Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals Series Recap

It does feel like the walls are closing in. But remember. Even through it all, the way this team played so well from April to August enabled them to still be in a position where a lousy, 9-15 September kept them still one game ahead with three to go, despite an impressive sprint to the finish by the Cardinals.

The Braves are still up by one game with three left. They’re going to be in it until the final day, unless the stars align and they clinch Tuesday. The odds are still in their favor, even though it doesn’t feel like it.

The Braves do have some advantages going into the final series. They are coming home, whereas the Cardinals are going on the road. Chipper said it best: “It’s hard to win games on the road in September.” Doesn’t matter who you are facing, as the Braves just proved going 2-4 against sub-.500 teams.

They are going to be facing a Phillies team that will be more interested in resting their stars, healing their wounded and preparing for the NLDS that starts in just 4 days than playing full-tilt. Remember, this year is different. There is only one off day between the season ending and the playoffs this year instead of the usual two. So there is a bigger emphasis on rest. They got the monkey off their back on Sunday, ending their losing streak with a breakout 9-4 win, so they’ve already proven their point. They’ve already announced Wednesday they are just pitching a bullpen game. Cole Hamels won’t start and will only pitch for one or two innings. Given the state of Philadelphia’s bullpen lately, this is only good news. Brad Lidge, Antonio Bastardo, and Michael Stutes have all had poor Septembers. Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt won’t go any longer than five innings.

The Astros, meanwhile, will be playing hard until the final out on Wednesday. This is their World Series. Brad Mills will have his players ready, especially after today’s 19-3 humbling from the Rockies. They have a chance to end it all for the Cardinals. They have to face Wandy Rodriguez, who beat them in his only start against them this year on July 27. They face Brett Myers on Wednesday, who is 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA in his last 6 starts. Opponents are only hitting .180 off him during that. He’s struck out 31 compared to only 6 walks. The Astros are 5-0 in Myers’ last 5 starts.

The Cardinals offense seems to have taken a dive lately. They have only scored 6 runs in their last 3 games. 2 of those were gift-wrapped by Carlos Marmol. 2 more of them were scored on sacrifice outs by the pitcher. The other 2 were solo home runs.

Also remember the Cardinals have not swept a series since the Braves series. They have been good for at least one loss in each series. One Braves win and one Cardinals loss changes this thing immensely.

Baseball is a great sport. You know why? It facilitates all kind of crazy things that can happen.

We’re all sitting here chomping our fingernails off at a potential collapse with the Cardinals playing their final games against the team with the worst record in baseball. There’s always a chance the Astros could just come out and sweep the Cardinals. It’s a crazy game where anything can happen.

But remember, as the legendary Yogi Berra said, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.