October 8, 2012

Playoff Prospectus

NLDS Game One Recap: Nationals 3, Cardinals 2

by R.J. Anderson

In the Cardinals-Nationals series preview, I crowned Matt Carpenter the best pinch-hitting option in the series. I then declared the Nationals trio of Roger Bernadina, Chad Tracy, and Tyler Moore the second-through-fourth best pinch-hitting options available in the series. Davey Johnson deployed each of the three in Sunday’s Game One victory.

Moore will receive a hero’s treatment for his two-strike, two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning. But the contributions of Bernadina and Tracy to the single should not go unnoticed. Bernadina entered the game in the sixth inning to hit with a runner on and two outs. He drew a walk and failed to score or advance on the basepaths. By drawing that walk, however, Bernadina was able to push the lineup forward one spot. Important when you consider the Nationals’ eighth inning otherwise could have ended with eighth-place hitter Kurt Suzuki’s strikeout.

Although Tracy did not record a plate appearance, he did serve as bait. With the right-handed Mitchell Boggs on the mound facing Suzuki, Johnson sent Tracy to the on-deck circle. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny elected to play the percentages by using left-handed specialist Mark Rzepczynski to face Tracy; a smart move, albeit one Johnson countered by recalling Tracy and inserting the right-handed Moore. Credit Mike Rizzo and the Nationals bench depth for Johnson’s ability to go on the offensive, and then counter

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