Nationals rally past Brewers, Dodgers up next

JUAN Soto clubbed a bases loaded single that scored three runs with two outs in the eighth as the Washington Nationals rallied to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in the NL wildcard game on Tuesday.

Washington trailed 3-1 entering the eighth before coming from behind for three runs against Brewers closer Josh Hader.

The Nat iona ls adva nce to the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers wit h ga me one set f or T hu r s d a y a t Dodger Stadium.

The Brewers appeared to be headed to v ictor y when t he roof caved in in t he eight h. It took a hit by pitch, a brokenbat single, a walk, a single and a t imely error by a Brewers’ rook ie out f ielder Trent Grisha m to er a s e a t wo-r u n def icit.

The 20-year-old Soto came through with a hard-hit single with the bases loaded. The ball rolled under the glove of Grisham, who was filling in for injured reigning MVP Christian Yelich.

“Just get a base hit to the middle,” Soto said. “That’s what I’m thinking.”

The single turned the tide for the Nationals, setting off a wild celebration as Michael Taylor, Andrew Stevenson and Anthony Rendon came around to score.

Yasmani Grandal and Eric T ha mes homered f or t he Brewers, who got to Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer early.

But Scherzer stayed in the game as the loss was a punch in the gut for the Brewers, who had won 18 of their final 23 regular season games.

Na t i o n a l s r i g h t - h a n d e r Stephen Strasburg earned the victory after pitching three scoreless innings of relief. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out four. Daniel Hudson notched the save by pitching a scoreless ninth for the Nationals, who closed the regular season with an eightgame winning streak.

Scherzer surrendered three runs as he exited the mound after five innings and left the Nationals’ postseason hopes in doubt.

But Brewers pitcher Hader allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in a wild eighth inning.

Milwaukee scored three runs in the first two innings and held on to a 3-1 edge entering the bottom of the eighth.

Brewers manager Crai g Counsell then called on Hader, a hard-throwing southpaw, who notched 37 saves t his season.

But Hader wasted no time putting Nationals batters on the bases. Taylor went to first after he was hit in the hand by a pitch.

One out later Ryan Zimmerman followed with a brokenbat single, and Rendon drew a walk on a full count to load the bases and set the stage for Soto’s heroics.

The Nationals were 12 games under .500 in May, but Soto said something clicked after that.

“Everything changed. The energy of the team changed in May.”