Wow, what a thrilling end to the game. After being down 3-1 for a majority of the game, the. Washington Nationals scored three runs in the eighth, and steal the NL Wild Card game from the Brewers grasp 4-3.
The Nationals got a home run in the third inning from Trae Turner and that was all of their offense until the bottom of the eighth. In the decisive inning, Victor Robles started the inning with a strikeout. Pinch hitter Michael A. Taylor was hit by a pitch. Trae Turner struck out to give Hader and the Brewers two outs. Next came another pinch hitter, veteran and team captain Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman singled, allowing Taylor to get to third. Potential MVP candidate Anthony Rendon walked, loading the bases for 20 year old Juan Soto. Soto smashed a single to right, which would've scored two runs, but Brewers right fielder Trent Grisham misplayed it, which allowed Rendon to score the game winning run.
Max Scherzer started for the Nats and struggled to get it going. He ended up going five innings, giving up three runs and striking out six. Stephen Strausburg came in to relieve Scherzer and showed why he deserves CY Young buzz. He pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out four. Daniel Hudson pitched a fairly clean 9th inning, only allowing a one out single to Lorenzo Cain.
The Brewers got off to a hot start, taxing Scherzer for two runs in the first after a two run home run by catcher Yasmni Grandal. The other Brewers run came in the next frame, after Eric Thames deposited a Max Scherzer slider into the right field seats.
Milwaukee got great pitching performances from Brandon Woodruff, Brent Suter and Drew Pomeranz, who combined to go seven strong, only allowing one run on three hits. Josh Hader came in the eighth and many believed that this signaled the end for the Nats. However, Hader struggled, and gave up the lead the Brewers gained early in the game.
It's an unfortunate end to an otherwise great season for the Milwaukee Brewers. Many counted them out after Christian Yelich went down, but they exploded for 20 wins in September, good enough for the most in baseball. As for the Nationals, they of course are moving on to the NLDS to take on the NL leading Los Angeles Dodgers, in what will surely be an exciting series.
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