Washington Nationals World Series: 3 takeaways from dramatic Game 1 win
We take a look at three takeaways from the Washington Nationals huge Game 1 win in the 2019 World Series against the Houston Astros.
The Washington Nationals bullpen made us sweat it out down the stretch, but in the end they came away with a huge Game 1 to open up the World Series.
As is the case in one-run games, there were several moments where this game could have gone one way or the other.
In the first inning it looked like the Washington Nationals had missed a golden opportunity as Trea Turner led off the game with single, stole second, and was stranded there.
The Houston Astros then responded with a two-out two-run double in the bottom of the first to seize all momentum.
But then came the first pivotal point for the Nationals in this World Series as Ryan Zimmerman responded in the top of the second with a solo home run. I can’t overstate the significance of that home run in this game.
Scherzer stranded two runners in the third inning and then again in the fourth inning with Jose Altuve at the plate after Juan Soto had tied it up in the top of the fourth with a solo home run.
And then the fifth inning is where the Washington Nationals really broke through.
Kurt Suzuki led off the inning with a walk and was followed by a Victor Robles single. Adam Eaton gave the Nats the lead with a one-out single.
And then Soto came to the plate with two outs and got ahead in the count 3-0. Gerrit Cole worked it back to a 3-2 count, which gave Anthony Rendon a head start from third.
This was the second pivotal moment for the Nationals in this game as Soto took a slider the other way off the left field wall to plate two more runs and give Washington a cushion.
That would really be the last threat offensively for the Nationals in this game, and it was up to the bullpen, which we’ll look at in a minute.
But let’s take a look at the three biggest takeaways from Game 1 of the World Series.
Juan Soto puts on a show
Forget how old is, he doesn’t care, and he sure doesn’t act his age. All we know is that Juan Soto is one of the best hitters in all of baseball and proved that in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
Not only did he go 3-for-4 at the plate and drive in three of the Nationals four runs, but he came through exactly when the team needed him.
On the telecast, they talked about how Soto adjusted after striking out against Cole in the first inning. He basically got the same pitch he struck out on in his first at-bat but didn’t miss it in his second at-bat.
Alexa, play "C'mon N' Ride It" by Quad City DJs.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 23, 2019
Because Juan Soto just hit baseball onto the train tracks.#ChildishBambino // #STAYINTHEFIGHT pic.twitter.com/Kn4qaBiHa7
That swing on that pitch … it’s hard to describe just how incredible that is, and the fact that he put it up on the train tracks, and it tied the game!
But Soto wasn’t done for the night, he came up in the biggest spot in the game for the Nationals and delivered a huge two-out two-RBI double that at the time opened things up for Washington.
Those runs ended up being the difference as the Nationals held on for a 5-4 win.
It was wonderful to see Juan Soto put on a show in Game 1 of the World Series, and if the baseball world wasn’t aware before, they now know that Soto is one of the best players in this game.
Aggressive offense
There was a very big difference in the approaches of these two offenses on Tuesday night. The Houston Astros hitters were very patient at the plate against Max Scherzer and were looking to drive up his pitch count.
That method certainly worked as they chased Scherzer after five innings and got to the Washington Nationals bullpen.
However, because they got into such deep counts, Max was able to put them away with the strikeout when he needed to. He finished four of his five innings with a strikeout and had seven overall in the game.
On the other hand, the Nationals hitters were very aggressive early in the count. In fact, Cole didn’t throw a single ball in the first inning.
Zimmerman and Turner both got hits on the first pitch of their respective at-bats.
Suzuki was the only hitter in the lineup that really made Cole work with a couple of long at-bats, including that huge fifth inning walk. Turner also worked a couple of deep counts, as did Soto on that big fifth inning hit.
But for the most part, Nationals hitters went up there ready to swing, and it paid off as they racked up 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk over 7 innings and only struck out 6 times against a guy who had 300 strikeouts in the regular season.
Bullpen scares but holds
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While the Astros weren’t ever able to get to Scherzer after that first inning, they did continue to make him work and were successful in getting to the Nats bullpen early in Game 1 of the World Series.
The first man up was Patrick Corbin who worked a fairly clean sixth inning except for a one-out single to a left-handed hitter, surprisingly.
I think a lot of Nats fans thought Corbin would come back out for the seventh, but Dave Martinez surprised us all by bringing in Tanner Rainey.
He promptly gave up a solo home run to George Springer and then issued back-to-back walks with one out before getting yanked for Daniel Hudson.
An infield single loaded the bases, setting up the third pivotal moment in the game for the Nats. Hudson was able to deliver by striking out Yordan Alvarez on three pitches.
Hudson then created is own mess in the eighth allowing a leadoff single to Kyle Tucker. And then came the fourth pivotal moment of this game as Springer came a few feet away from tying the game up.
Instead, it was an RBI double and left the Nats with a one-run lead. After getting Jose Altuve for the second out of the eighth, Hudson was pulled for Sean Doolittle.
Brantley stung a ball off Doolittle but Soto was able to track it down to end the threat.
Doolittle worked a pretty stress-free ninth inning; although, I thought Carlos Correa got that ball that landed shy of the warning track in center field wall to end the game.
Martinez made some bold decisions in the bullpen in Game 1, but they paid off as the Washington Nationals held on to win.
Next. Nats look to step on gas in Game 2. dark
The Washington Nationals will look to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series with Stephen Strasburg on the mound Wednesday night at 8:08 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park.