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St. Louis Cardinals come in, and they make a statement. Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, and they force a 1-1 tie with an 8-5 road win over the Nationals. And at the center of it all? Jose Dominguez, the shortstop. This guy went 3-for-5 with two home runs, four RBIs, two runs scored. The first inning, no one out, he launches a 2-run homer off Sean Jenkins to put the Cardinals up 3-0. That’s the kind of start that sets the tone for the entire game.
Dominguez adds another homer in the third, keeps the Nationals off balance, keeps them reacting instead of acting. And that’s what October baseball is all about—you force your opponent to play your game, and the Cardinals did just that.
Now, the Nationals fought back—homers from Collie, Mackey, Celauro—but it wasn’t enough. St. Louis had timely hitting across the board: Alvarez, McLaren, Martinez—everyone contributing when it counted. And V. Lujan on the mound? Six-plus innings, gave up four runs, but he hung in there and let the offense do its thing.
Bottom line: St. Louis showed they can win on the road, they can swing the bat in clutch moments, and they can put pressure on a Nationals team that thought they had some momentum. Game 3 tomorrow in D.C.—it’s all tied up, winner takes the series. And mark my words, if Dominguez keeps swinging like that, the Cardinals are very hard to stop.
Player of the game? No debate—Jose Dominguez. Big swings, big moments, big impact. That’s playoff baseball.
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