WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Nationals capped a remarkable season Wednesday night, scrapping from unlikely wildcard winner to baseball’s World Champions, staving off elimination with a victory Tuesday and then crowning themselves in Game 7 with a come-from-behind 6-2 road victory over the Houston Astros.
Neither the Nationals nor the Astros won a single game at home, but the Nats victory set off celebration at National Park and the homes, bars and streets of the District and northern Virginia.
Fans spilled into the streets Wednesday night after the team came from behind from 2-0 to win.
Tommy Marshall watched the game with thousands of other fans at Nationals Park, where they rejoiced after every strikeout, and home run.
“For a region that is accustomed to teams blowing it…it was weird to have such strong nerve-wracking hope strong enough to keep my friends and I from leaving our seats just behind the visitor team’s dugout where we were watching the game,” Marshall said. “I think I blacked out at (Howie Kendrick’s) home run. I lost my voice, cheered harder than I’ve cheered in a long time, and they couldn’t even hear us.”
The Nats were 19-31 on May 24. They were 4-3 in the 2019 World Series, and 12-5 in the postseason. That’s all it took. Party on.
The Astros had been favorites to win the fall classic but the upstart Nats, with a combination of youthful naivete and experienced starting pitching, would have none of it.
President Trump, who was resoundingly booed during Game 5, tweeted out congratulations: “Congratulations to the Washington Nationals on a great season and an incredible World Series. Game 7 was amazing! @Nationals”
Are you ready for a slip and slide on the Nationals dugout? You’re not, but here you go:
Team owner Ted Lerner said at the trophy presentation, “A dream came true. We did it for the fans of Washington, and it feels great.”
Nationals fans exploded in celebration. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser posted a video of the celebration:
“We’re world champs tonight,” Martinez said. He called his team resilient guys “who love to play the game. … We stayed in the fight, we won the fight. I believe in these guys and they believe in each other.”
The Nationals stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the series with two wins in Houston, but were swept at home and fell behind 3-2. A 7-2 victory in Game 6 Tuesday night kept them alive in the series, leading up to the critical Game 7 Wednesday night.
Down in the 7th, home runs by Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick, gave the Nats a slim lead. A run in the eighth and two more in the ninth left the Astros limp in their dugout when the final out was snatched by catcher Yan Gomes just before 11 o’clock Houston time.
Fans in D.C. snapped up all 36,000 tickets to a watch party at Nationals Park, and there are other watch parties happening around the District as Nats fans hope for the first World Series title in D.C. since the Washington Senators — now the Minnesota Twins — did it 95 years ago.
Kathy Gillespie, a D.C. resident, was wearing her lucky Nats shirt at a Cleveland Park bar as she watched the game. She said her father is a huge Nats fan, and she spent 30 minutes talking on the phone to him about the game.
“For grandpa, we want the Nats to win,” she said.
Tom Williams Jr., of D.C. said he was “weirdly emotional” about the game. He remembered how his mother loved the Senators, and this game caused him to think of his parents and grandparents, as well as going to the D.C. stadium with his father as a kid.
“Let’s win this thing,” Williams texted a group of friends.
Jeff Howcroft, from Ottawa, Canada, lived in D.C. 10 years ago and professes to be a huge Nats fan. He drove 12 hours to watch the Nats play in D.C.
“This is my dream. I’m a baseball fan beyond belief,” Howcroft said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
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