District Daily: Matt Williams continues to back his decision in 9th inning
By Ryan Ritchey
Good morning Nationals fans and readers of DoD! The Nationals face elimination later today, but here are some of the things that went on Sunday on the off day in our District Daily:
Matt Williams defends call to closer
SAN FRANCISCO — Nationals manager Matt Williams has thought long and hard about his decision to remove Jordan Zimmermann with two outs in the ninth and go to closer Drew Storen, and he stands by it a day later.
Williams had extra innings after his ejection to ponder the move Saturday night, then a cross-country flight.
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He says he would do it again, even if there’s some agony involved given Storen blew the save chance and Washington lost to San Francisco 2-1 in 18 innings, putting the Nationals in an 0-2 hole in the NL Division Series. Read full article here.
Best and worst from Nationals-Giants Game 2
(Scott Allen, Washington Post)
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Best Rafael Soriano: Yeah, that one. The ex-closer, who has been known to induce panic when he so much as taps his foot in the Nationals’ bullpen, pitched a perfect 16th inning, including a strikeout. And you wondered why Matt Williams put Soriano on the NLDS roster.
Worst final out: With Anthony Rendon on first base after drawing a two-out walk in the bottom of the 18th, Jayson Werth stepped to the plate with a chance to add to his postseason legacy in Washington. He flew out to right field against Hunter Strickland and the Nationals were headed to San Francisco down two games-to-none. Read the full article here.