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Nationals vs. Cardinals, 2012 NLDS Game 1 results: 3-2 Nationals

Gio Gonzalez walked the park, but the Nationals still came out on top against the Cardinals.

Dilip Vishwanat - Getty Images

Tyler Moore's two-run single in the eighth inning off Marc Rzepczynski lifted the Washington Nationals to a 3-2 win in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Nationals have a 1-0 series lead and will play one more game at Busch before heading home to Nationals Park.

Kurt Suzuki put Washington on the board with an RBI single to left field in the second inning, but that proved to be the only run Adam Wainwright gave up in his 5⅔ innings of work. Wainwright struck out 10 batters and was tagged for six hits and three walks.

Wainwright's counterpart on the mound, Gio Gonzalez, did not look like the pitcher he had been during the regular season for Washington. The righty had made strides in his BB/9 ratio this season, lowering it from 4.1 in 2011 to 3.4, but on Sunday, he walked the park, issuing seven walks in just five innings. The Cardinals broke through for a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, scoring one run on a wild pitch and a second on a Jon Jay sac fly, but Gonzalez was able to hold St. Louis there.

Mitchell Boggs ran into trouble coming on in relief in the eighth inning. Michael Morse reached on a fielding error, and Ian Desmond followed with a single. After recording the first out on a Danny Espinosa sac bunt and a second out by whiffing Suzuki, manager Mike Matheny brought in Rzepcynski. Moore greeted him with a two-run single, putting Washington up 3-2, a lead it would not relinquish. Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen worked scoreless innings to slam the door on St. Louis.

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