Sigh. The Nats Drop the First Game

Max throws the first pitch.

Max Scherzer is a great pitcher. But his one weakness is he gives up home runs. He gave up two yesterday and that cost the Nats the game 4-3. Also the fact that the Nats 9 runners on base didn't help matters either. Just one additional hit would have a least tied the game but it was not to be.

From the Post:

The deficit materialized so fast that few in the stands or the Washington Nationals’ dugout had time to dread its arrival. The grand pitching duel between Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer evaporated so quickly that there was little time to admire their work.

But the chances the Nationals let slip away Friday night in Game 1 of the National League Division Series will linger. Even after they fell behind four runs to the most dominant left-handed pitcher of this generation, the Nationals had opportunities to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. They could not seize them and lost, 4-3.

But Kershaw was not at his best either, and the Nationals did not go away. They tried to rally in the second, when Daniel Murphy returned to the lineup with a single. Ryan Zimmerman, whose reemergence as a right-handed power threat could help make up for the loss of Ramos, singled two batters later. But with two on, Danny Espinosa struck out on three pitches, and the inning ended with Scherzer popping out with the bases loaded.

The Nationals cut the deficit in half in the third, when Anthony Rendon hit a two-run, two-out single. Espinosa struck out with two on to end that inning.

In fact Espinosa did not get a hit the entire game. He is a great defensive player but his hitting well it simply isn't there.

This statistic tells the story. In home playoff games the Nats are 1-5. Unless that changes like today, the Nats will not be advancing on to the next round. I'll have a bunch of pictures later. Not sure if I'll get them up before I head out to the game today but I will try.