On Wednesday night in Houston, 10/30, the Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 7 of the World Series. The historic win marks the first World Series title for the Nationals in their 51-year history, including their time as the Montreal Expos. As well as being their first title, this was in fact Washington’s first appearance in the World Series.
After six innings, the Houston Astros looked to have control over the game with a 2-0 lead, thanks to a solo home run from Yuli Gurriel and an RBI single from Carlos Correa. Zack Greinke looked comfortable on the mound for Houston until the top of the seventh when the Nationals offense came alive.
Anthony Rendon hit a solo home run to cut the lead to 2-1, followed by a Howie Kendrick blast off the right field foul pole to cap off a three-run seventh inning for Washington. After securing the 3-2 lead, the Nationals did not look back. Their offense continued to batter the Houston bullpen, scoring three more runs at the hands of Juan Soto and Adam Eaton before the game was over.
Washington capped off a memorable underdog run to earn the MLB crown. After 50 games, the Nationals were a lowly 19-31, the worst record of any champion at that point in the season. They were a team that got hot at the right time, concluding the regular season with a respectable 93-69 record and a second place finish in the NL East.
The Nationals won their wild card game against the Milwaukee Brewers, and then proceeded to earn impressive series wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. This included a sweep of the Cardinals in the NLCS.
The former number one overall draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, took home MVP honors for the 2019 World Series. In accomplishing this, he became the first number one pick to ever win World Series MVP. Strasburg started and won Game 2 and Game 6 for the Nationals. He finished with an accumulated stat line of 14 strikeouts, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, and an ERA of 2.51 over his 14 innings. With this accolade, Strasburg solidified himself as a Nationals legend and swept away the consistent doubt people had about his career.
The Houston Astros came into the 2019 World Series as overwhelming favorites. They finished their regular season at 107-55 and passed tough playoff tests against the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. Despite this, MLB playoffs once again proved that statistics mean little when it comes to October baseball.
Looking to next year, the Nationals will again be a contender in the NL East thanks to their blend of young talent and veterans, as well as their dominant pitching staff. The Houston Astros, as they have been for the last few years, will once again be one of the best teams in baseball. If this World Series is any indication of what the 2020 MLB season has in store, baseball fans have plenty to look forward to.
