The Washington Nationals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 in Game 4 of the NLCS to win their first NL pennant. The franchise began as the Montreal Expos in 1969 before moving to D.C. in 2005.
It is the first time a World Series game will be played in the nation's capital since 1933 when the Senators fell to the New York Giants in five games.
The Nats overwhelmed the Cardinals with Anibal Sanchez taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning in Game 1 and Max Scherzer taking a no-no into the 7th. Stephen Strasburg struck out 12 in 7 scoreless innings in Game 3 with Patrick Corbin fanning a dozen over 5 innings tonight.
Washington appeared to have wrapped it up in the 1st inning when they scored 7 runs off Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson. A dropped ball by second baseman Kolten Wong and a ball falling in front of Cardinals RF Jose Martinez added insult to injury.
However, the Cardinals got back into the game on a solo HR by Yadier Molina in the 4th adding three runs in the 5th on a double by Martinez. The Cardinals loaded the bases in the 8th and brought the go ahead run to the plate. Nats fans were momentarily jarred when second baseman Brian Dozier bobbled the ball. But he recovered and threw out pinch hitter Matt Carpenter to end the threat.
Howie Kendrick, a 14-year veteran who enjoyed his best season since 2011, earned NLCS MVP going 5 for 15 with 4 doubles and 4 RBIs.
The only bad news in all of this is that the Nats will have to wait a week for the World Series. At this point, they don't know if they'll be traveling to Houston or New York. The Houston Astros currently hold a 2-1 lead over the New York Yankees in the ALCS.
But in the grand scheme of things, the Nats will gladly wait. Prior to Memorial Day Weekend, the Nats were 19-31 trailing the Philadelphia Phillies featuring ex-Nat Bryce Harper by 10 games and only 1.5 games ahead of the last place Miami Marlins. The Nats went 74-38 the rest of the way to earn a NL Wild Card berth. The Nats came from behind to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card game, came from behind to defeat the back to back NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers before sweeping St. Louis. And now they get to play in the franchise's first World Series. It just goes to show triumph can come out of disaster.
Under other circumstances this World Series would have been played in Montreal. I can only hope the presence of the Washington Nationals will add further momentum towards the restoration of the Montreal Expos. For a change there will be something good coming out of Washington, D.C.
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