Players of the Day for Wednesday, October 30, 2019
World Series Game Seven
Washington Nationals 6 Houston Astros 2
America's pastime has a new champion.
50 years in the making, the Washington Nationals captured the first World Series in franchise history, coming from behind for a 6-2 game seven victory at Houston.
In an historic series that saw the road team win every game, the Nationals teed off on the Astros' relief staff, scoring all of their runs in the final three innings.
Zack Greinke had kept the Nationals at bay for the first six innings - blanking them on one hit - but, when Anthony Rendon cut the lead to 2-1 with his second series home run, and Greinke followed by walking the next batter, Juan Soto, manager AJ Hinch opted for the usually-reliable right arm of Will Harris.
On Harris' second pitch, 36-year-old Howie Kendrick connected, launching a curving fly to left that eventually banged off the foul pole screen for a two-run homer. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the Nationals had taken the lead and the momentum of game seven would never swing back to the home team.
In the eighth, Soto singled home Adam Eaton, and Eaton drove in a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away. While the Nationals were pulling away, the Astros were flailing fruitlessly at pitches from Patrick Corbin, who came on in the sixth in relief of Max Scherzer, delivering three scoreless innings on two hits, fanning three. Daniel Hudson struck out two in a perfect ninth to finish the job and bring the first title to Washington since the franchise was formed as the Montreal Expos in 1969.
Moving from Montreal to Washington in 2005, the Nationals had come close before but never reached the World Series. In their first appearance, they made good, despite taking seven games to do so.
The last time a team based in the nation's capitol won a World Series was 1924, when the Washington Senators defeated John McGraw's New York Giants, four games to three.
Stephen Strasburg, who won two games in the series, was awarded Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors.
And so, another baseball season ends. After all the balls and strikes, hits, runs, errors, balks, homers and strikeouts, the final two teams battled through seven games, eventually deciding the champion by that slim a margin. Kudos to the Houston Astros, who led the majors with 107 wins, but the trophy goes to the Nationals, the team that never gave up, never quit, and eventually earned the game's ultimate reward.
Baseball takes a break for the winter, but it returns on February 22, when these same two teams - who share a practice facility in West Palm Beach, Florida - play an exhibition game.
Until then, rest up and get ready. The boys of summer will be back before you know it.
World Series Game Seven
Washington Nationals 6 Houston Astros 2
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| Kendrick's 2-run homer gave Washington the lead. |
50 years in the making, the Washington Nationals captured the first World Series in franchise history, coming from behind for a 6-2 game seven victory at Houston.
In an historic series that saw the road team win every game, the Nationals teed off on the Astros' relief staff, scoring all of their runs in the final three innings.
Zack Greinke had kept the Nationals at bay for the first six innings - blanking them on one hit - but, when Anthony Rendon cut the lead to 2-1 with his second series home run, and Greinke followed by walking the next batter, Juan Soto, manager AJ Hinch opted for the usually-reliable right arm of Will Harris.
On Harris' second pitch, 36-year-old Howie Kendrick connected, launching a curving fly to left that eventually banged off the foul pole screen for a two-run homer. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the Nationals had taken the lead and the momentum of game seven would never swing back to the home team.
In the eighth, Soto singled home Adam Eaton, and Eaton drove in a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away. While the Nationals were pulling away, the Astros were flailing fruitlessly at pitches from Patrick Corbin, who came on in the sixth in relief of Max Scherzer, delivering three scoreless innings on two hits, fanning three. Daniel Hudson struck out two in a perfect ninth to finish the job and bring the first title to Washington since the franchise was formed as the Montreal Expos in 1969.
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| Strasburg: MVP award |
The last time a team based in the nation's capitol won a World Series was 1924, when the Washington Senators defeated John McGraw's New York Giants, four games to three.
Stephen Strasburg, who won two games in the series, was awarded Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors.
And so, another baseball season ends. After all the balls and strikes, hits, runs, errors, balks, homers and strikeouts, the final two teams battled through seven games, eventually deciding the champion by that slim a margin. Kudos to the Houston Astros, who led the majors with 107 wins, but the trophy goes to the Nationals, the team that never gave up, never quit, and eventually earned the game's ultimate reward.
Baseball takes a break for the winter, but it returns on February 22, when these same two teams - who share a practice facility in West Palm Beach, Florida - play an exhibition game.
Until then, rest up and get ready. The boys of summer will be back before you know it.
Rodriguez (right) had a career year, even for a player as accomplished as him, slugging 54 home runs, driving in 156 while scoring 143 runs, all tops in the league. Rodriguez also batted a solid .314, tied for 13th in the league, and swiped 24 bases.
Finishing a distant second in the voting was Detroit's Magglio Ordonez, who led the majors with a .363 batting average.
Rodriguez, who opted out of a long-term contract with the Yankees during the World Series, has resumed talks with the club after testing the free agency waters on the advice of his long-time agent, Scott Boras. The Yankees are only interested in negotiating with Rodriguez and not Boras at this time though any word of a breakthrough or deal has yet to be announced.