Saturday, December 5, 2020

Metroplex bracket: 2019 Nationals sweep 1973 Orioles

Game One: Nationals 6, Orioles 5
WP: Scherzer (3-0)
LP: Palmer (1-1)
Save: Doolittle (5)
HR: Br Robinson (1), Kendrick (2), Adams (1)

Game Two: Nationals 6, Orioles 5
WP: Strasburg (3-0)
LP: McNally (2-1)
Save: Hudson (1)
HR: Baylor (2), Soto (3), Rendon (4)

Game Three: Nationals 4, Orioles 1
WP: Corbin (3-0)
LP: Cuellar (1-1)
Save: Suero (2)
HR: Kendrick (3), Zimmerman (1), Crowley (2)

Game Four: Nationals 8, Orioles 7 (13 innings)
WP: Fedde (1-0)
LP: Reynolds (0-1)
Save: Suero (3)
HR: Rettemund (1), Gomes (1), Parra (1)

The games were close; the series was one-sided.

The host Nationals opened Game One by scoring two in the first, one in the second and two more in the third off Jim Palmer. Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer and Adam Eaton scored twice in those innings. The Orioles pulled within one after the top of the seventh, but Matt Adams pinch-hit a homer in the bottom of the inning. The Orioles got three runs in the final three innings against the Washington bullpen, but Sean Doolittle retired Brooks Robinson with the tying rnn on third and the go-ahead run on second to end it.

Game Two followed much the same pattern, right down to the final score. Juan Soto hit a two-run homer in the first inning,and Anthony Rendon hit a two-run homer in the fifth for a 5-2 lead. The Orioles rallied late against the Nats' bullpen but never caught up. 

The series shifted to Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, where lefties Patrick Corbin and Mike Cuellar matched scoreless frame for seven innings. In the eighth Kendrick hit a two-run homer with two outs off Cuellar, and Ryan Zimmerman followed with a solo homer. Terry Crowley hit a pinch-hit homer in the bottoms of the inning, but the Nats added a run in the ninth for the widest winning margin of the series.

Yan Gomes and Geraldo Parra each drove in four runs in the 13-inning finale. Gomes hit a three-run homer in the second, and Parra hit a two-run homer in the fourth and drove in two more with a double in the sixth. Gomes also had an RBI single in the 13th to put the Nats in front. Eric Fredde worked three scoreless innings for the win, and Wander Suero closed it out for his second straight save. Merv Rettemund hit a game-tying pinch-hit homer in the ninth off Doolittle.

Player availability: Washington's pitchers will be fully rested for the opener of Round Four.

Projected rotation; Scherzer-Strasburg-Corbin-Sanchez-(Scherzer)-(Strasburg)-(Corbin)

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