I've written a couple of these posts throughout the month of October, covering throwback moments both positive and negative from the Longest Night in Nationals History to the Werthquake of 2012. However, this one is the first part of what will be a fun 2-day recap as we look back on the 5-year anniversary of the conclusion of the Washington Nationals' World Series run back in 2019. In this piece, I will be looking back at the night that Stephen Strasburg cemented himself as the eventual World Series MVP, by sending the Nationals to the decisive Game 7.
After an absolutely mind-boggling momentum shift in the series when the Nationals lost 3 straight home games in DC to head back to Houston down 3-2, the Nats' backs were against the wall. In what was a pitching rematch from Game 2 of this series between Strasburg and Justin Verlander, it was once again the Nats' righty who was able to rise to the occasion again by absolutely dominating the Astros lineup.
Strasburg dominated to the tune of 8.1 innings of 2-run ball, striking out 7 and walking just 2 while helping to force the winner-take-all Game 7. Verlander did not fare as well, with the highlight of his night and series as a whole being the moonshot home run that he gave up to Juan Soto, that featured a retalitory bat drop as he rounded first base. He would labor through just 5.0 innings of work, allowing game-tying and go-ahead solo shots by Adam Eaton and Soto before finishing the 5th inning in line for the loss.
The game would stay locked at 3-2 until the top of the 7th inning, when, after catcher Yan Gomes led off the inning with a single, Trea Turner would be called out on batters interference, a call that you would swear only happens against the Nationals. While the outcome of the decision was frustrating in the moment, the Nats would get their revenge on an ultimate "Ball don't lie" moment as Anthony Rendon went deep 2 batters later, giving the Nats a 5-2 lead as they continued to inch closer to forcing a Game 7. In between innings, Davey Martinez would have an awesome ejection that might have been in part to fire up his team even further and make sure that they would hold on to the lead.
Rendon struck again in the 9th inning, with a 2-run double from "Tony 2 Bags" putting the game permanently out of reach and giving the Nationals a 7-2 lead that would end up being the final score. Strasburg would start the 9th inning, but would be lifted after retiring the first batter of the ninth inning, capping off his heroic effort and turning things over to Sean Doolittle, who would ultimately close out the game for the Nats. The cinderella team from the Nation's Capital had fought to fight another day, and would look to make major sports history by becoming the first team to win 4 road games in a 7-game series.
Do you remember watching Game 6? How confident did you feel going into Game 7? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.