Near no-no freezes Cardinals bats in NLCS Game 1

ST. LOUIS (KMOX/AP) - Game 1 of the NLCS could not have been more of an opposite compared to Game 5 of the NLDS for the St. Louis Cardinals offense. Washington Nationals starting pitcher Aníbal Sánchez took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday night, broken up on a single by pinch-hitter José Martínez in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas threw seven innings and allowed one run on seven hits. The other Nationals run was credited to Giovanny Gallegos, but came off a single allowed by John Brebbia in the seventh inning. 

In the fifth inning, Mikolas shared a heated exchange with Nats young outfielder Juan Soto. Mikolas grabbed his crotch in the direction of Soto and he did it to Mikolas during the at-bat in the fifth inning, which ended in a groundout to second base. 

Mikolas said he wanted to make sure Soto saw the gesture. 

"I was just having fun out there, kinda giving it back to him in a good-natured ribbing," Mikolas says. "No intent to be mean or start anything, just having fun out there."

We'll be back at Busch Stadium on Saturday for Game 2 with the first pitch at 3:08 p.m.