HOUSTON — Stephen Strasburg‘s time had come.
Famously held out of the post-season seven years ago, Strasburg delivered on the biggest stage of all Wednesday night.
The right-hander outpitched fellow ace Justin Verlander, overcoming a shaky start to help the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 12-3 for a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series.
Strasburg went six innings to earn the win — and a group hug in the dugout when he was done on the mound.
“They keep squeezing me a little harder every time,” he said. “That’s OK.”
Kurt Suzuki hit a tiebreaking homer in what became a messy six-run seventh inning, and the Nationals headed back home to Washington for the next two games — three if needed.
Adam Eaton paraded around the bases pointing to the Houston crowd after a late home run as the Nationals won their eighth in a row. They’ve won 18 of 20 overall dating back to the regular season, with the last two over AL Cy Young Award favourites Gerrit Cole and Verlander.
Game 3 is Friday night when Anibal Sanchez opposes Houston’s Zack Greinke in the first World Series game in the nation’s capital since 1933.
“Probably going to be a little frigid, might be a little cold, so bring your jackets and your beanies,” said slugger Anthony Rendon, who hit a two-run double in the first inning.
The 31-year-old Strasburg had waited years for this chance. Back in 2012, he was about two years removed from Tommy John surgery when Nationals brass decided protecting his elbow was more important than pitching him in the playoffs, so he was shut down late in a season full of promise.
Making his Series debut, Strasburg allowed a two-run homer to Alex Bregman in the first before throwing five shutout innings to improve 4-0 this post-season. He allowed seven hits and struck out seven.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez was asked what’s allowed Strasburg to be so good this post-season.
“One, he has the confidence to do it and two, he’s become a premier pitcher, a big-game pitcher,” Martinez said. “He doesn’t get rattled.”
Verlander, so good in the regular season, fell to 0-5 in six World Series starts. He gave up seven hits and four runs, and was lifted after walking a batter following Suzuki’s home run.
Verlander led the majors with 21 wins this season and struck out a career-high 300 to reach 3,000 in his career. He has a World Series ring, MVP and Cy Award trophies, and three no-hitters on his resume.
He struck out six to become the career leader in post-season Ks with 202 — another impressive statistic on a stellar resume that’s still missing that elusive World Series win.
“Obviously it’s magnified in the World Series when you’re not clicking on all cylinders,” Verlander said.
Their wins against Houston’s best pitchers turned the underdog Nationals into heavy favourites to take the title. Only three of the previous 25 teams to lose the first two games at home under the 2-3-2 format have come back to win the Series. No one has done it since the 1996 New York Yankees.
“I wish I was a betting man, but I’m not,” Martinez said. “I don’t really believe in that stuff. … We’re here because the boys never gave up.”
But the Astros insist the tough start hasn’t dampened their confidence.
“We have a really good team,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Clearly, the Nats have outplayed us — bottom line. They came into our building and played two really good games. We’re going to have to try to sleep off the latter third of this game.”
Added shortstop Carlos Correa on digging out of the early hole: “If there is a team out there that can do it, it’s us.”
Things went wrong immediately for Verlander when he walked leadoff man Trea Turner on four pitches. Eaton, who homered in the eighth, singled before Rendon, the Houston native who said he’d certainly have 100 friends and family members at Minute Maid Park for each game, knocked a ball off the wall in left field to put the Nationals up 2-0.
“This is my city. I love Houston,” Rendon said. “We were going to try to just steal one game and we just happened to steal two, and we’ve got to take care of business at home.”
Long after most players had left the field and only a handful of Nationals, including Rendon, were left, a small but boisterous crowd of Washington fans assembled behind their dugout. The red-clad group cheered and waved their hands as the players ascended the dugout stairs, finishing up an out-of-town party they hope to continue at home on Friday.
Michael Brantley singled with two outs in the bottom of the first before Bregman’s homer to left field tied it. After hitting .167 with no homers in the ALCS and struggling in the opener of this series, Bregman took a second to admire his homer before nonchalantly tossing his bat and trotting to first.
All eight of Bregman’s post-season home runs have come off All-Stars.
Verlander got his 200th post-season strikeout when he fanned Victor Robles for the second out in the second inning. The eight-time All-Star passed John Smoltz, who had 199 and was in the TV booth for Fox to see his record fall.
Verlander and Strasburg both settled in after their early wobbles and neither pitcher allowed the hitters to string much together until things fell apart for Houston in the seventh.
Suzuki sent Verlander’s 100th pitch sailing above the seats in left field to start the inning and put the Nationals on top. Ryan Pressly, who left Game 6 of the ALCS with a knee injury, took over and didn’t look right from the start.
He walked Turner before Hinch called for his first intentional walk of the season when he gave Juan Soto a free pass to load the bases with two outs. Howie Kendrick, Asdrubal Cabrera and Ryan Zimmerman followed with successive singles to bust this one open, putting the Nationals up 8-2. As those hits were piling up and run after run crossed the plate, many in the stunned sellout crowd of 43,357 began streaming for the exits.
Hinch was asked what happened in the seventh inning.
“Where would you like me to start? The leadoff homer? That’s what happened,” he said. “It started with the leadoff homer and then a tough at-bat with Robles.”
Michael A. Taylor padded the lead further when he hit a solo homer off Chris Devenski in the ninth.
The only time Strasburg was under any kind of real duress after the first inning came when Yuli Gurriel doubled with one out in the sixth before the Nationals intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez. But the slumping Correa hit a weak fly ball for an out before rookie pinch-hitter Kyle Tucker struck out, allowing Strasburg to wriggle out of the jam and end his solid night.
While the game was still close, Verlander made a play guaranteed to put him on the World Series blooper reel. It came in the fourth inning when he spun to the ground and skidded on his back to snag a soft tapper from Zimmerman on the third base side. The grab was fine, but his worst throw of the night came next when he bounced it off his left shin. He got to his feet to reveal grass stains on the back his jersey and on his hip, shook his head and chuckled at his errant toss.
UP NEXT
Sanchez returns after two sharp starts this post-season, capped by taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Game 1 of the NLCS against St. Louis.
Greinke, a trade-deadline pickup, hasn’t been nearly has strong this post-season and is 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in three October starts. A bonus of playing in an NL park is that Greinke will get to hit, something he enjoys — and is pretty good at. He’s a career .225 hitter with nine homers, including a career-high three this season.
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October 24, 2019 at 11:43AM
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