At the end of the 6th inning of this second game of the World Series, this was a pitcher’s duel between Justin Verlander and Stephen Strasburg who were knotted in a 2-2 game. As Verlander was tiring, he got ambushed by Kurt Suzuki in a 1-0 count to put the Nats up with a monster home run. Suzuki was 1-26 (.038) to that point in this postseason. After the home run, the flood gates opened as the Nationals knocked out Verlander then went on to score 8 runs off of the Astros bullpen. The final score was 12-3, and the Nationals take the first two games on the road in Houston. The Nationals will fly back to D.C. tomorrow mid-day and will have home field advantage for the remainder of the World Series as the first team to win four games will hoist the Commissioner’s trophy.
Like Max Scherzer last night, Stephen Strasburg was squeezed by this ump like Minute Maid orange juice. It got ridiculous on some of the calls, but Strasburg only gave up two runs in the first inning on a hanging changeup that the slumping Alex Bregman did not miss. In the 6th inning, Strasburg had to work around a double and some calls that did not go his way but with two outs he struck out Kyle Tucker with two men on-base in the 2-2 game. That strikeout was the turning point in the game as Strasburg was pitching on fumes as he was at a 114 pitch count in his six innings of work, and dotted an outside curveball to fool Tucker. Strasburg’s win in this game was his fourth of this postseason.
Every Nats starter had a hit in this game except for Victor Robles who had a key walk in that 7th inning. Good luck picking your offensive star in this one as the Nats had 14 hits and 6 walks, but Suzuki had the go-ahead home run, and it was Asdrubal Caberera who had three RBIs. In the first inning, it was Anthony Rendon who knocked in two runs with a double, and that was all of the Nats scoring until the 7th inning.
Manager Dave Martinez named Anibal Sanchez as his starter for Friday in the first ever home World Series game in Washington, D.C. in 86 years when Walter Johnson was dominating.
“The [Nats fans] have been great all postseason,” Ryan Zimmerman said. “Every postseason they’ve been great. There’s been a lot of talk about how the fans have grown up, and they’ve become fans again. You need something like this for your fanbase. … We expect it to be loud.”
Of course Nats Park is sold-out and ticket prices are climbing. Will they fall? We will see, but right now if you want a ticket get ready to shell out over $1,000.
