The Chicago Cubs take game one with a 3-0 shutout of the Washington Nationals in the NLDS. From the onset Nationals pitcher, Stephen Strasburg appeared to have no-hit like stuff. Mowing down Cubs hitters, it looked like it was going to be a long night for Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and the gang.
Then with a pair of outs in the sixth inning, Bryant hit a double to the right-center gap scoring Javy Baez. Then Rizzo followed suit with a double of his own scoring Kris. Rizzo would later knock in Jon Jay with his second double of the game, rounding out the scoring.
While Rizzo had a good game, he wasn’t the story. No, the story was pitching; Kyle Hendricks and Strasburg.
Stras was on it from the start, striking out 10 in 7 innings, and being extremely efficient in the process. He finished with 81 pitches, 60 of them strikes while facing 26 total batters. He did give up a pair of runs on 3 hits, but neither was earned as Baez reached on an error by third baseman Anthony Rendon.
While the TBS broadcast team of Ernie Johnson and Rob Darling couldn’t stop talking about Strasburg, and how good he was – Kyle Hendricks quietly outpitched the Nationals flamethrower. The Professor went 7 innings, giving up two hits and no runs in yet another highly impressive postseason start. He did give up a surprising amount of walks (3) but it seemed anytime the Nationals threatened, Kyle would shut the door.
This loss is a backbreaking, spirit demoralizing loss for the Nationals. With Strasburg being as good as he was tonight, and the Cubs outlasting him, and Kyle outdueling him, faith has got to be low in that Washington clubhouse. This is why you don’t count out a world champ, and I have seen maybe two national guys pick the Cubs to beat the Nationals.
Kyle’s progression from a throw-in pitcher in a trade to a legitimate ACE has been a joy to watch. With the Cubs now up 1-0, and doing their job by stealing a game in Washington, they should now be the favorites in this series.
10 more wins.
