Cardinals break up Sanchez's NLCS no-hit bid with 2 outs in 8th

Anibal Sanchez's bid for history came up four outs short.

The Washington Nationals right-hander carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of Game 1 of the NLCS until St. Louis Cardinals pinch-hitter Jose Martinez broke it up with a single to center field.

The hit ended Sanchez's night. As he left the mound to an extended ovation from the St. Louis faithful, the 35-year-old tipped his cap to Martinez and home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski.

Sean Doolittle took over for Sanchez and, after getting out of the eighth unscathed, completed a four-out save to give the Nationals a 2-0 win and a 1-0 advantage in the series.

Sanchez departed after striking out five, walking one, and hitting two batters over 7 2/3 brilliant frames. He was extremely successful in limiting hard contact, as only Marcell Ozuna's second-inning flyout came off the bat at over 94 mph, according to Baseball Savant.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said postgame that people tend to forget about Sanchez because of how good the top of the rotation is.

"Everyone talks about (Stephen Strasburg), (Max) Scherzer, (Patrick) Corbin," he said, per FOX Sports Midwest. "I mean Anibal's a big part of why we're here too. ... He's a big part of our success."

It's the second time Sanchez has thrown at least six hitless frames in a playoff game. He previously went that deep into a postseason outing without allowing a hit in Game 1 of the 2013 ALCS while with the Detroit Tigers, a game that also ended up as a combined one-hitter. Sanchez is the first pitcher in postseason history to record multiple six-plus inning no-hit bids, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Sanchez became the sixth starting pitcher in playoff history to throw at least 7 2/3 innings in a postseason game, according to ESPN. Strangely, three of those six games took place against the Cardinals. However, in both of the other two instances, the Cardinals recovered to win the series.

* indicates perfect game
** indicates no-hitter

The start added to what's become a stellar postseason resume for Sanchez. In 56 playoff innings, he now owns a sparkling 2.57 ERA with 60 strikeouts and just 18 walks.

Sanchez narrowly missed throwing his second career no-hitter. He spun one back in 2006 as a rookie pitcher with the Florida Marlins.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, avoided being no-hit for the 10th time in franchise history. They haven't been no-hit in St. Louis since Mal Eason of the Brooklyn Superbas did it to them at National League Park on July 20, 1906, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.

(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)