Defensive coordinator who faced Mayfield

WASHINGTON -- Leave it to little-used, light-hitting Jose Lobaton to change the complexion of the Washington Nationals NL Division Series with one big swing.Getting a rare chance to play because of starting catcher Wilson Ramos late-September injury, backup Lobaton hit a three-run homer through a strong wind to erase an early deficit Sunday. Daniel Murphy provided more-expected production with two RBI, and Washingtons bullpen threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings, leading the Nationals past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 in a rain-postponed Game 2 to even the series at 1-all.Ive got to try to do something for the team, said Lobaton, who had one hit off a left-handed pitcher all season before connecting with a curveball that stayed up from LA lefty Rich Hill with two outs in the fourth inning.And Im not saying that Im going to be like Willy and hit a homer and hit .300. Play hard every day, no matter who is in and who is not, he said.After dropping Game 1, the Nationals trailed 2-0 when Hill allowed No. 8 hitter Lobaton to put the hosts ahead for good.One bad pitch to a guy that I dont think anybody really thought was going to be that guy to hurt us, said Josh Reddick, who drove in a run for LA in the third off Tanner Roark after Corey Seager hit his second first-inning homer of the NLDS. But thats what happens, and anybody can be the guy in the postseason.Hard to imagine Lobaton would be The Guy, though.Didnt even start the playoff opener, sitting behind rookie Pedro Severino, who had played all of 18 games in the majors.Plus, Lobaton batted only .232 in 99 at-bats in 2016 overall, although his lone hit in 15 at-bats against left-handers coming into Sunday was also a homer, and also against the Dodgers -- off Scott Kazmir in July.This one put the Nationals ahead 3-2, finally getting to Hill -- who went 4 1/3 innings -- in the unlikeliest of ways. After a walk and two quick outs, he plunked Danny Espinosa for the second time; Washingtons shortstop has struck out in his other five NLDS plate appearances.That mistake proved costly when Lobaton came through, leading to chants of N-A-T-S! Nats, Nats, Nats, Woooo! from a sellout crowd of 43,826.What made this big bop all the more surprising was that it went over the wall in left, where wind that topped 30 mph was blowing in much of the afternoon.When he hit it, there was a bunch of people in the dugout who were, like, cussing, because we didnt think he could get it out. All kinds of expletives were being thrown around, Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth said. And then it snuck over for us. That was the game, right there.Nationals slugger Bryce Harpers take?If Mother Nature wanted to keep it in the yard, then I guess she would have, the 2015 NL MVP said, but the baseball gods overran her, I guess.Murphy has been Washingtons best hitter all season, considered a top contender for league MVP honors this year. Indeed, fans chanted those three letters after each hit as he went 3 for 3, including RBI singles in the fifth and seventh.Five relievers made it stand up, with Mark Melancon working around a single in the ninth -- the lone hit allowed by Washingtons relievers -- to earn the save.Blake Treinen went 1 1/3 innings and got the win, while lefties Marc Rzepczynski, Sammy Solis and Oliver Perez combined for seven outs as manager Dusty Baker mixed and matched his `pen just right.The old man knows what hes doing, I think, Werth said with a smile.And after the NL East champion Nationals wasted plenty of opportunities to score in a 4-3 loss on Friday, it was the NL West-winning Dodgers turn to come up short in the clutch: Los Angeles left the bases loaded three times.In the fifth, pinch hitter Howie Kendrick sent a sinking liner to left that Werth managed to grab while sliding -- then celebrated by popping up and throwing an uppercut.The wind pretty much had an effect on every ball that was hit out there, Werth said. That was ball was diving, knuckling, doing all kind of stuff. Part of why I was so excited was because I was surprised I caught it.The best-of-five series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Monday afternoon, with Game 4 there on Tuesday, creating an unusual three-consecutive-days setup in the playoffs, thanks to the loss of a travel day.This was pretty much a must-win game for us, Werth said. Definitely dont want to head West down two.MURPHY VS. LAPlaying for the New York Mets in 2015, Murphy hit two homers in the NLDS against the Dodgers, part of his record streak of six consecutive postseason games with a long ball. Ever since last year, Reddick said, he just seems to be the guy that comes up in the clutch.UP NEXTIn Game 3, the Dodgers will have RHP Kenta Maeda (16-11, 3.48 ERA) on the mound against Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez (11-11, 4.57).Both pitchers were scheduled to fly to Los Angeles ahead of the rest of the teams players, so they could be in place, instead of waiting for Sundays game to end. The Nationals are hoping Gonzalez can take advantage of the Dodgers worst-in-the-majors batting average against left-handed pitchers. Maeda led LA pitchers in wins, innings (175 2/3), strikeouts (179) and starts (32). Sale Tom Brady Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Womens Tom Brady Jersey .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/baker-mayfield-jersey/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Ja Morant Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Odell Beckham Jr Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. College football has a remarkable wealth of returning star power for 2016.That list starts with the four Heisman frontrunners: LSU running back Leonard Fournette, Oklahomas Baker Mayfield, Stanfords Christian McCaffrey and Clemsons Deshaun Watson.This week, Adam Rittenberg cornered perplexed coaches from across the country and asked them a simple question with not-so-simple answers: How do you stop those stars?The most common answer was, You dont stop them, but coaches had some innovative ideas of how to minimize the damage.?Heres a sampling of how coaches break down the four standouts.Leonard FournetteYou tackle him low, youre probably going to be concussed. You tackle him high, you may take a ride. And theyre going to force you, in the run game, to make people that dont like tackling tackle. -- SEC defensive coordinatorIf you make him go east and west, he gets tired. Hes a big back, and he really shouldnt be carrying that much weight. Id much rather have you hit him and run him out of bounds. Just keep him running, and that usually prevails. -- SEC coachRead moreBaker MayfieldYou have to be careful as a pass-rusher or a blitzer. Just dont run by him. Keep him in front of you, what we call keep your points on the quarterback. Dont run up the field and let him escape underneath [into] your rush lane. We had free runners to him in some of our pressures, but he just avoided the tackles. Hes got really good balance. -- Defensive coordinator who faced Mayfield last yearThe thinng you notice is hes always got a great pre-snap awareness of where the ball should go, so the balls coming out quick a lot of times.ddddddddddddYou can change looks. You cant give him easy throws pre-snap. -- Big 12 head coachRead moreChristian McCaffreyHes stronger than you think, hes bigger than you think, he plays stronger than you think, hes more deceptive and elusive. I dont know what he cant do. I really believe if he played in the Central time zone or Eastern time zone, not saying he would have won the Heisman, but he would have been higher up. -- Power 5 head coachOne of the best things to stop [McCaffrey], and Im being serious, is dont let [Stanford] have the ball. Talk to your head coach and your offensive people into running the ball and just killing the clock, move the chains. If they dont listen to that, its going to be what it is. Youve got to try to outscore em. -- Pac-12 defensive coordinatorRead moreDeshaun WatsonAlabama couldnt defend him. Nick doesnt even like to talk about that game. -- ACC coachYou cant view him as a typical quarterback. Youve got to account for him. You have to put a few more guys in the box and do a few things to disrupt the handoffs and things that make him think a bit. But you cant play traditional soft coverage, and nobodys forcing the issue. -- Defensive line coach who faced Clemson last yearRead more ' ' '