The Nats win the Pennant!!!

After a dramatic come-from-behind win in the Wild Card game against the Brewers, and another equally dramatic come-from-behind win in game 5 of the NLDS against the 106 win Dodgers, the Nats finally played in their first National League Championship series. We faced the NL Central Champion St. Louis Cardinals after they took care of the Braves, in a rematch of the Nats first playoff series back in 2012. Another chance to vanquish ghosts of playoffs past.

The series started out in St. Louis, and the Nats took care of business in Game 1, with Aníbal Sánchez throwing 7 and 2/3 scoreless innings and the Nats shutting out the Cardinals 2-0. Not to be outmatched, Max Sherzer didn't give up a hit until the 7th in Game 2, and the Nats won 3-1 taking a commanding 2 games to none lead with the series shifting back to DC. Owen and I were there feeling the buzz in Nats Park with Stephen Strasburg on the mound starting the first ever NLCS game in DC. The Nats jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the third and never looked back, with Strasburg dominating and the Howie Kendrick leading an outburst of timely hitting, they beat the Cardinals 8-1.

Owen decided to have Elaine go to Game 4 instead of him since it was a school night, and of course Elaine was super nervous that somehow she would thus be the cause of some epic collapse that would keep the Nats out of the World Series. But she really had nothing to worry about. The atmosphere was electric and the Nats must have fed off it as they exploded for 7 runs in the first inning, chasing Cardinals started after just 15 pitches. Those 7 runs were all they would score and all they would need. The Cardinals scored one in the 4th and 3 in the 5th to make it a game again, and the crowd was anxious just wanting more outs so the real party could start. Of course these Nats delivered, Rainey pitched a scoreless 6th, Doolittle and Hudson each pitched an inning plus, then Victor Robles caught a high fly ball to center for the last out of the game and the Nats won the Pennant! Elaine and I just stood there cheering along with the rest of the sellout crowd, basking in the celebration. Fireworks burst in the sky, as the Nats celebrated on the field, they rolled out a stage and lofted the trophy high in the air. For the first time since 1933, a World Series is coming to Washington, DC!


(click here for all the pictures)