Champions! Washington Nationals Win the 2019 World Series for the First Time in Franchise History
A wild World Series that was filled with unexpected moments and unbelievable comebacks has come to an end — and the Washington Nationals have been crowned new MLB champions!
The Nationals beat the Houston Astros with a score of 6-2 on Wednesday to win Game 7, capping off the 2019 World Series.
The victory concluded an exciting contest that saw the Nats steal three games from the heavily favored Astros in Houston and also marks the first time that the franchise has won a World Series in their history.
Though it appeared that the Astros might take home the championship on Wednesday after carrying a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning, the Nationals stayed relentless and hit back — bringing in three runs, including a one-out home run, to take the game’s lead.
They continued that momentum in the final two innings, bringing in three more runs to pull their lead to 6-2 by the ninth.
While things were going awry for the Astros on the field to start and end the series, the team was also having trouble off of it.
Just after Houston beat the New York Yankees to reach the World Series, Astros assistant general manager Brandon Taubman turned to three female reporters and made comments at them in support of Astros closer Roberto Osuna, who was previously charged with domestic violence. (The charges against Osuna have since been dropped in exchange for a mandate that says the baseball player won’t have contact with the alleged victim for one year.)
The incident, which was documented by one of the reporters in a Sports Illustrated article, caused a flurry of controversy that continued through the first two games until Taubman was fired on October 25.
The team also apologized for their controversial initial response to the incident, in which they accused one of the reporters of taking the comments out of context and “fabricating” a “misleading and completely irresponsible” story.
With the Nationals carrying all of the momentum heading into the next two games back in Washington, D.C., it seemed as if they were poised to sweep the series — or at least win one out of two at home.
But the tides turned when Houston won Game 3 and Game 4, with President Donald and Melania Trump making an appearance before the series headed back to Houston.
The president, 73, and the first lady, 49, received their share of ire from ballpark goers, with many in the crowd erupting into a roaring sea of “boos” as the couple’s image flashed on the big screen.
Critics also chanted “lock him up” — flipping the phrase President Trump and his supporters have famously directed at his 2016 Democratic presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton.
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But Trump wasn’t the only guest to draw attention during Game 5 — two women in yellow shirts seated behind home plate could be seen lifting their tops and exposing their bare breasts. At the time, Houston Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole was on the mound.
Later, two models identified themselves as the women involved in the stunt on social media. Julia Rose and Lauren Summer both responded to tweets about the incident and shared several of their own referencing the flashers and claiming responsibility.
With the series shifting back to Minute Maid Park, the Astros won once again, taking a commanding 3-2 lead over the Nationals — placing them just one win away from their second World Series championship in two years.
But the Nationals stood their ground, winning Game 6 7-2 after a dramatic sixth inning that saw their coach David Martinez ejected.
In addition to winning it all, this is the first time the Washington franchise had played in the World Series in their history.
