Cardinals stun Nats, move on to NLCS

Comebacks and improbable wins have become the defending World Series champs’ story the last two seasons. It’s the reason that Dan Moore of Viva El Birdos writes he’s prepared for any outcome in the NLCS.

Wait, so Gio Gonzalez isn’t going to throw a perfect game?

Thanks to the Nationals’ big first inning against Adam Wainwright, they’re batting in the bottom of the second with a 3-0 lead.

Just as Davey Johnson’s Game 5 lineup matches exactly his lineup for the first four games, Matheny’s not breaking any new ground with this one. Of course, maybe a change was less tempting for the Cardinals’ manager, since his charges combined for 20 runs in Games 2 and 3. Which won’t matter much if Gio Gonzalez rediscovers the control that so oddly deserted him in the opener.