SPECIAL DELIVERY: Chris Carpenter fires a pitch during the Cardinals’ 8-0 victory over the Nationals yesterday in Game 3 of the NLDS in Washington. (
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WASHINGTON — The first postseason game in this city since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s initial term as president was a FDR — Freakin’ Disaster, Really — for the Nationals.
Manager Davey Johnson’s crew won 98 games for the best record in the majors this season, but doesn’t appear worthy of sharing the same field with the Cardinals after yesterday’s 8-0 loss in Game 3 of the NLDS before a record crowd of 45,017 at Nationals Park.
The Nationals trail 2-1 in the series and will entrust their season to lefty Ross Detwiler, who is scheduled to face Cardinals ace Kyle Lohse in today’s Game 4.
“I’ve had my back to worse walls than this,” Johnson said.
In Johnson’s previous life, the Mets team he managed rallied in the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series to beat the Red Sox on Mookie Wilson’s grounder through Bill Buckner’s legs. The Mets won the following game to become world champions.
The Nationals probably won’t need anything as dramatic to rally in this series. But a few key hits might help. Yesterday, the Nationals left 11 runners on base, increasing their total to 30 for the three games.
Overall, the Nationals have been outscored 22-7 in the series.
The Nationals’ starting pitching — minus ace Stephen Strasburg, who last month was shut down for the season after reaching an innings limit — remains a mess. Edwin Jackson allowed four earned runs over five innings yesterday, following a brutal start from Jordan Zimmermann and shaky performance by Gio Gonzalez in Game 1.
But the Nationals prefer to view the glass as half full.
“We’re in a good spot,” Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth said. “We’ve got Detwiler going and Gio in Game 5, but we’ve got to win [today].”
Chris Carpenter continued his October magic by pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings in which he allowed seven hits and two walks. The right-hander is 5-0 in the postseason over the last two years, including a victory over the Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series last October.
“Does actual experience in the game count? Yeah,” Carpenter said. “But everybody is excited and has emotions, including myself when I went out there today. It’s how you deal with those.”
A charged crowd, celebrating the first postseason game in this city since the Senators played the Giants in the 1933 World Series, never really had a chance to become a factor.
Pete Kozma hit a three-run homer against Jackson in the second inning to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead, and the Nationals barely threatened for the remainder against Carpenter and relievers Trevor Rosenthal, Fernando Salas and Joe Kelly.
“I didn’t think [Carpenter] had great stuff, but he didn’t give the hitters any good pitches,” Johnson said. “He stayed out of the middle of the plate, kept the ball down and had a good curve ball, change. That’s the key to pitching.”
The Nationals loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Carpenter retired Michael Morse to keep the Cards’ four-run lead intact. The next inning, David Freese delivered an RBI double against reliever Craig Stammen to put the Nationals in a 5-0 hole.
The Nationals loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Carpenter retired Michael Morse to keep the Cards’ four-run lead intact. The next inning, David Freese delivered an RBI double against reliever Craig Stammen to put the Nationals in a 5-0 hole.
Cards manager Mike Matheny watched his bullpen pitch 3 1/3 hitless innings after allowing only three runs over seven innings in the team’s 12-4 victory in Game 2.
“There’s a buzz all over this city,” Matheny said. “We just try to go out and play our game and not let that get in the way, whether there’s a lot of life or no life at all.”