Nationals feeling heat
A bases-loaded walk, an RBI groundout and a score on a wild pitch accounted for the three runs that were enough for the Giants to win Game 4 of the NLDS and send the favored Nationals home for the winter.
The mighty Nationals, whose only runs had come from Bryce Harper (an RBI double off Ryan Vogelsong and a towering homer off Hunter Strickland), left town scratching their heads.
How had Washington squandered home-field advantage, losing both games in the nation’s capital, including an 18-inning epic that was decided by Brandon Belt’s home run?
“They’re aware of what’s going on,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of his players.
Through Tuesday, they were 12-15 since the All-Star break and 4-8 since the trade deadline, when they acquired closer Jonathan Papelbon.
[...] it upset the chemistry of the Nationals’ bullpen, pushing then-closer Drew Storen, who was having a good year, back into a setup role.
How much is it in character for this team to add Papelbon — one of the most irritating jerks in sport — if you are on the other team as he beats you and flaunts it?
[...] acquiring Papelbon adds another piece to the unit Matt Williams continues to mismanage.
Williams pulled starter Jordan Zimmermann when he was one out from pitching a postseason shutout.
Storen replaced him, allowed the game-tying run, and the Giants won it in the 18th inning.
Three days after Papelbon joined Storen in the bullpen, the Nationals began a three-game series in Queens.
MLB Network’s Brian Kenny said Williams’ performance in New York was “a failure of strategy, of roster utilization ... a failure of the thought process of what you’re doing.”
[...] CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman wrote that many of the Nationals’ players are not big fans of Williams, finding him “not loose” and “never relaxed.”
Williams gave a bizarre postgame news conference after the Nationals wrapped up their recent disappointing homestand.
The Giants will miss Zimmermann, but will face Strasburg, who has struggled with injury this season, and Max Scherzer (11-8, 2.44).