Entering the bottom of the ninth leading by four runs, the Washington Nationals (and the rest of the MLB for that matter) can smell the sweet scent of victory. All Nationals relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan must do is get three outs, but facing the heart of the St. Louis Cardinals' batting order led by Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt isn't the easiest of tasks.
And the Cardinals just don't know how to quit.
The Cardinals completed the comeback, winning 6-5 over the Nationals, becoming the first team in the MLB this season to win a game after trailing by four or more runs entering the bottom of the ninth, breaking an unfathomable 0-817 streak that the entire league combined for.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the 1st team this season to win a game in which they trailed by 4 or more runs entering the bottom of the 9th inning.
All teams in MLB combined were 0-817 in such games this season.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 8, 2022
Down 5-1, the Cardinals sent designated hitter Brendan Donovan, Goldschmidt, and Arenado as their first three hitters, and the comeback was on shortly thereafter. Donovan got the rally started with a single to left field, which was followed up by a Goldschmidt walk. Arenado then pummeled a ground-rule double which pulled the Cardinals to within three runs.
After Corey Dickerson grounded out to score Goldschmidt and cut the deficit even further, Tyler O'Neill drew a walk. Finnegan recomposed himself to strike out Nolan Gorman with runners on the corners with two outs. The Nationals reliever just needed one more out to get out of the jam and prevent himself from the ignominy that comes with being the pitcher that breaks a shutdown streak, but he allowed a single to Yadier Molina and then a go-ahead double to Tommy Edman, and just like that, the Cardinals were walk-off winners.
The Cardinals complete the comeback in the ninth by scoring five runs and walk-off the Nationals. pic.twitter.com/5vhGgEgCh6
— Baseball GIFs (@gifs_baseball) September 8, 2022
Poor Finnegan was left out there to dry by the Nationals after his clear struggles on the mound, but the Cardinals will take every win they can get. They own a commanding 9.5 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central, and it's this kind of clutch hitting that could make the difference for the Cardinals as they look to make a deep postseason run.
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