St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tony Cruz, from left, relief pitcher Jason Motte and third baseman David Freese react after Game 5 of the National League division baseball series against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, Oct 13, 2012, in Washington. St. Louis won 9-7.WASHINGTON – The Washington Nationals finally brought winning baseball back to the nation’s capital. They also collapsed in the postseason in a way that will be tough to live down.
The Nationals’ historic season came to an end Friday night with a 9-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League division series. Washington sported the best record in baseball during the regular season, but the newfangled “Natitude” of a roster flush with young postseason neophytes blew a six-run lead against the experienced club that won the World Series a year ago.
Closer Drew Storen took the mound with a two-run lead in the ninth inning and gave up four runs, allowing two-run singles to Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma. Storen twice had the Cardinals down to their last strike with two outs, but he walked Yadier Molina and David Freese.
The Nationals had been let down by their bats in the first four games of the series, scoring only nine runs. But they greeted Adam Wainwright with a double, a triple and a homer by Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman in the first inning and chased the St. Louis starter with home runs by Harper and Michael Morse in the third.
The Cardinals battled back, cutting into the 6-0 deficit with a run in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth. Descalso’s solo homer in the eighth off Tyler Clippard made it a one-run game, but the Nationals pulled back ahead by two in the bottom of the inning on Kurt Suzuki’s RBI single.