George backet: 2017 Nationals defeat 1924 Reds in five games

Game 1: Nationals 17, Reds 1
WP: Scherzer (1-0)
LP: Rixey (1-2)
HR: Murphy (1), MA Taylor (2), Rendon (1), Harper (1), Scherzer (2)

Game 2: Nationals 4, Reds 1
WP: Gonzalez (2-0)
LP: Luque (1-1)
Save: Kelley (1)

Game 3: Reds 3, Nationals 2
WP: Mays (3-0)
LP: Strasburg (1-1)
HR: Zimmerman (3)

Game 4: Nationals 11, Reds 2
WP: Roark (2-0)
LP: Donohue (0-2)
HR: Murphy (2), Turner (2), Rendon (2), Wieters (1), Zimmerman (4)

Game 5: Nationals 9, Reds 5 (12 innings)
WP: Albers (2-0)
LP: May (0-1)
HR: Zimmerman (5), Roush (1)

The Nationals overpowered the Reds, making even spacious Redlands Field play small while outhomering Cincinnati 12 to 1 and outscoring the Reds 43-12. A third of the Reds runs came in their final at-bats of the series.


The Nats opened with a bang, scoring two runs in the second inning of the opener and adding three more in each of  the third and fifth innings. Winning pitcher Max Scherzer hit a grand slam in a nine-run sixth inning. He pitched eight innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits.

Matt Wieters tripled and doubled, scoring twice and driving in another, as the Nats took Game Two. Jayson Werth went 3-for-3. Gio Gonzalez allowed one run on two hits in six innings.

The series shifted to 1924 and Cincinnati's Redlands Field, where Carl Mays threw a complete game, scattering eight hits, in Game Three. Ivy Wingo singled in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning after Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run homer for the Nats.

The Nats put Game Four away early, with Trea Turner and Daniel Murphy opening the contest with back-to-back homers off Pete Donohue. The Nats also got two doubles and a triple in the opening frame. Anthony Rendon homered in the second, and Tanner Roark and three relievers cruised from there.

Scherzer and Eppa Rixey dueled in Game Five. Zimmerman homered in the second, and Wingo singled home Curt Walker in the sixth to tie it. Rixey went 10 innings before giving way to a pinch-hitter. Scherzer left after seven innings, with Oliver Perez, Brandon Kintzler and Matt Albers combining for four scoreless innings. The Nats erupted for eight runs in the top of the 12th, aided by a pair of Hughie Critz errors and a passed ball. The Reds scored four runs in the bottom of the inning, with Edd Roush hitting a two-run homer, but Shawn Kelly got the last out to end the game and series.

Player of the Series: Max Scherzer

Projected rotation: Scherzer-Gonzalez-Strasburg-Roark-(Scherzer)-(Gonzalez)-(Strasburg)