Daunting math kicks in quickly. Teams that go down 0-2 in a division series have lost 88 percent of the time. That’s roughly how many Americans approve of apple pie. It’s a heavy majority. In the case of the Nationals, they have Saturday afternoon to avoid such troubling statistics sitting on their postseason hopes once again.
Washington lost Game 1 of the National League Division Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3, undone by a lamentable run. When getting dressed afterward, Daniel Murphy was quick to name himself a chief culprit in the night of squander.