*Photo from USA Today*
Series tied 3-3
The Washington Nationals handed Stephen Strasburg their season. He didn't disappoint. Strasburg dominated, Anthony Rendon had a big game, and the Nats cruised to a 7-2 victory to force a win or go home game 7. Strasburg's game 6 start was a notch on a long line of postseason success for Strasburg, especially this postseason. Juan Soto even carried his bat all the way to first base on a homer, mimicking what Alex Bregman did in the first inning.
The Nationals opened the scoring in the first inning, when Rendon hit an RBI single to make it 1-0. Houston took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first on a Jose Altuve sac fly and a Bregman homer, which he carried his bat all the way to first base. It stayed that way until the 5th inning, when Adam Eaton tied the game with a solo homer to right field. Soto followed that up with a solo shot to right as well, carrying his bat to first to imitate Bregman. In the 7th, Rendon hit a two run homer to make it 5-2 Washington. In the 9th, Rendon hit a two run double to make it 7-2.
Strasburg went 8 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on 5 hits and two walks. He struck out 7 for his second win of the world series. Sean Doolittle closed out the Astros to finish the game. Strasburg said he was tipping pitches in the first inning, which led to Houston's runs. He said that ''Started shaking my glove, so they didn't know what I was throwing, it's something that has burned me in the past, and it burned me there in the first.'' He went on to say that ''It was a mental grind out there, especially after the first, just got to keep fighting.'' Soto said of bringing his bat to first base that ''I just thought it was pretty cool, I wanted to do it.'' The Nats have luck on their side for game 7, as road teams have won every game this world series. Rendon said ''Maybe they enjoy our park and maybe we enjoy their park, we're not going to ask questions."
This game didn't go without controversy. In the 7th inning, Trea Turner hit a grounder down the third base line. The throw was errant, so Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel extended his glove to try and catch it, and hit Turner in the process. The ball got away, and Turner got to second, while Yan Gomes got to third. Interference was called on Turner, so he was ruled out and Gomes had to go back to first base. This enraged manager Dave Martinez, as he immediately hopped out of the dugout and got in home plate umpire Lance Barksdale's face. For a while, he seemed to calm down, but in between innings, he came out again, and started screaming at every umpire, resulting in an ejection. Perhaps Martinez's frustration with the umpires all series had finally boiled over. Martinez tried to protest the game, but MLB's rulebook states that games cannot be protested over judgement calls, which interference is. Joe Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, was in attendance, and witnessed the whole thing. Nats players wondered why he didn't step in. Regardless, it didn't matter, as Rendon homered shortly after. Chip Hale managed the rest of the game for Washington.
Justin Verlander went 5 innings for Houston, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. He fell to a career 0-6 record in the world series. Verlander said that ''I didn't really have great feel for the off-speed stuff, the last inning just a poorly executed slider and then really just kind of a fastball up and in.'' Bregman regretted bringing his bat all the way to first base, saying that ''I just let my emotions get the best of me and it's not how I was raised to play the game, I'm sorry for doing that." Manager AJ Hinch said of the road record this world series that ''I don't think there's a person in the building that would have assumed that all road teams were going to win, we've just got to make sure that last one is not the same.'' Hinch said of Strasburg that ''He has an uncanny ability to slow the game down when he's under any duress."
Game 7 is Wednesday night in Houston, and Max Scherzer, after getting scratched from game 5, will be starting for Washington. Scherzer said that ''The cortisone shot worked. That relieved the pressure on the nerve, and then keep applying heat, our chiropractor, he does amazing work. He was able to go in there and make adjustments. We did two treatments of it and really freed up the neck.'' The Nationals will have everyone available, including starters Anibal Sanchez and Patrick Corbin, and maybe even Strasburg, who knows. It would be worth pitching Strasburg two straight days if it meant Washington would get their first world series championship. Zack Greinke starts for Houston. The Astros might use Gerrit Cole out of the bullpen on short rest, and maybe even Verlander. Jose Urquidy, game 4 starter, could be used as a bridge from Greinke to their top relievers. Basically what I'm saying is, all hands are on deck for game 7.
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