NATIONALS POUND ASTROS TO TAKE COMMANDING LEAD IN FALL CLASSIC
From the quaint roots at Jarry Park in suburban Montreal to the frustrating struggles at Olympic Stadium and the departure for some to their new home in the U.S. capital, the Washington Nationals are on the verge of making their own history.
The tough-as-nails National League wild-card entry got to Astros ace Justin Verlander in the seventh inning here on Tuesday then blew the doors off MLB’s winningest team in 2019 as they cruised to a 12-3 blowout win in Game 2 of the World Series.
That six-run seventh stunned the sellout crowd of 43,357 at Minute Maid Park and gave the Nats a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven World Series that shifts back to D.C. for a scheduled three games beginning on Friday.
The links to the Montreal past — however they’re presented — will be drenched in bitterness for some — but shouldn’t get in the way of the incredible feats this team is accomplishing and the fresh history it is making.
Dominant from the outset of this post-season, the Nats are now just two wins away from the first championship in Nationals/ Expos franchise history.
What was billed as and settled into a pitching duel between Justin Verlander and Washington starter Stephen Strasburg through six innings ended up in a one-sided stunner to take down the Astros, who led the majors in 2019 with 107 regular-season wins.
It was the latest sensation in the Nationals remarkable post-season run that has now seen them record back-to-back wins against two likely finalists in the AL Cy Young Award race — Verlander and Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole.
As well, the Nats now have won an incredible eight in a row this post-season, sixth of those on the road. Both are MLB post-season records.
“We’ve been in a playoff mode and facing really good pitchers for months,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said of his confident, veteran-heavy team. “With the Dodgers (in the NLDS) and the Cardinals (in the NLCS) we’ve run the gauntlet.
“These guys think they’re pretty good and they think they can beat anybody.” Verlander included.
The right-hander was hanging tough until he was bitten by one of the most unlikely hitters in the order. Kurt Suzuki was just 2-for-25 in the post-season when he entered the batter’s box and the 36-year-old delivered with a huge shot to left-centre field.
As great as Verlander is — and he certainly was exceptional again on Wednesday — he still has yet to record a win in World Series play and now sports an overall record of 0-5.
The Astros came unglued after the Suzuki homer with manager A.J. Hinch at one point issuing an intentional walk to young Nats star Juan Soto, the first time the Astros have given a free pass all season.
Soto eventually came around to score — one of six the Nationals pushed across in the inning — and the rout was in full effect.
As conflicted as Expos fans are about losing their team to D.C. in 2005, there’s no denying it’s been an incredible ride for the franchise. Thousands of fans of Canada’s first major league team still feel connected to the Nats and the FOX broadcast of the games here have been full of Expos references and images.
The checkered history that transformed the Expos into the Nationals is one thing, but modern World Series history is now squarely in their corner. The past 11 teams to take a 2-0 lead in the Fall Classic have gone on to claim the title and 44 of 55 overall.
No team has won the first two World Series games on the road since the 1999 Yankees, part of the reality facing the Astros in an awful stretch for the team.
How hot are the Nationals? Dating back to Sept. 23, they are now a dominant 18-2, the best 20-game stretch in Expos/ Nationals history.
Getting to the cusp of a World Series is sure to bring back bitter memories for many old Expos fans, and you can’t blame those who feel that way. But for those who want to relive the memories of those groundbreaking days for baseball in this country — the good and the bad — good on them, as well.
Bottom line from all of it, however, is these Nationals are fun to watch — and right now, anyway, next to impossible to beat.
Though Verlander got touched up for two runs in the first inning, by the end of the second inning he had made MLB playoff history.
When he struck out Victor Robles in the second, it was his fourth of the game and a record 200th of his career in the post season, surpassing the previous record held by John Smoltz. A hollow victory, to be sure.
After trying to shoulder much
■ of the blame for the Game 1 loss — in which he struck out three times — Astros third baseman Alex Bregman made a bid for instant redemption in Game 2 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to tie it.
The first-inning blast to Bregman
■ aside, it was a strong outing for Strasburg, who struck out seven over his six solid innings of work. Astros batters kept him grinding, as the veteran righthander worked for the win with 114 pitchers on the night.
Strasburg now boasts a stellar
■
1.34 ERA this post season.
When Soto doubled in the third
■ inning, it marked an incredible beginning to his World Series experience. In six at-bats, he had recorded four hits, and three of those for extra bases.
Who says baseball has to be a
■ young man’s game? Heading into the eighth inning in Game 2, Nats hitters aged 30 or older were 10 for 23 in the game with eight runs batted in.