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October 9, 2012

Playoff Prospectus

NLDS Game Two Recap: Cardinals 12, Nationals 4

by R.J. Anderson

If not for St. Louis’ offensive explosion in Game Two, every writer and columnist covering the sport would be writing about Mike Matheny’s arrival as a fearless, big-game manager.

Matheny’s game-defining decision came in the second inning. His starter, Jaime Garcia, had labored through the first two innings, throwing 51 pitches and issuing three walks. Garcia’s spot in the order was due, but there were runners at the corners and one out in a one-run game. Matheny knew about Garcia’s wildness—his sinker kept missing the zone low—as well as his declining velocity (and apparently his sore shoulder), and he decided to take the opportunity to get him out of the game and go for the gusto. He inserted Skip Schumaker as a pinch-hitter, and Schumaker hit into a fielder’s choice that pushed the lead to two runs. The Cardinals would add one more to make it a three-run game heading into the third inning.

By removing Garcia, Matheny entered into a seven-inning bullpen game. In a sense, Matheny managed Game Two like a do-or-die game; in a way it was, since falling behind by two games in a best-of-five series makes elimination a near certainty. Rather than go down by watching a sinking starter capsize, Matheny figured he’d take his best shot by throwing Lance Lynn into the game. At worst, Matheny would tax his bullpen, worth the risk with a restorative off-day approaching on Tuesday. Lynn did his job, though, throwing three innings and allowing two runs.

Matheny’s aggressiveness with Lynn is becoming a staple of this postseason. In the wild card game, Matheny called up