Washington Joins Cleveland in Fall Classic

 

Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.  A recap of the semi-final series:

Game One (WASH 6, STL 4) - The Nationals used the long ball to get to Jacob deGrom, as Kevin Newman, Mike Tauchman, and Jose Ramirez, each went yard, to spearhead a 6-4 game one victory. Tim Hill threw two shutout innings in relief of starter Sonny Gray to get the win. deGrom went seven, striking out 10 and took the loss.

Game Two (WASH 7, STL 6 in 16 INNINGS) - The two teams were tied at 4 after six innings and then the bats went deadly silent. Fans would have to wait until the 16th inning to see another run cross the plate and they got much more then they bargined for. St. Louis scored two runs in the top of the 16th off Ryan Yarborough. Javy Baez lead off the bottom of the 16th with a solo homer to cut the lead to one. After an out was recorded, JD Martinez drew a walk, then Juan Soto sent a bomb over the left-center wall to give the Nats the win and a 2-0 series lead.

Game Three (WASH 5, STL 2) - With a depleted bullpen, Washington had no choice but to hand the game over to Stephen Strasburg and go as long as humanly possible. The Nats' bats were very patient with Cards starter Zach Plesac, drawing five walks and scoring three runs over his six innings. Strasburg conserved his pitches as best he could and was able to go the distance, striking out 10 to get the win. Washington leads the series 3-0.

Game Four (STL 2, WASH 1 in 16 INNINGS) - These two teams enjoyed their 16 inning affair so much in Game Two, they decided to match it in Game Four. Both teams tied at one, headed into extra innings, as both bullpens shined. In the 16th innings, catcher Tucker Barnhart, drove home Carlos Santana with the running run. Washington leads the series 3 games to 1,

Game Five (WASH 7, STL 0) - The fifth game of this series was the Max Fried show. Fried spun seven shutout innings, fanning eight Cardinals. Juan Soto and Mike Trout homered for Washington, giving them a four-to-one series win.