11°c Overcast
18°c Light rain
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Who will have stronger comeback magic?
Jim Gensheimer / San Jose Mercury News / MCT archives Giants� Madison Bumgarner starts in game 1 of the NLCS tonight vs. Cards. (TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT)
SAN FRANCISCO -- As many times as he gets asked, Cardinals closer Jason Motte still has no perfect answer for how St. Louis found a way to win at Washington after trailing 6-0 and get back to the NL championship series.
"These guys just prove what big hearts they have and how much they go out there and work their butts off," said Motte, Friday night's winning pitcher. "Someone asked me last night how we keep doing it, and I said, 'I don't know, maybe we're just stubborn. We just don't give up.' That's kind of how you have to be."
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny will watch the game again, once things slow down, so he can truly appreciate just what his Cardinals accomplished in beating the Nationals, the team with baseball's best record this season.
San Francisco skipper Bruce Bochy doesn't need another look to know how impressive the reigning World Series champions' ninth-inning comeback was for a 9-7 victory in the nation's capital.
Bochy's team had its own remarkable rally that's not quite as fresh as the Cardinals' feat: Three road wins at Cincinnati to advance after dropping the first two games of the division series at home to the Reds.
The last two World Series winners sure are showing their championship mettle in mid-October.
They will face off in Game 1 of the NLCS tonight at San Francisco's AT&T Park. Left-hander Madison Bumgarner gets the ball for the Giants at home against 6-5 right-hander Lance Lynn. Bumgarner, a 16-game winner this year, lost game 2 of the NL division series here to Cincinnati.
"I felt good last time; things just didn't go my way," Bumgarner said. "That's the way this game is."
While the Giants became the eighth team to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five series and were first to do it on the road, the Cardinals earned the biggest comeback ever in a winner-take-all post-season game, according to STATS LLC.
"It really hasn't sunk in," Matheny said after an all-night, cross-country trip to the Bay Area. "I see a knock-down, drag-out ahead of us. I'm certain Major League Baseball has to be very pleased with the calibre of baseball that's happened so far in this post-season... We're looking at two well-rounded teams."
Daniel Descalso hit a tying two-out single, and Pete Kozma added a go-ahead two-run single to lead the Cardinals' rally.
The Giants waited out the game on their team plane still parked on the tarmac in Cincinnati. Players gathered around iPads to watch the improbable comeback by a Cardinals club managed by former Giants catcher Matheny.
The Cardinals have won all six of their games when facing elimination the past two years, down to their final strike not once but twice against the Texas Rangers in last year's World Series before prevailing.
This time, they did it against the team with 98 wins.
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 14, 2012 $sourceSection0
More Baseball
- Back to Top
- Return to Baseball
More Baseball
(1 of 7 articles for today)
Brandon Moss hits tiebreaking triple in 6th inning to lift Athletics over Royals 2-1
12:32 AM 0OAKLAND, Calif. - The Kansas City Royals got another stellar effort from a starting pitcher and had nothing to show ...
Poll
Most Popular Baseball
- Fish thrust into eye of storm for opener
- Darvish's arm getting a workout
- Goldeyes general glowing
- Goldeyes sign rookie pitcher, release Osuna
- Goldeyes send pair of players packing
- Blue Jays' Brandon Morrow sharp - except for 2 homers by Robinson Cano in 7-2 loss to Yankees
- Fish prepping for opener in Texas
- 2013 Goldeyes schedule
- Fish hope to piece together another championship in 20th anniversary season
- Liles' baseball career gets new lease on life
- Goldeyes general glowing
- Goldeyes release pair of pitchers
- Fish prepping for opener in Texas
- Fish thrust into eye of storm for opener
- Blue Jays bust out in Boston
- Goldeyes send pair of players packing
- Goldeyes sign rookie pitcher, release Osuna
- Goldeyes hit road for 16-day swing
- Elbow surgery for Blue Jays pitcher
- Manitoba at the bat
- Goldeyes' hurler living the dream, even in nightmare of first pro outing
- Goldeyes general glowing
- Goldeyes release pair of pitchers
- Rift repaired, Little League and family of founder Carl Stotz collaborate on museum exhibit
- Goldeyes release Kendall after three seasons
- Trial where ex-wife wants Dodger divorce settlement thrown out ends; ruling expected in summer
- Back at ballpark after being hit by line drive, pitcher JA Happ says 'I feel really fortunate'
- Fish release Kendall to catch on elsewhere
- Marlins-Twins game postponed by a day due to bad weather; Minnesota has 4th washout in 9 days
- Goldeyes stocked with Canadians, eh
- Rockies INF D.J. LeMahieu works his way back to the big leagues, LHP Francis goes on 15-day DL
- Goldeyes release pair of pitchers
- Rockies INF D.J. LeMahieu works his way back to the big leagues, LHP Francis goes on 15-day DL
- Jays finally punch back
- 2013 Goldeyes schedule
- Marlins-Twins game postponed by a day due to bad weather; Minnesota has 4th washout in 9 days
- Happy campers
- Goldeyes' hurler living the dream, even in nightmare of first pro outing
- MLB suspends, fines umpires after acknowledging 2nd mistake in 2 days
- Goldeyes release pair of pitchers
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.