WASHINGTON: TheWashington Nationals reached the World Series for the first time in franchisehistory on Tuesday after completing a 4-0 series sweep over the St. LouisCardinals. A blistering first inning laid the foundation for a 7-4 victory overa Cardinals team who rallied in the fifth but were unable to overturn thedeficit.
Nats ace PatrickCorbin fanned 12 batters through five innings before finally allowing four runsas the Cardinals attempted to claw their way back into contention. TheNationals will now play the winner of the American League Championship Series-- either the Houston Astros or New York Yankees -- in game one of the WorldSeries next Tuesday.
The NL ChampionshipSeries victory marked the latest chapter of an improbable season forWashington, who were 19-31 earlier this year with little apparent hope ofreaching the playoffs. Prior to Tuesday's win, the Nationals were one of onlytwo Major League Baseball teams, along with the Seattle Mariners, who had neverreached a World Series. The Nationals had also carried a miserable postseasonrecord into the playoffs having never won a series before 2019.
"I can't putthis moment into words," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "Oftenbumpy roads lead to beautiful places -- and this is a beautiful place,"added Martinez, who only last month underwent a heart procedure. "Theseguys back here cured my heart," Martinez said. "My heart feels greatright now. I can't wait to do this next week." A comeback win overMilwaukee in the wild-card game then saw them advance to a dramatic NL DivisionSeries where they stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers with an upset 3-2 series winlast week.
FIRST INNINGONSLAUGHT
Three convincingwins over St. Louis in the opening games of the NLCS had left them on the brinkof the World Series, and before an expectant Nationals Park on Tuesday theywere in no mood to be denied. With a sea of red-shirted fans roaring them om,the Nats raced into a 7-0 lead in a disastrous first inning for the Cardinals.Cards starting pitcher Dakota Hudson was given a brutal mauling, with AnthonyRendon's sacrifice fly scoring Trea Turner to start the onslaught.
Juan Soto's sharpline drive saw Adam Eaton scamper home for 2-0 before a misfield by Cardinalssecond baseman Kolten Wong loaded the bases. Another fielding blunder by theCardinals -- Jose Martinez failing to collect a straightforward fly ball fromVictor Robles -- allowed Soto to score for 3-0.
Yan Gomes'ssingle then sent Howie Kendrick and Ryan Zimmerman home for 5-0, by which timeCardinals manager Mike Shildt had seen enough, yanking Hudson off the mound forAdam Wainwright.
Wainwright'sarrival did little to staunch the bleeding however, with Turner's single on aline drive allowing Robles and Gomes to score for a 7-0 lead. Yadier Molinahomered for the Cardinals in the fourth to make it 7-1, before Harrison Baderscored in the fifth. A Martinez double allowed Wong and Dexter Fowler to scorebut the Nationals bullpen held firm to close out victory. The victory was sweetfor Nationals veteran Howie Kendrick, who was named series MVP after going 5for 15 with four doubles and four RBI.
"All of theblood, sweat and tears and grinding, the losses, the wins come down to thismoment," Kendrick said as he received his MVP award. "I can truly saythis is the best moment of my career." - AFP