Washington Nationals Have a Chance for an NLCS Sweep Against the Cardinals

Tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals are in Washington for the fourth and potentially final game of the NLCS against the Nationals.

Nationals Looking for a Sweep

The Nationals have been dominant in this series, outscoring the Cardinals 13-2 over the first three games. Last night’s win was the Nationals most impressive of the series, defeating the Cards 8-1. With another victory, the Nationals will punch their ticket to the World Series.

Sweeping the Cards would give the Nationals a huge head start over the ALCS winning team. The Yankees and Astros are currently tied 1-1 in their series heading into tonight. Getting a jump start on rest and game planning certainly has its advantage. However, in order to get that head start, the Nationals will need to continue their dominance on defense.

Corbin to Take the Mound

Patrick Corbin, the left-hander, will have a lot of responsibilities tonight. Taking the mound for Game 4 means that if they want to complete the sweep, it will be his arm that leads the way. It will not be easy to follow the previous pitchers that the Nationals have marched out this series. Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg have put on a pitching clinic to this point.

The box score reflects their dominance as they have allowed only two runs in three games against a Cardinals team that is more than capable of putting up runs. Corbin will need to continue the trend that the other pitchers set for his team to advance.

STEPHEN STRASBURG STRIKES OUT THE SIDE IN THE 7TH!

He's matched his #Postseason career high with 12 on the night.#Strasmas // #STAYINTHEFIGHT pic.twitter.com/b07ofFXKL2

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 15, 2019

Cardinals’ Offense Needs To Step Up

Last night, the Nationals scored eight runs on 11 hits, while the Cardinals have only scored two runs on 11 hits over the entire series. If the Cards want to avoid the sweep, they will need to step up and take advantage of Corbin being on the Mound.

Corbin is not nearly as accomplished as the other pitchers and should give the Cards opportunities to score. However, the most important thing for the Cards is capitalizing on their runs. Two runs on 11 hits in three games is way too low for a team that finished first in the National League.

José comes home! pic.twitter.com/o9gpTcSMzI

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) October 15, 2019

Game 4 begins at 8:05 p.m. ET.