Strasburg and Nationals force Game 5
CHICAGO Stephen Strasburg shook off an illness and all doubts about his mettle while pitching seven dominant innings, Michael A. Taylor hit a late grand slam and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-0 on Wednesday to send their NL Division Series to a decisive Game 5.
The teams packed up at Wrigley Field and headed back to Washington for Game 5 Thursday night. Kyle Hendricks starts for the World Series champion Cubs after throwing seven sharp innings in a 3-0 victory over Strasburg in Game 1. Gio Gonzalez is the likely starter for the Nationals, with Max Scherzer lurking in the bullpen.
Strasburg got sick after his terrific performance in the playoff opener Friday, and the Nationals planned to go with Tanner Roark even after a persistent rain washed out Game 4 Tuesday. That led to a flurry of comments and criticism about whether the ace had the right stuff to pitch in big moments.
But Strasburg felt better when he woke up Wednesday and told manager Dusty Baker he wanted the ball with Washington’s season on the line. That was all Baker needed to hear.
Standing tall as clouds of mist rolled through the old ballpark, Strasburg struck out 12, allowed three hits and walked two in his first career post-season win. He pitched well enough to win Game 1, too, giving up three hits and fanning 10 in seven innings, but a pair of unearned runs saddled him with the loss.
This time, a costly error for Chicago brought home Washington’s first run, and Taylor broke it open with a grand slam off Wade Davis in the eighth.
Chicago wasted a gutsy performance from Jake Arrieta and solid relief by Game 2 starter Jon Lester in its first home playoff loss since Game 4 of the World Series last year. NL MVP Kris Bryant struck out four times, and the defending champs went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
Washington made it to the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and fell in the first round each time, including five-game losses to St. Louis in 2012 and Los Angeles last season.