The Cardinals kept winning following the departure of franchise icons La Russa and Pujols. Former Cardinals backstop Mike Matheny became the new Cardinals manager for the 2012 season and onwards. Carlos Beltrán, another free agent signed to replace Pujols before the 2012 season, garnered a Player of the Week award in May after hitting six home runs within a week; he eventually hit 32 for the season. In the playoffs, the Cardinals capitalized on their newfound comeback persona against the Washington Nationals in the NLDS: in the final game, Pete Kozma drove two runs in the ninth inning to win the series after being down 6-0. However, after mounting a 3–1 lead, they fell to the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. After the season, top publications such as ESPN and "Baseball Prospectus" continued to tab the Cardinals farm system as one of the top systems in baseball.