ANALYSIS/OPINION:
We’ve heard from Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez for weeks that since May 24, his team has been essentially playing a wild card game every day to climb back into contention.
The season-long pressure has served his team well. The Nationals responded by playing the best baseball in the National League, and when the actual wild card game came around — an unforgettable comeback 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers — the Nationals were battle-tested. When they were down 2-1 in the best-of-five NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they knew how climb back in, winning the last two games for the team’s first division series victory in five tries.