running option.
His chance to do just that came in Game 4, when he replaced a gimpy Allen Craig at first base after he delivered a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth.
With the Cardinals trailing 4-2, and facing Red Sox closer Koji Uehara, the game ended abruptly when Wong was picked off of first base for the final out of the game.
Fast forward to this postseason and Wong has stepped into a far more significant role as the team's everyday second baseman, and is coming off a regular season in which he posted a .680 OPS with 12 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
A solid start to what looks to be a bright future, but the defining moment of his career as a pro remained that unfortunate moment he wandered a little too far off of first base last October.
That is until Monday night, when Wong stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with a runner on third base and the score tied up at 1-1.
A deep fly ball would have plated the go-ahead run, but Wong did one better, driving a pitch from Dodgers lefty reliever Scott Elbert into the right field stands for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning home run.
Just like that, his blunder last October is a distant memory, and he is instead the latest postseason hero for a Cardinals team one win away from returning to the NLCS.
A Shaky Middle Relief Corps Is Costing the Dodgers Big Time
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The Dodgers have a terrific starting rotation and one of the best closers in all of baseball in Kenley Jansen, but bridging the gap between those two pieces of the pitching staff has been an adventure all season.
Pedro Baez allowed two runs in 0.2 innings of work in relief of Clayton Kershaw in Game 1, but that pales in comparison to what has happened the last two games.
Zack Greinke threw seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball in Game 2, before giving way to one of the team's most reliable middle relievers this season in veteran left-hander J.P. Howell. He then proceeded to allow a pinch-hit single to Oscar Taveras and a game-tying home run to Matt Carpenter.
Matt Kemp was able to bail Howell out with a game-winning shot of his own, but that outing was enough for manager Don Mattingly to opt for a different southpaw reliever in Scott Elbert in Game 3.
Elbert came on in the seventh inning with the score tied at 1-1, in relief of starter Hyun-Jin Ryu who was better than expected in his first start in weeks.
A lead-off double from Yadier Molina and a sacrifice bunt from Jon Jay put the go-ahead run on third base, and Kolten Wong drove in Molina and himself with a two-run shot to right field.
After an Oscar Taveras groundout, Matt Carpenter then tagged Elbert for a double, forcing another pitching change.
At this point, unless the starting pitcher goes eight innings and hands the ball to Jansen, it's hard to think any lead is safe enough for the Dodgers' middle relief corps.
John Lackey Lived Up to His Billing as a Postseason Stud
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The Kolten Wong home run was the highlight of Game 3, but the biggest story was the gem turned in from veteran starter John Lackey.
The Cardinals paid a steep price to acquire the 35-year-old at the deadline, shipping Allen Craig and Joe Kelly to the Boston Red Sox, and he did not exactly pitch lights-out down the stretch.
All told he was 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 11 starts post-trade, dealing with a bout of "dead arm" and never really dominating as some though he would with a move to the National League.
That trade was not made with the regular season in mind, though, it was made because Lackey has more postseason experience on the mound than any other pitcher in the league right now.
His 104.0 career postseason innings heading into Monday's start were tops among active starters, and his track record spoke for itself with a 3.03 ERA and a pair of World Series clinching wins to his credit.
A fiery competitor, Lackey stepped up in his first October start just as the team hoped he would, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out eight in seven innings of work.
He earned his seventh career postseason win, and sends the Cardinals into a Game 4 matchup against Clayton Kershaw with a 2-1 series lead and a chance to advance to the NLCS.
More than a few eyebrows were raised at the time the Lackey trade was made, but his Game 3 start is exactly what the Cardinals front office envisioned when they pulled the trigger on that deal.
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