For the first time since 1924, the District of Columbia has a World Series championship.

The Washington Nationals scored six runs all after the sixth inning to rally and beat the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game Seven on Wednesday night in Houston, winning the World Series.

The Nats had a three-run seventh inning, highlighted by a solo home run by Anthony Rendon and a go-ahead 2-run shot by 36-year-old Howie Kendrick.  They added another run in the eighth, and two more in the ninth to stamp their victory.

The road team won every game in this World Series.  That had previously never before happened in a best-of-seven championship series in MLB, NBA or the NHL.

The Washington Nationals trailed 2-nothing through six innings and had only mustered a single base-hit off Houston starter Zack Greinke.

The Astros righty had kept Nats hitters off-balance all night, inducing a bevy of comebackers that led to Greinke tallying five defesnsive assists, the most by a pitcher in a World Series game since Atlanta’s Greg Maddux in Game Two of the ‘96 series.

But with one out in the seventh, Greinke hung a change up over the middle of the plate to Anthony Rendon, and the latter took it out of the park to left field making it a 2-1 Astros lead.  That was followed by a walk to Juan Soto, and Houston manager AJ Hinch pulled Greinke from the outing on 80 pitches.  Greinke left with a runner on base to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Minute Maid Park.

The move to the bullpen backfired.  Right-handed reliever Will Harris came in, and on the second pitch to his first batter faced, gave up a two-run home run to 36-year-old DH Howie Kendrick, that clanged off the right field foul pole, suddenly putting Washington back in front, 3-2.

Harris was chased after a single by Asdrubal Cabrera, and Roberto Osuna, the embattled closer for the ‘Stros, came on to finish the frame.

Nationals starter Max Scherzer gritted and grinded his way through 5 innings on 103 pitches, allowing seven hits and two runs, leaving the game with a 2-0 deficit.  Normal starter Patrick Corbin came on in relief and pitched a clean sixth and seventh innings for the Nats, to keep them in front 3-2 heading into the eighth.

 

More about: