fenwaysouth posted:When I saw the re-play this AM of Rendon's HR in the eighth off Kershaw I thought that was just incredible hitting. The ball was way out of the zone, and frankly Rendon hit (golfed?) a bad pitch....I think he was initially fooled but was able to get the barrel down. The Soto HR was a really, really bad pitch that got spanked. Kershaw had no business going in there on Soto.
https://www.mlb.com/video/nati...-back-to-back-homers
While the Dodger pitchers will take the brunt of the blame, I think their offense failed them more than anything. They scored 3 runs in the first two innings then laid an egg for 8 innings. You can't do that in a winner take all situation. Sorry, their best players did not produce at the plate when needed. Buehler pitched very well, and frankly the Dodgers had their chances to extend their lead and didn't. That is the way I see it.
Nats fan here. I truly thought the Nats were done when Kershaw got the last out in the 7th. I was sort of surprised he was left in there after the Rendon HR in the 8th. With the bullpen the Dodger's had I couldn't fathom why Roberts went with Kershaw and let him go back out in the 8th. Made Buehler's performance all for naught. He did pitch a gem.
Good point about the Dodger offense. They rattled Strasburg in the first two innings, but then he settled down while the National's offense woke up in the later innings.
Side note - I find it interesting the Nationals ended the regular season with a better record without Harper than they had last year with him. Never saw that coming.