Washington Nationals complete improbable season after stunning Houston Astros in World Series

Daniel Hudson and Yan Gomes of the Washington Nationals celebrate with their teammates on the infield after recording the twenty-seventh out to claim the World Series over the heavily favored Houston Astros. Photo by David J. Philip.

Jack Butler jbutle58@lakers.mercyhurst.edu

Houston, Texas - In 2004, the struggling Montreal Expos franchise was relocated to Washington D.C. under new ownership and a new name, the Nationals. They began to play the following Spring at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium where the legendary hall of fame player, Frank Robinson, managed them to an 81-81 record.

Three years later, the team moved to newly constructed Nationals Park, but postseason baseball waited until 2012 when in Davey Johnson's first full season as manager, led the Nationals to a franchise-record 98 victories which still stands today. Those wins did not amount to much success in October as the St. Louis Cardinals eliminated Washington on their own home field in five games. This continued to be the trend in the nation’s capital as in three of the next four seasons the Nationals claimed the National League East only to be knocked out in the Division Series and two of them were game fives at home.

In 2018, Dave Martinez started skippering the Nationals, the fourth different manager in six years, where he guided them to an 82-80 finish. During that free agency following the 2018 campaign, Bryce Harper signed with the rival Philadelphia Phillies and many fans thought Washington could not compete in the talented NL East.

Frank Robinson was the first person tasked with managing the Washington Nationals and the first African American skipper in Major League Baseball as well. Photo by Ed Wolfstein /Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images.

These doubters were right during the early part of the season when entering play on Friday, May 24 they stood at 19-31 while also being 10 games out of first place. This gradually changed as Martinez managed them to a 38-20 mark from late May to late July to turn their horrific start toward being six games above five hundred at 57-51.

Martinez and the Nationals continued their winning ways by going 36-18 during the final two months of the season which landed them the first Wild Card spot to host the Milwaukee Brewers. The Nationals rallied late in the Wild Card Game to eliminate the Brewers 4-3 and earned a date with the mighty 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers. Down two runs with six outs remaining in the decisive game five, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto drilled back to back homers off Clayton Kershaw to tie it in the eighth. Then Howie Kendrick clobbered a grand slam in the tenth, advancing them to play the Cardinals in the Championship Series. The Nationals handedly defeated Mike Shildt's Cardinals in a four-game sweep, earning their first trip to the Fall Classic in franchise history.

Washington Nationals infielder, Howie Kendrick, connects on a Joe Kelly fastball and sends it over the centerfield wall for a go-ahead grand slam in the tenth frame. Photo by Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports.

Washington would be facing a dangerous opponent in the 107-win Houston Astros who have an extremely deep lineup and a filthy pitching rotation. Even with everything stacked against them, the Nationals took the first two games at Minute Maid Park to take a commanding two games to nothing lead. This lead was vanished quickly as the Astros spoiled the first three World Series games in Washington D.C. since the Washington Senators eighty-six years earlier in 1933. By winning all three games in Washington, the Astros were heading home with two opportunities to close out the series. The Nationals had other ideas by stealing the sixth game 7-2 which set up a winner take all game seven, the fourth in six years.

AJ Hinch gave the baseball to veteran right-hander, Zack Greinke whom they traded for at the deadline, and Martinez sent Max Scherzer to counter the Astros on the rubber. Both starters put up zeros on the scoreboard in the first by shutting down the top of each other's lineups.

In the next frame, Greinke escaped a Soto leadoff single with a double play off the bat of Kendrick and headed to the bottom of the second. Scherzer had a quick fifteen pitch first inning but problems loomed when he took the mound the following frame. Yuli Gurriel, the cleanup man, lined a homer to left breaking the scoreless tie. Then Scherzer gave up back to back base knocks by rookie sensation Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa but did not break as he retired the next three Astros in a row.

The Nationals had no answers for the stuff Greinke was firing at them which resulted in three more empty chances but Scherzer kept his team in the game after throwing two consecutive zeros. Then in the home half of the fifth he yielded his second run of the evening on a Correa single platting Gurriel, who reached on a forceout, making it 2-0 in favor of Houston. This second tally yanked Scherzer out of the ballgame while also giving the Astros even more momentum halfway through the contest.

With the way Greinke is pitching the ball the only chance Washington can stun the Astros is if they remove him from the game and face the bullpen. An inning later, Patrick Corbin, who relieved Scherzer, and Greinke both sent their respective hitters in order. Then the seventh was the frame that shifted the tide from an ever-likely second World Series in three years for Houston to a first championship for Washington.

With only eight outs remaining, Rendon took Greinke deep, cutting the deficit in half to 2-1. Then, Greinke walked Soto on five pitches and Hinch walked from the dugout to make a pitching change. Will Harris came in to allow a game changing two run blast by Kendrick and Asdrubal Cabrera reached on a single. Roberto Osuna was summoned to stop the bleeding which was successful after producing both a popup and flyout.

In the eighth, the Nationals added an important insurance run off Osuna. With one out Adam Eaton walked, stole second and Soto ripped a single to right sending Eaton home to score. Corbin tossed his third scoreless frame in the bottom half of the eighth and Washington plated two more tallies in the ninth to put the nail in the coffin before Houston batted in their half.

Hinch inserted Joe Smith to keep the game within reach, however, it resulted in yielding a pair of runs. Three of the four hitters Smith faced reached base, two were singles and another a walk and Jose Urquidy replaced him in a high-pressure situation. Urquidy battled Eaton with Yan Gomes on third and Victor Robles on second and only one down. Eaton hit a 1-0 pitch from Urquidy between second and short plating Gomes and Robles which extended the Nationals advantage to 6-2.

When the Astros stepped to the batter’s box in their half, they looked defeated and stunned, realizing their historic season is near its end. Daniel Hudson stepped onto the pitching slab to shut down the powerful Houston top three hitters, George Springer, Jose Altuve, and Michael Brantley. Springer and Altuve were retired on five pitches then a lengthy seven pitch at bat by Brantley which ended in Hudson striking him out swinging. Immediately following the strikeout, Gomes walked toward the mound to hug Hudson and the other Nationals enthusiastically rushed from the dugout to the field and the celebration began.

The Nationals railed down three games to two to win their first World Series while the Astros blew it when Hinch had Gerrit Cole available in the bullpen during the seventh but decided not to utilize his weapon. By choosing to stick with the relivers arms gave Washington a chance to get back into the game taking full advantage of it.

With the baseball season officially concluded both teams will be heavily focused on retaining free agents during the winter meetings next month in December. These consist of third baseman, Rendon, and starting hurler, Stephen Strasburg, for the Nationals and Cole for the Astros. If both these squads can bring those names back there will be more opportunities to compete in 2020 and beyond.