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Doug Fister pitches seven scoreless innings as Nationals rally to beat Giants in NLDS Game 3 Doug Fister pitches seven scoreless innings as Nationals rally to beat Giants in NLDS Game 3
(about 1 hour later)
SAN FRANCISCO — It started with Bobby Henley’s stroll down the third base line to whisper something in Wilson Ramos’s ear. The reappearance of the Washington Nationals — the ones who rampaged through the second half of the regular season — rolled into gear as Madison Bumgarner’s slider deadened Ramos’s bat. The Nats hadn’t scored in 21 innings. They were three innings away from winter. So, sure, why shouldn’t Henley ask the hulking catcher teammates call “Buffalo” to lay one down? SAN FRANCISCO — It started when the third base coach strolled down the line so he could whisper in Wilson Ramos’s ear. “You need to bunt until I wipe off the sign,” Bobby Henley told him. The Washington Nationals hadn’t scored in 21 innings. They were three innings from winter. So, sure. Ask the hulking catcher teammates call “Buffalo,” the slugger who had not sacrificed in three years, to lay one down.
Ramos’s two-strike sacrifice bunt set in motion the Nationals’ season-saving, 4-1 victory Monday over the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. On a cloudless afternoon, the Nationals survived behind Doug Fister’s brilliant seven innings, a three-run, seventh-inning rally and closer Drew Storen’s torturous, but ultimately harmless, ninth inning. The reappearance of the Nationals — the ones who rampaged through the second half of the regular season — rolled into gear at the moment Madison Bumgarner’s slider deadened against Ramos’s bat. It continued as Doug Fister crafted another postseason masterpiece. It peaked as Bryce Harper hit a fastball nearly out of AT&T Park.
In the ninth, Bryce Harper smashed a home run off reliever Jean Machi, a rocket over the right field fence that cleared the entire stadium, an exclamation point on the message his team had sent: The Nationals — the ones you knew for six months — are back. Ramos’s two-strike sacrifice bunt set in motion the Nationals’ season-saving, 4-1 victory Monday over the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of the National League Division Series. On a cloudless afternoon, the Nationals survived behind Fister’s brilliant seven scoreless innings, the combination of Harper’s spectacular defense and powerful bat and closer Drew Storen’s frightful, but ultimately harmless, ninth inning.
The Nationals’ triumph over Bumgarner, the Giants’ ace left-hander, may have transferred pressure to the home dugout. The Nats can start left-hander Gio Gonzalez against the Giants’ left-heavy lineup in Game 4. If they win, they would head back home to Washington for Game 5 with the option of either Stephen Strasburg or Jordan Zimmermann. In the ninth, Harper smashed a home run off reliever Jean Machi, a rocket over the right field fence that almost cleared the entire stadium, an exclamation point on the message his team had sent: The Nationals are back. They didn’t just play well. With their season on the brink, they played like themselves.
“We’re very resilient,” Ryan Zimmerman said before the game. “We do well in games like this. They’re a great team. No win is going to be easy. They were in the same situation a couple years ago. They’re well aware of how hard it is to close it out as well. They have a really good pitcher going today. But so do we.” “We were way more relaxed,” reliever Tyler Clippard said. “I feel like [Sunday], when we came to the field for our workouts, when we came to the field [Monday], it felt more like a normal game, normal vibes. We played a lot more relaxed, clean baseball.”
Fister delivered as the Nationals expected he would. Acquired from the Detroit Tigers last December with October in mind, Fister overcame a bumpy, rust-induced start and fired seven scoreless innings. Making his first start in 10 days, Fister yielded four hits and three walks. After he stranded the bases loaded in the second inning, Fister allowed four base runners in his last five innings. The Nationals’ triumph over Bumgarner, the Giants’ ace left-hander, may have transferred pressure to the home dugout. The Nationals will start left-hander Gio Gonzalez against the Giants’ left-heavy lineup in Game 4. (“With Gio and their lefties,” Storen said, “it’s going to be fun to see.”) If they win, they would fly home to Washington for Game 5 with the option of either Stephen Strasburg or Jordan Zimmermann.
From the moment the Nationals landed in San Francisco, fresh off an 18-inning marathon loss, they exuded confidence. Manager Matt Williams eschewed a fiery pregame speech. Instead, he walked among his players and told them, “Let her fly.” Pitching coach Steve McCatty walked into the Nationals’ dugout Monday afternoon, the sun blazing down on AT&T Park as the Nationals took batting practice. “I’m feeling like we’re going to play tomorrow,” McCatty said. “We still got a lot of work to do,” center fielder Denard Span said. “They got the upper hand. We gave ourselves a chance to play for tomorrow.”
On a shelf in the Nationals’ dugout, someone placed a golden Maneki-neko, a Japanese totem of a cat waving its left arm like a pendulum. Bullpen coach Matt LeCroy scarfed a banana-and-mayonnaise sandwich, a pregame meal, he says, that led to a 7-0 record during the regular season. They leaned on Fister, the man they envisioned handing their season way back in December. Making his first start in 10 days, Fister yielded four hits and three walks. After he stranded the bases loaded in the second inning, Fister allowed four base runners in his last five innings.
Hitting coach Rick Schu said the Nationals need to grind at-bats, as they did when they toppled aces such as Johnny Cueto and Felix Hernandez this season — and Bumgarner, back in June, when Fister beat him here. “I was a little amped up,” Fister said. “I really had to pay attention to find focus.”
They had made Bumgarner work without anything to show in the middle innings. Shadows crept across the infield in the sixth inning, making it near-impossible for hitters to recognize the spin on pitches. Leading off the seventh inning, though, Ian Desmond rolled a groundball single through the left side of the infield, the Nationals’ fifth hit. Harper followed with a five-pitch walk, laying off a breaking ball in the dirt. From the moment the Nationals landed in San Francisco at 6 a.m. Sunday, fresh off an 18-inning gut punch, they exuded confidence. Manager Matt Williams eschewed a fiery pregame speech. Instead, he walked among his players and told them, “Let her fly.” On a shelf in the Nationals’ dugout, someone placed a golden Maneki-neko, a Japanese good-luck totem, a cat waving its left arm like a pendulum.
Hitting coach Rick Schu said the Nationals needed to grind at-bats, as they did this season when they toppled aces such as Johnny Cueto and Felix Hernandez — and Bumgarner, back in June, when Fister beat him here.
They had made Bumgarner work without anything to show in the middle innings. Leading off the seventh inning, though, Ian Desmond rolled a groundball single through the left side of the infield, the Nationals’ fifth hit. Harper followed with a five-pitch walk, laying off a slider in the dirt.
Up came Ramos. Williams had kept him in the lineup because “he can change the face of a game with one swing.” But Ramos had also gone 1 for 12 with six strikeouts in the series, and he represented a clear threat to ground into a rally-killing, soul-crushing double play. And so Williams decided Ramos would bunt.Up came Ramos. Williams had kept him in the lineup because “he can change the face of a game with one swing.” But Ramos had also gone 1 for 12 with six strikeouts in the series, and he represented a clear threat to ground into a rally-killing, soul-crushing double play. And so Williams decided Ramos would bunt.
Ramos had not executed a sacrifice bunt since Aug. 19, 2011. He may not have known the sign — before Ramos dug into the batter’s box, Henley strolled down the line and whispered in Ramos’s ear. “I don’t even think I’ve seen him put a bunt down in BP,” Span said.
Ramos squared to bunt the first pitch and pulled his bat back on a pitch in the zone. He took a ball, and then pulled his bat back on another strike. Williams didn’t care about the count, or that a foul bunt would have been strike three. He kept the bunt on, at least eliminating the possibility of a double play. Ramos had not executed a sacrifice bunt since Aug. 19, 2011. Each day in batting practice, he bunts the first pitch he sees toward third and the second toward first. But he puts it into practice so infrequently the Nationals didn’t know if he knew the sign — before Ramos dug into the batter’s box, Henley delivered the message himself.
Bumgarner fired Ramos an 88-mph slider. Ramos kneeled, focused his eyes on the pitch and pushed the ball to the right side of the mound — a clinical bunt. Bumgarner rushed to field it and, rather than taking the out the Nationals gave him, spun and fired to third, trying for Desmond. And then: mayhem. “Willy, you need to do it,” Ramos told himself. “You need to do it for the team.”
Bumgarner’s ill-advised throw sailed wide of third base — the first error of the series. As third baseman Pablo Sandoval stretched for the ball, Desmond slid into Sandoval’s right foot and the third baseman collapsed into a heap. Left fielder Travis Ishikawa did not see the ball skip into the Giants’ bullpen, which is stationed in foul territory along the left field line. Ramos squared to bunt the first pitch and pulled his bat back on a pitch in the zone. He took a ball, and then pulled his bat back on another strike. Ramos scolded himself for not bunting the strikes. “I was a little bit nervous in that moment,” Ramos said, “because it was a long time with no bunt.”
As Ishikawa realized the ball bounded past a mess of relievers and catchers, Desmond trotted home with the Nationals’ first run in 21 innings. Harper sprinted toward third base. Henley waved him home, and Harper’s helmet fell off as he thundered to the plate. The relay throw arrived after Harper slid in with the Nationals’ second run. Harper stood tall, roared into the Nationals’ dugout and flexed his muscles. Williams didn’t care about the count, or that a foul bunt would have been strike three. He kept the bunt on, at least eliminating the possibility of a double play.
The Nationals’ grinding had finally paid off. Asdrubal Cabrera rolled a single through the left side. Ramos lumbered around third as Ishikawa charged the ball. Henley — nicknamed “Bob Sendley” for his aggressiveness — windmilled his arm. Ramos continued home, sliding into the plate just before Ishikawa’s weak throw hopped into catcher Buster Posey’s mitt. “It’s a dire situation,” Williams said. “We’ve got to try to score a run.”
Harper’s blast provided extra breathing room, and the ninth inning belonged to Storen. He yielded two immediate hits, including a double on a slider he left over the plate to Hunter Pence. Storen calmed himself first, then he calmed everyone else when, among a rabid crowd, he retired the next three batters. Bumgarner fired Ramos an 88-mph slider. Ramos bent his knees, focused his eyes on the pitch and pushed the ball to the right side of the mound. Bumgarner rushed to field it. Ramos could hear catcher Buster Posey yell, “Third base! Third base!” Ramos thought, “Oh, Lord,” and turned to watch.
The Nationals didn’t feel like going home. They gathered in their clubhouse with the knowledge more work lay ahead, but knowing they would play again. Rather than taking the out the Nationals gave him, Bumgarner spun and fired to third, trying for Desmond. And then: mayhem. Bumgarner’s ill-advised throw sailed wide of third base — the first error of the series. As third baseman Pablo Sandoval stretched for the ball, Desmond slid into Sandoval’s right foot and the third baseman collapsed into a heap. Left fielder Travis Ishikawa did not see the ball skip into the Giants’ bullpen, which is stationed in foul territory along the left field line.
“Can’t throw the ball away,” Bumgarner said. “I screwed it up for us.”
As Ishikawa realized the ball bounded past a mess of relievers and catchers, Desmond trotted home with the Nationals’ first run in 21 innings. Harper sprinted toward third base. Henley waved him home, and Harper’s helmet fell off as he thundered to the plate. The relay throw arrived after Harper slid in with the Nationals’ second run. Harper stood tall, roared into the Nationals’ dugout and clapped.
“We put the pressure on them to make a play,” Span said. “That was probably the first time we’ve done that all series.”
The play’s success held a second benefit: If the Giants had simply taken the out, Williams presumed the Giants would have intentionally walked Asdrubal Cabrera. Williams would then have been prepared to remove Fister after six innings for pinch hitter Ryan Zimmerman.
“Yeah,” Williams said. “I think Doug’s out of the game.”
The Nationals’ grinding had finally paid off. Cabrera rolled a single through the left side. Ramos lumbered around third as Ishikawa charged the ball and the calculus of the play ran through Henley’s head.
Cabrera’s ball only trickled into the outfield. With a lead, Henley figured Fister would remain in the game, and he did not want to rely on the starter to drive in the run. Ramos had taken a good jump. Ishikawa, he knew, had spent most of his career at first base. Henley — nicknamed “Bob Sendley” for his aggressiveness — windmilled his arm.
“I heard somebody on the bench say, ‘No!’” Span said. “But I was happy he did send him. We got to take chances, man. Like, why not? If he blows his hamstring out, he’s got all offseason to heal. We’re trying to win a ballgame. You got to put pressure on those guys, man.”
Ramos continued home, sliding into the plate just before Ishikawa’s weak throw hopped into Posey’s mitt, and the Nationals led, 3-0.
Harper’s blast provided extra breathing room. The ninth inning belonged to Storen, who had blown the save in Game 2. He yielded two immediate hits, including a double on a slider he left over the plate to Hunter Pence. Storen calmed himself first, then he calmed everyone else when he retired the next three batters.
“It’s about minimizing the game,” Storen said. “I dug myself a nice little hole there to start. But you can’t give in to these guys. You just got to get outs.”
The outs came, and the Nationals gathered in their clubhouse. Like after any win, a smoke machine spit fog and lights flashed. They celebrated with the knowledge more work lay ahead, but knowing they would play again.
“We really got no choice now,” first baseman Adam LaRoche said. “There’s no margin for error. We got the break we’ve been looking for, for a few days now. You go down two, that’s playing with fire. We won one.”
More on the Nationals:
Box score: Nationals 4, Giants 1
Nationals stay alive in San Francisco
Boswell: One throw changes everything
Fister comes through in must-win game
Bog: Best and worst from Game 3
Photos: Scenes from AT&T Park
MLB postseason scores and schedule