Leadoff hitter Trea Turner singled and then stole second base, giving Adam Eaton a chance with a man on second and no outs. Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto would each go down swinging, and so the inning ended with Turner still on second base. There have been 18 sacrifice bunt attempts in the playoffs this year (a number that includes bunted balls and strikeouts while bunting), and the Nationals have accounted for 12 of them. That figure drops to less than a run (0.95) after a successful sacrifice bunt that moves the runner to third at the cost of the first out. The analytically driven Astros, by comparison, have just 43 sacrifice bunt attempts (38 from non-pitchers) over that span.

Source: Washington Post October 23, 2019 16:33 UTC