WASHINGTON -- Austin Voth was outstanding in his second Major League start, but his performance in the Nationals' 6-0 victory Saturday against the Mets was overshadowed by the Nats' postseason hopes officially coming to an end.
Washington was eliminated from Wild Card contention in the first inning of the game, when the Cardinals defeated the Giants on a walk-off home run in St. Louis. After the season began with so much promise, the anticlimactic end to the playoff chase was fitting given the Nationals' disappointing performance.
Still, the Nationals could point to several factors Saturday as evidence of a promising future, including Voth, who bounced back from a rough outing in his MLB debut on July 14 against the Mets, when he gave up seven earned runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of work.