Nationals lead Astros 2-0 as World Series returns to DC
Walking off the field after the final out, Juan Soto smiled as he approached manager Dave Martinez and held up a pair of fingers.
“Two more,” Soto told his skipper.
By then, Minute Maid Park was nearly empty and mostly silent, except for a small clutch of fans behind Washington's dugout.
Suffice to say, it will look and sound a lot different Friday night at Nationals Park.
Halfway to a World Series championship in a city that hasn't claimed the crown since 1924, Washington has watched everything go its way in taking a 2-0 lead over the discombobulated Houston Astros, who were heavily favored at the start.
Not that anyone expected exactly this.
Those taut, tense pitching duels that were set with aces Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Stephen Strasburg on the mound? Nope.
“Just about when we all predict what this is supposed to be about, the game will show you that you know maybe a little bit less and less the more you're around it,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said.
Instead, the biggest
Astros manager AJ Hinch
star so far is a hitter Soto, still in his first full season and already with a knack for clutch knocks.
It was Soto's eighthinning hit that rallied the Nationals past Milwaukee in the NL wild-card game. He then hit a tying home run off Clayton Kershaw in the eighth during the deciding Game 5 of the Division Series.
Soto was just getting warmed up, apparently.
He's 4 for 7 with a
homer and two doubles in the World Series, driving in three runs and scoring three and also stealing a base. And those shakes and shimmies he does at the plate, no wonder it's called the Soto Shuffle.
And how's this for timing his 21st birthday is Friday, when Anibal Sanchez is scheduled to start for the Nationals against Zack Greinke. It will be the first World Series game in Washington since 1933 with the Senators.
Soto and the Nationals wrapped up a 12-3 romp Wednesday night and made the Astros look awful in the process.
Brandon Taubman after an investigation with Major League Baseball concluded that he directed inappropriate comments at female reporters during the team's postgame clubhouse celebration Saturday.
Chicago hired David Ross to replace Joe Maddon as their manager, hoping the former catcher can help them get back to the playoffs after missing out for the first since 2014. The three-year deal includes a club option for the 2023 season.
Padres: San Diego hired Jayce Tingler from the Texas Rangers to manage a team that has missed the playoffs for 13 straight seasons and hasn't had a winning record in nine years.
Phillies: Philadelphia agreed to hire former Yankees manager Joe Girardi to replace Gabe Kapler, according to multiple reports. Girardi led New York to its 27th World Series title, beating the Phillies in six games in 2009.
Yankees: Center fielder Aaron Hicks will have Tommy John surgery for a partially torn ligament in his throwing elbow and is expected to be out 8 to 10 months.
“Just about when we all predict what this is supposed to be about, the game will show you that you know maybe a little bit less and less the more you're around it.”