LONG WAIT IS OVER
NATS BACK IN WS AFTER 86 YEARS
WASHINGTON – As the Washington Nationals moved a party 86 years in the making from their ballpark’s infield to a booze-filled clubhouse, manager Dave Martinez paused near the dugout and thrust the silver NL Championship Series trophy overhead, to the delight of loud, delirious fans still in the stands.
Who would have thought this was possible five months ago, when the team was flailing, trade talk was swirling around Washington and folks figured Martinez’s job was in jeopardy?
From 19-31 during a mediocre May to the Fall Classic in an outstanding October – and the city’s first World Series appearance since 1933.
Extending their stunning turnaround, the wild-card Nationals got RBIs from middle-of-theorder stars Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto in a seven-run first inning Tuesday night, and Patrick Corbin’s 12-strikeout performance plus a trio of relievers helped hold on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 in Game 4 to complete a sweep in the NLCS.
“Often, bumpy roads lead to beautiful places,” said Martinez, who underwent a heart procedure in September, “and this is a beautiful place.”
Right from the first inning Tuesday, most in a sellout crowd of 43,976 rose from their seats to applaud or yell or twirl their red towels, to chant “Let’s go, Nats!” and “M-V-P!” and various players’ names, enjoying every moment of that game-deciding outburst.
And then, a couple of hours and several innings later, as Tanner Rainey, Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson were protecting a shrinking lead, those same spectators stood and shouted and reveled some more.