(Photo: Mark Humphrey, Associated Press)
St. Louis — It turns out Washington’s Big Three is a Big Four.
Don’t forget about Aníbal Sánchez.
The right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning, Howie Kendrick had two more big swings and the Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0, on Friday night in the NL Championship Series opener.
“Tonight was obviously vintage Aníbal,” first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said.
Sánchez, a former Tiger, had allowed just three runners when he took the mound for the eighth. Zimmerman robbed Tommy Edman with an outstanding diving grab at full stretch for the first out, but pinch-hitter José Martínez cleanly singled to center with two down for the Cardinals’ first hit.