October 12, 2012: The Game That Stephen Strasburg Didn't Pitch

Stephen Strasburg (left) and Davey Johnson

October 12, 2012: The biggest game in Washington baseball in 79 years is Game 5 of the National League Division Series at Nationals Park. The Washington Nationals lead the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 going into the 9th inning. But Nats reliever Drew Storen implodes, allowing a double to Carlos Beltrán, a walk to Yadier Molina, another walk to David Freese, a single to Daniel Descalso, a stolen base by Descalso, and a single to Pete Kozma.

The Nats go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, and the Cards win, 9-7, and advance to the NL Championship Series. The Nats went from having, according to Baseball-Reference.com, a 93 percent chance of winning the game to losing it.

Concerned about putting too much stress on his arm after coming back from Tommy John surgery at the start of the season, the Nats had shut down ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg for the season after September 7, at which point he had pitched 159 innings. I wonder what Nats management would have given to have Strasburg pitch to just 1 batter: Descalso, when there were 2 outs and the score was still 7-5.

Keeping Strasburg off the postseason roster was a major blunder. It took the Nats another 7 years to get their 1st postseason series win since they were the 1981 Montreal Expos. Nats manager Davey Johnson, who previously managed the New York Mets to win the 1986 World Series, later said that, with Strasburg, the Nats would have gone all the way.

Johnson lasted 1 more season as Nats' manager, ending a managerial career that began with the 1984 New York Mets. Strasburg turned out to be a major reason why the Nats won the World Series in 2019 -- and his subsequent injury turned out to be a major reason why they declined thereafter.

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October 12, 2012 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. The NBA season didn't start until November 1. And the NHL team owners had locked the players out.

The other NLDS was wrapped up the day before, with the San Francisco Giants beating the Cincinnati Reds. 

Earlier in the day, CC Sabathia went the distance for the New York Yankees, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits with 9 strikeouts, and getting out of a bases-loaded, 1-out jam in the 6th inning. A Curtis Granderson home run was the offensive highlight of the Yankees' 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium II, giving the Pinstripes the deciding Game 5 of the American League Division Series. The other ALDS had wrapped up the day before, with the Detroit Tigers eliminating the Oakland Athletics.