NATIONAL TREASURE
The Washington Nationals celebrate Wednesday in Houston after defeating the Astros 6-2 in Game 7 to win the first World Series title in franchise history. In a strange Series twist, the road team won every game.
HOUSTON >> Howie Kendrick and Anthony Rendon homered in the seventh inning as the Washington Nationals overcame a two-run deficit, rocking the Houston Astros 6-2 on Wednesday night in Game 7 of the World Series to win the first title in franchise history.
With all eyes on Max Scherzer and his remarkable recovery after a painkilling injection, these Nationals embraced their shot in a Series when the road team won every game. Even more against the odds: Juan Soto and Washington rallied from behind to win five elimination games this postseason.
Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and the Nats brought the first World Series championship to the nation’s capital since ol’ Walter Johnson delivered the crown for the Senators in 1924.
Scherzer never had a clean inning in Game 7 of the World Series for the Washington Nationals. He finished with more walks than strikeouts and walked off the mound trailing.
Yet, Mad Max delivered in the clutch for the Nationals even without getting the win.
Boosted by a cortisone injection and the adrenaline of trying to get his first World Series ring, Scherzer labored through five innings while throwing 103 pitches. Even though the 35-year-old three-time Cy Young winner allowed seven hits and walked four, he gave up only two runs in a championship-worthy effort.
Three days after being unable to make his scheduled start at home in Game 5 when he could barely move his right arm because of an irritated nerve near his neck, Scherzer is a World Series champion.
“If you would have saw him Sunday, it wasn’t good. He didn’t look good,” manager Dave Martinez said before Game 7. “He couldn’t move.”
The Nationals rallied late — their record fifth comeback win in a potential elimination game this postseason — to beat the Astros 6-2 in a World Series where the visiting team won every game.
While Scherzer never looked dominating, the incredibly intense righthander still was throwing fastballs in the mid-90s throughout his five innings. All but one of the Astros hits against him were singles and only one runner outside the two that scored reached third base. Houston
managed only a 2-0 lead before Patrick Corbin relieved Scherzer to start the sixth.
Despite plenty of hardhit balls, the Astros left nine runners on base against Scherzer while going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. That kept the Nationals close enough to surge ahead late.
Scherzer finished this postseason 3-0 with a 2.40 ERA. He had 37 strikeouts and 15 walks over 30 innings in six games, five of them starts.
Washington finally got to Astros starter Zack Greinke in the seventh when Anthony Rendon hit a oneout solo homer. Two batters later, after a pitching change, Howie Kendrick made it 3-2 with his tworun shot that ricocheted off the right field pole.
Yuli Gurriel led off the Houston second with a solo homer, which was followed by well-struck singles by Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa. But they were stranded out after a popped-out bunt, a grounder and a liner.
The Astros had two more runners on with one out an inning later before consecutive flyouts by Gurriel and Alvarez. Scherzer’s first strikeout didn’t come until facing his 17th batter, when he got Robinson Chirinos for the second out in the fourth before Houston stranded two more runners.
Correa’s RBI single in the fifth, a slicing two-out hit off diving third baseman Anthony Rendon, made it 2-0 before Scherzer struck out Chirinos again for his final out.
For all that irritation, he finally gets a ring.
• Alex Bregman and Astros manager A.J. Hinch spoke three times Tuesday night about the third baseman carrying his bat to first base after hitting a home run in the first inning.
Hinch said he talked to Bregman about it during the game, after the game at the stadium and on the phone after they both left the park following Houston’s 7-2 loss to the Nationals in Game 6.
Bregman apologized for the move after the game and Hinch shared what he told him about it.
“It’s just not how we do things and not something that was necessary,” Hinch said. “It was an emotional reaction. I love the way he plays and it doesn’t diminish what he brings to the table, but it was unnecessary.”
However, Hinch knows that Bregman learned his lesson from the miscue.