Cardinals implode in 1st inning, swept by Nationals in NLCS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Shildt took the ball from Dakota Hudson and patted him on the back of the neck.

Hudson was out of the game after recording one out on 15 pitches against eight Washington Nationals batters, and the St. Louis Cardinals were on the receiving end of what they did to the Atlanta Braves in the last round. Tears welled up in the 25-year-old's eyes thinking back to that moment.

"He just was saying I had a good year and that I had an impact on the team getting here," an emotional Hudson said. "Just a little bit of nice words, I guess, to say as I was coming off."

The Nationals put up seven runs in the first inning to beat the Cardinals 7-4 in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series on Tuesday and sweep them out of the playoffs in unceremonious fashion. St. Louis was outscored 20-6 and never led at any point.

"We proved — and this doesn't require advanced sabermetrics — you have to get a lead to win a game," Shildt said. "We weren't able to do that."

Hours after the manager said his team "has always believed in itself" and will continue to do that, it was like the Cardinals forgot how to play baseball. Hudson didn't have his best stuff but was done in by a succession of baffling errors and defensive blunders from the Cardinals — the majors' best fielding team during the regular season.

"Baseball, man," second baseman Kolten Wong said. "When this team is rolling like they're doing, you're trying to stop the damage, keep it close, and things like that happen."

The usually dependable Wong dropped a routine throw from third baseman Tommy Edman. Then, Wong, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and right fielder José Martínez converged before watching an easy flyball fall between them.

Martinez said, "It just dropped." And it hurt.

"Both were big plays...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Cardinals-implode-in-1st-inning-swept-by-14537507.php