SAN FRANCISCO – As many times as he gets asked, Cardinals closer Jason Motte still has no perfect answer for how St. Louis found a way to win at Washington after trailing 6-0 and get back to the NL championship series.

“These guys just prove what big hearts they have and how much they go out there and work their butts off,” said Motte, Friday night’s winning pitcher. “Someone asked me last night how we keep doing it, and I said, ‘I don’t know, maybe we’re just stubborn. We just don’t give up.’ That’s kind of how you have to be.”

St. Louis manager Mike Matheny will watch the game again, once things slow down, so he can truly appreciate just what his Cardinals accomplished in beating the Nationals – the team with baseball’s best record this season.