The fat lady isn’t ready to sing yet, and as far as Cardinal fans are concerned, she was merely taking a seventh inning stretch in game five of the NLDS. After a devastating loss in game four due to a walk off home run by Jayson Werth, the momentum looked totally in favor of the Washington Nationals. The next day, the Redbirds got off to another bad start with a triple by Bryce Harper and home run by Ryan Zimmerman off Adam Wainwright.
Perhaps the magic had finally run out and the Cards rookie manager should have started preparing the stereotypical “We had a great season” speech. But not with this team, which was destined for greatness and exciting victories. After a poor performance by Wainwright, a key leader for the team, the Cards were dedicated to picking up their pitcher and giving him another chance for victory this season.
The Redbirds had one last chance to continue their season. The hope for continuing in the postseason started off with one of the best acquisitions in the previous season in Carlos Beltran. Beltran continued his hot streak in October and lined one off of the wall for a double. Holliday was able to advance Beltran to third, but Craig struck out leaving the Redbirds to their final out. Slowly but surely the team climbed back into the game and in the eighth inning, Daniel Descalso hit a home run to put the Cards just one back. They had erased the six run deficit and made the lead only one for the half inning. However, Jason Motte allowed a safety run to cross the plate for the Nats and the hopes of some fans sank. Had all this fight to get back in the game been for nothing but a good try?
The Nats closer Drew Storen must have remembered what this team did last year as the Cards were down to their final strike. Yet again, the team found a new hero in both Daniel Descalso, who lined in the two runs to tie the game, and Pete Kozma, who had a two out two run hit to give the Cards the lead. The bench exploded, along with every Cardinals fan, as the team had done it again. Down to their last strike and this team refuses to lose; the scene was very similar to the miraculous come back in game six of the World Series.
Motte went on to finish the top of the Washington Nationals lineup in the bottom of the ninth in order and complete the unbelievable come back. Matheny and the Cards escaped with a huge victory that they can only build off and continue to win. World Series bound? It is too early to be sure, but one thing we do know is this team will never be blamed for a lack of effort. Hopefully, the Cards swoop into the Bay Area and steal two games coming back to the greatest baseball city in the country.
Fun Fact: The San Francisco Giants, the Cardinals opponent in the NLCS, was on the tarmac in an airplane ready to take off for Washington until the Cards took the lead in the ninth. Goes to show you, never count a team out until the final out is made.
