On the night of October 30th, the Washington Nationals became the World Champions of Baseball with a tight 4-3 series victory of the Nationals. Theatrical would be a great word to describe the face-off between the two major baseball teams. For any neutrals, it featured great scorelines each and every night with great pitching and hitting displays likewise.
For one, there was great back and forth action between the two teams, with the Nationals taking a commanding 2-0 series lead, only to be conquered in the next two games by a talented Astros offense and defense. Later on in the series, the Astros would then again claim another game in game 5, only to be brought back to a tied series a few nights later, with a big win for the Nationals with their backs against the wall.
Although the games leading up to game 7 were very important, no single game was possibly as important as game 7. Simply put, this was a win or go home game for both teams, with a World Series hanging in the balance. Reigning NL strikeout leader, Max Scherzer, would start for the Nationals with Zach Greinke starting for the Astros. Both pictures pitched well with Scherzer going five innings with two earned runs and three strikeouts and Greinke with six-point one innings pitched, two earned runs and three strikeouts. So, if both pitchers pitched very well, what was the difference in the game? Nothing served more important to the Nationals than designated hitter, Howie Kendrick’s two-run home run that would put the Nationals up by a run and give them the lead in the top of the seventh inning. After this major boost for the Nationals, the runs kept on coming with another run in the eighth and two more runs in the ninth. This would ultimately propel the Nationals to victory. Although, it wouldn’t be a true World Series recap without highlighting some major awards for the Nationals.
World Series MVP – Stephen Strasburg
Nationals Pitcher Stephen Strasburg really showed his worth in the World Series and would eventually earn the MVP award for his remarkable display of pitching through the series. Strasburg was the Nationals’ starter for both Games two and six, putting on an absolute clinic, where he would toss a combined fourteen innings, with twelve hits, four runs, and an astounding fourteen strikeouts. The numbers simply speak for themselves and with numbers like these, Stephen Strasburg was your 2019 World Series MVP.
Unsung Hero – Kurt Suzuki
In many eyes, Kurt Suzuki could be seen as a strong candidate for being the unsung hero of the 2019 World Series. Suzuki was an important piece to the Nationals as he held a strong and reliant service behind the plate as a catcher and at the plate as a hitter. His presence was truly felt after stopping some key wild pitches by Max Scherzer, especially in Game 1. On the offensive side of things, he had a key walk to start a rally for the Nationals in Game 1 in the fifth inning and in Game two, had a key solo home run in the seventh inning to break the tie between the two teams. Although Suzuki wasn’t constantly involved in the Nationals trip to winning the world series, his contributions were of great value when his team needed them to be.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Scherzer
https://abc7news.com/sports/strasburg-stars-as-nats-rout-astros-12-3-for-2-0-series-lead/5643038/
https://districtondeck.com/2019/10/24/world-series-kurt-suzuki-unsung-hero-washington-nationals/