By Morris Phillips

While it’s not October, it was like the playoffs Thursday for the Nats and Giants—the opener of a four-game series between two teams on the outside of a seven-horse race for five National League playoff spots.   And while plenty of baseball remains after this weekend, neither club wants to go another four days trending as they are.

The Nationals had lost 16 of 25 and fallen out of first place in the East, while the slumping Giants were at least temporarily out of touch with both the NL West-leading Dodgers and the second wild card Cubs.

Accordingly, the Giants went pride of a champion, hunkering down in a 3-1 win that, at least in the battle for the NL West, stopped the bleeding.  At press time, the Dodgers were falling at home to the Reds, 10-3 in the eighth inning, a result that would draw the Giants within 2 ½ games of first place.

“Y’all didn’t think we was going to lose on Grateful Dead night, did you?” Jake Peavy shouted out to no one in particular.

No, Jake.  Especially after Ryan Vogelsong survived a 29-pitch first inning, the first of which was sent over left field wall by Yunel Escobar for a faster-than-quick 1-0 Nationals lead.   Vogelsong would go on to walk the bases loaded, but escape by retiring Wilson Ramos on a ground out.

After that, Vogey was fantastic—for four more innings.  The 38-year old left trouble behind by allowing just one more hit and one more walk, striking out a season-best eight, and leaving with a 2-1 lead that the bullpen would do a fantastic job to protect.  What started ominously became the reliever/starter’s first win as a starter since June 24.

So what changed for Vogelsong?

“I guess I had some deception on my fastball and maybe a little extra zip.  Still got some things to clean up, falling behind in counts, going deep counts.  It runs your pitch count up too quick.  I was fortunate enough to make some pitches there after falling behind and get some guys out but it definitely not something you want to live by all the time,” he said.

“He had good stuff tonight, but the first inning probably took a toll on him,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

Hunter Strickland pitched the sixth and seventh as Bruce Bochy’s plan to have a multiple-inning guy in the front end of his pen was unleashed.  With George Kontos only available for a hitter or two, and best case scenario, given the night off, Strickland was given the opportunity to protect the lead and audition as a bridge to Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla.   He passed with flying colors, retiring all six batters he faced, fanning three.

“He’s pitched well,” Bochy said of Strickland.  “He’s more of a pitcher now than he was last year.”

The Nationals managed just one hit off both Romo and Casilla after the first inning.  The loser of Thursday’s game was undoubtedly going to face plenty of questions, and for Washington those questions are obvious.  They’ve hit just .224 since the All-Star Break and they were shutout on consecutive nights in Los Angeles before they laid an egg Thursday.

Not even a Barry Bonds visit to their clubhouse could turn the National’s offense hitterish.  Bonds relived old times with former teammate Matt Williams for a short period before the game, but apparently didn’t offer any advice to the struggling hitters.  Williams did however, after his guys went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

“It may be the first pitch of the at-bat.  You never know.  If you get to swing at the fastball, we need to do that,” Williams said.

Like Vogelsong, Washington starter Stephen Strasburg is trying to get back into the rhythm of things after a month of inactivity.  The former top overall pick has had two stints on the disabled list this season–the second due to an oblique strain–and this was just his second start since returning.

And like Vogey, he struggled early.  Strasburg had never lost a decision to the Giants in a regular-season contest (excluding Game 1 of the 2014 NLDS) and the Giants’ hitters came with a plan.  Half of their eight hits came on the first pitch, including RBI singles by Matt Duffy and Buster Posey in the first inning.  Strasburg also settled down, pitching six innings, but the damage done in the first—starting with Gregor Blanco’s leadoff triple—really hurt.

“Obviously, they were swinging first pitch a lot in that inning.  I wanted to keep establishing the fastball and get that going because everything needed to fall into place.  I just made some mistakes,” Strasburg admitted.

Like a Ferrari that’s perpetually getting worked on and fussed over at the auto shop, Strasburg’s career hasn’t gained nearly the traction that the Nationals had hoped for.  The 27-year old was famously shut down in 2012 as his team faltered in the playoffs without him.  The plan to restrict his innings that season seemed to make sense as Strasburg made 64 starts over the next two seasons.  But he wasn’t a knockout, winning 22, losing 20.

Those two seasons still stand as his only full seasons, and the powerful starter has only pitched one complete game in 124 career starts.  And after the Giants introduced him to high-stakes baseball in Game 1 last fall, Strasburg’s yet to win a post-season game.

The Giants see another old post-season foe on Friday night as Max Scherzer makes his first start at AT&T Park since April 19, 2009 when he was pitching for Arizona.  The Giants faced Scherzer in Game 4 of the 2012 World Series in Detroit, and the flamethrower pitched into the seventh inning, allowing three runs in a game the Giants went on to win 4-3, breaking a 3-3 tie in the 10^th inning to clinch the world title.