THEY DID IT: NATS SWEEP CARDS 7-4, WIN NL PENNANT, & HEAD TO FIRST WORLD SERIES! – Will Face Astros Or Yankees!
By Paul Wickham Schmidt
Exclusive for immigrationcourtside.com
Oct. 15, 2019. Banishing years of bitter postseason disappointment, the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 tonight at Nationals Park for a four-game sweep and their first ever trip to the World Series. This will be the first World Series game in Washington, D.C. since the Washington Senators faced the New York Giants in the fall classic in 1933. FDR was in his first term as President, and America’s entry into World War II was still eight years in the future. Many of today’s Nats stars would not even have been welcome on that field, as the game then was still totally and disgracefully segregated.
The Nats started fast, basically putting tonight’s game away with a seven-run outburst in the first inning. They then held off the Cards rally that brought them within three runs and had long-suffering Nats fans thinking “No, not again.” Jeremy Corbin had the strikeout pitch going, but was touched for four runs in five innings. However, the bullpen, a vulnerability during the regular season, came through brilliantly, with four scoreless innings by Tanner Rainey, Sean Doolittle, and Daniel Hudson.
The Nats recovered from a horrible 19-31 start to win the NL Wildcard Game, the Divisional Championship, and now the League Championship Series. 36-year old Howie Kendrick, the hero of the Nats victory over the Dodgers in the Divisionals, was also named the MVP of this series.
Congratulations to the entire Nationals team, the organization, and the fans. The Nats will play the AL Champion, either the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees, in the World Series. The Astros currently lead that best of seven series 2-1.