Bregman’s grand slam leads Astros over Nats in Game 4

WASHINGTON — Jose Urquidy outpitched all those big-name aces who preceded him, the unheralded Houston rookie quieting Washington's bats and the Nationals Park crowd, too.

Houston and Washington are all even in a World Series that has been one big road show.

Alex Bregman busted out of his slump with a go- ahead single in the first inning and a grand slam in the seventh, and the resurgent Astros routed the Nationals 8-1 Saturday night to tie the Series at two games apiece.

“We did a great job today coming out and applying pressure,” Bregman said. ”I think Urquidy was fantastic to start us off and got us on the right foot.”

Game 1 winner Max Scherzer takes the mound Sunday night hoping to get Washington a home Series victory for the first time since the Senators at Griffith Stadium in 1933. In a rematch of the opener, Gerrit Cole goes for Houston after losing for the first time since May.

Visiting teams have won the first four games for the first time since 1996, when the Yankees broke the pattern in Game 6 against Atlanta to take the title.

Game 6 will be Tuesday night in Houston, when the Astros lose their road-field advantage.

“This is what it's all about,” Bregman said. ”This is a beautiful thing. It's two teams battling it out, they've got great pitching, great offenses. It's been fun so far, and just want to keep it rolling.”

Yuli Gurriel also drove in a run in the first as Houston strung together four singles in a seven-pitch span for a 2-0 lead against Patrick Corbin. Robinson Chirinos homered for the second straight day, a tworun drive that boosted the lead to 4-0 in the fourth.

Fans started leaving in the seventh, when the Astros sent 10 batters to the plate and battered the bullpen. Bregman, who began the night in a 1-for-13 Series slide, had the big blow, driving a low, inside fastball from Fernando Rodney into the left field stands of the ballpark where was the All-Star Game MVP in 2018. He held his bat high as he slowly walked out of the batter's box, then took nearly 30 seconds to circle the bases.

“Was just trying to hit the ball in the air and drive in a run, and ended up driving in four,” Bregman said.

Orange-clad Houston fans in the right field upper deck chanted ”Let's go Astros!” as Nationals fans were silenced. Wild-card Washington lost consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 13-14 against Atlanta.

Starting pitchers were the talk of the Series coming in, with Washington's Stephen Strasburg, Scherzer and Corbin combining for 12 AllStar selections and three Cy Young Awards. The baseball cards of Houston's Cole, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke shine with 17 AllStar picks, two Cy Youngs and one MVP.

But there were just five 12-3 innings by starters in the first three games, and the most consecutive outs were by the Nationals' Anibal Sanchez, who retired seven straight in Game 3.

Urquidy, a 24-year-old right-hander, exceeded them all.

Not bad for a TBA. Urquidy wasn't even announced as Houston's starter until after Game 3, with manager AJ Hinch hoping to piece together innings any way he could.