Stat break: 2017 Washington Nationals

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Difo                 13     2     4     1       2   0     0      0      0    .308
Goodwin         29     2     7     5       4    0     1     4      1    .241
Harper           131   26   43   16       6    1    6    15      0    .328
Kendrick         50   10   16   10       4    0    1      4      0     .320
Lind                30     5     8     6       1    0    3      3      0    .267
Lobaton            5     1     0     1       0    0     0     0      0    .000
Murphy         134   15   41   21    18    1    4      6      0     .306
Rendon         130   22   36   20       7    0    6    10     1     .278
MA Taylor    120   17   25   26       3   1     9      4      3    .208
T Turner       134    23  31     7       6    1    3    12      4    .231
Werth              63     6   16     3       2    1    2      6      0    .254
Wieters          120   14   31   19      9    1    3      9      1    .258
Zimmerman  128   26   39   30      8    0   11      8      1    .305

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L     ERA

Albers            10      0     14           5     6       6      5   12       0      3    0       3.86

Blanton            3      0       3           2     1       1      1     2       0      0     0       3.00

Cole                 2      0       1.6        1     0      0       2     0       0       0     0      0.00
Doolittle        12      0       9.3      15   10      9       3     8       7      0     2        8.68

Gonzalez         8      8     49.3      30   14    13     21   46       0      5     1        2.37

Grace             12      0     13.3      15     5      5       3     9        0      0     0      3.38
E Jackson        2      0      1.3         1     0       0       0    0        0      0     0       0.00 

Kelley              6      0     3.6         4     0      0       1      0        1      0     0      0.00
Kintzler         17      0    21.6       12     3      2       1     7        2      2     0       0.83
Madson         10      0      6.6         1     0      0       1      8        0      0     0      0.00

O Perez           8      0      7.3         5     2      2       2      7       0      0     1       2.46

Roark              7      7    51         46   17     14     12    36       0      2     3       2.47
E Romero      10      0      7.3      15   11    11       4      8       1      0     0      13.50

Scherzer        10    10    72.3      51   23    21     26    90       0       3     1       2.61
Solis                6     0       2.3        2      1      1      0       0        0      0     0      3.86
Strasburg         8     8    51.6      43    14     11    14     53       0      6     1       1.92
JA Turner        2      0      1          7      4       4      1       2        0      0     0    36.00

Championship round: 2017 Nationals defeat 2017 Indians in six games

Game 1: Nationals 3, Indians 2
WP: Scherzer (4-1)
LP: Miller (1-2)
Save: Doolittle (5)
HR: Lindor (4)

Game 2: Nationals 4, Indians 3
WP: Strasburg (5-1)
LP: Carrasco (4-1)
Save: Doolittle (6)
HR: Lind (2), Harper (6), Lindor (5)

Game 3: Indians 6, Nationals 4 (13 innings)
WP: Shaw (1-0)
LP: O Perez (0-1)
Save: Allen (6)
HR: Zimmerman (10), Gomes (2), Wieters (3)

Game 4: Indians 3, Nationals 2
WP: Clevenger (3-0)
LP: Roark (2-3)
Save: Allen (7)
HR: Bruce (5)

Game 5: Nationals 7, Indians 5
WP: Scherzer (5-1)
LP: Kluber (5-2)
Save: Doolittle (7)
HR: Encarncion (5), MA Taylor (9), Lind (3)

Game 6: Nationals 5, Indians 3
WP: Strasburg (6-1)
LP: Smith (0-2)
Save: Kintzler (2)
HR: Zimmerman (11), Chisenhall (5)

The 2017 Washington Nationals won -- and earned -- the title in Tournament Two, defeating the 2017 Cleveland Indians in six games in the final round.

Max Scherzer outdueled Corey Kluber in the opener in Cleveland's Progressive Field. Scherzer allowed two runs on four hits in eight innings while striking out 11. Francisco Lindor homered to lead off the game for the Tribe, and Lonnie Chisenhall tripled in Jose Ramirez in the fourth to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead. But the Nats scored a run in the fifth, and in the seventh Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon each had RBI hits off Andrew Miller to put the visitors ahead,

The Nats won Game Two by one run as well. Harper and designated hitter Adam Lind each homered in the first two innings off Carlos Carrasco, and Matt Wieters doubled in a pair in the seventh to give Washington a 4-1 lead. Stephen Strasburg went six innings, allowing one run on seven hits, for the win.

The Nationals took their two-games-to-none advantage home to D.C., and the Indians got back into the series with a 13-inning win in Game Three. The Nats had a 4-1 lead after four innings, but Chisenhall doubled for two runs in the eighth to even the score, and the two bullpens shut things down for the next four innings, until Yan Gomes hit a two-out, two-run homer off Oliver Perez in the 13th. Bryan Shaw threw three scoreless innings for the win.

Cleveland evened the series in Game Four behind a three-run fifth inning that included a costly two-base error by center fielder Michael A. Taylor. Mike Clevenger went 6.2 innings for the win.

The Nats won pivotal Game Five in the highest scoring tilt of the series. Taylor hit a two-run homer to give Washington a 4-0 lead in the fourth, and Lind hit a two-run pinch-hit shot in the seventh after the Indians pulled within two. Zimmerman's double in the seventh gave Washington a 7-3 lead. Enny Romero gave much of that margin away with a three-run gopher ball to Edwin Encarncion in the eighth, but that was the last baserunner the Indians had in the game.

Washington wrapped it up in Cleveland in Game Six. Zimmerman hit a two-run homer in the second and scored three runs overall to back Strasburg, who allowed two earned runs on four hits in seven innings. Brandon Kintzler retired all six men he faced for the save.

Player of the series: Ryan Zimmerman

Stat break: 2017 Washington Nationals

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Difo                 11     2     4     1       2   0     0      0      0    .364
Goodwin         22     2     4     4       3    0     1     3      1    .182
Harper           110   24   38   14       5    1    5    13      0    .345
Kendrick         45     9   14     8       4    0    1      2      0     .311
Lind                20     3     5     2       0    0    1       2      0    .250
Lobaton            4     1     0     1       0    0     0     0      0    .000
Murphy         113   13   37   21    16    0    4      4      0     .327
Rendon         107   21   32   19       6    0    6      9     1     .299
MA Taylor    106   14   22   24       3   1     8       2      3    .208
T Turner       113    21   25    7       6    1    3      9      4    .221
Werth              56     6   15     3       1    1    2      6      0    .268
Wieters          102   11   26   15       6    1   2      8      1    .255
Zimmerman  108   21   29   25      6    0    9      7      1    .269

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L     ERA

Albers              9      0     13           5     6       6      5   11       0      3    0        4.15

Blanton            3      0       3           2     1       1      1     2       0      0     0       3.00

Cole                 2      0       1.6        1     0      0       2     0       0       0     0      0.00
Doolittle          8      0       5.3      12     9      8       3     4       4      0     2      13.51

Gonzalez         7      7     43.3      24   12    12     19   38       0      5     1        2.49

Grace             11      0     12.3      12     3      3       3     9        0      0     0      2.19
E Jackson        2      0      1.3         1     0       0       0    0        0      0     0       0.00 

Kelley              6      0     3.6         4     0      0       1      0        1      0     0      0.00
Kintzler         13      0    14.6         8     2      1       1     5        1      2     0       0.62
Madson           8      0      5.6         1     0      0       1      6        0      0     0      0.00

O Perez           5      0      3.6         3     0      0       1       3       0      0     0       0.00

Roark              6      6    36          42  14     13     11    31       0      2     2        3.35
E Romero        8      0      4.6      13     8      8       3      5       1      0     0       15.42

Scherzer          8     8     58.3      43   19     17    21     74        0      3     1      2.62
Solis                6     0       2.3        2      1      1      0       0        0      0     0       3.86
Strasburg         6     6    38.6      31    11     10    11     35       0      4     1       2.33
JA Turner        2      0      1          7      4       4      1       2        0      0     0    36.00

Final four: 2017 Nationals defeat 2017 Dodgers in seven games

Game 1: Dodgers 7, Nationals 5
WP: Kershaw (4-2)
LP: Scherzer (2-1)
Save: Jansen (7)
HR: Werth 2 (2), Hernandez (1), Seager (3), Harper (4)

Game 2: Dodgers 5, Nationals 4
WP: Jansen (2-0)
LP: Doolittle (0-2)
HR: Utley (1), Seager (4), Rendon (6)

Game 3: Nationals 13, Dodgers 6
WP: Madson (1-0)
LP: Cigrani (0-1)
HR: Bellinger (5), MA Taylor 2 (6), Wieters (1), Harper (5), Murphy (3), Hernandez (2), C Taylor (2)

Game 4: Nationals 5, Dodgers 1
WP: Strasburg (4-1)
LP: Darvish (0-2)
HR: Wieters (2), T Turner (3)

Game 5: Nationals 7, Dodgers 3
WP: Scherzer (3-1)
LP: Kershaw (4-3)
HR: Puig (5), MA Taylor (7), Granderson (4)

Game 6: Dodgers 5, Nationals 3
WP: Fields (2-0)
LP: Roark (2-2)
Save: Jansen (8)
HR: Pederson (2), Zimmerman (8)

Game 7: Nationals 3, Dodgers 1
WP: Gonzalez (5-1)
LP: Wood (2-1)
Save: Doolittle (4)
HR: Murphy (4), MA Taylor (8)

The Nationals hit 15 homers in the seven games and won all three games in Washington to reach the finals.

Los Angeles took Game One at home, scoring four runs in the third inning off Max Scherzer. Yasmani Grandal and Curtis Granderson hit consecutive doubles in that rally. The Nats hit four homers, but only one came with a man on base.

Chase Utley's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth won Game Two for the Dodgers. Utley's blast off Washington closer Sean Doolittle followed the Nationals taking the lead in the top of the inning with an unearned run off Kenley Jansen.

The series moved East to Washington for a Game Three slugfest. Consecutive doubles by Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy knocked Alex Wood out of the game in the fifth inning. But Gio Gonzalez didn't last much longer, and Chris Taylor tied it with a solo homer in the seventh off Brandon Kintzler. But the Nationals racked three Dodger pitchers for seven runs in the eighth, with Michael A. Taylor and Matt Wieters hitting consecutive homers off Josh Fields and Bryce Harper a two-run shot off Tony Watson.

Stephen Strasburg allowed one run in 6.2 innings in Game Four, striking out 12. The Nats scored three in the third off Yu Darvish and added another in the fifth. Matt Grace threw two scoreless inning to wrap it up.

Scherzer went eight innings for the win in Game Five, allowing a solo homer to Granderson in the third but just two other singles. Brian Goodwin cracked the game open with a two-run pinch-hit double as the Nats scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Facing elimination in their home park in Game Six, the Dodgers pinch hit for starter Rich Hill in the fourth inning with a 1-0 lead. Joc Pederson made the move pay off with a grand-slam off Tanner Roark. The Dodger bullpen wasn't brilliant, but it got 15 outs without giving up the lead.

Which set up Game Seven. Murphy homered in the second off Alex Wood, and Gio Gonzalez held the 1-0 lead into the seventh. With two on and two out, Ryan Madson relieved to retire Chris Taylor. Michael Taylor hit a two-run homer off Pedro Baez to extend the lead to 3-0. Kintzler gave up an unearned run in the eighth and got the first two hitters of the ninth before giving way to Doolittle, who retired Utley to wrap up the series.

Player of the Series: Trea Turner.

Pitching availability: Kintzler should be limited to one inning in Game 1.

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

Stat break: 2017 Washington Nationals

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Difo                   7     1     2    1        1   0     0      0      0    .286
Goodwin         16     2     3    2        2    0     1     1      0    .188
Harper             82   17   28    8        4    1    3    12      0    .341
Kendrick         32     7   10    6        4    0    1     1      0     .313
Lind                16     2     4    1        0    0    1       2      0    .250
Lobaton            4     1     0    1        0    0     0     0      0    .000
Murphy          86     9   28  14      12    0    2      3      0    .326
Rendon           82   16   26  15        5    0    5      6      0    .317
MA Taylor     80   10   17  16        3   1     4       2      3    .213
T Turner         86   14   15    5        2    0    2      6       1    .174
Werth              47     4   12    0        1    1    0      6      0    .255
Wieters           76     8   22   13       6    1    0      7      1    .289
Zimmerman    84   17   24   22      4    0    7      3      1    .286

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L     ERA

Albers              6      0       9           3     4       4      3     6       0      3    0        4.00

Blanton            3      0       3           2     1       1      1     2       0      0     0       3.00

Cole                 2      0       1.6        1     0      0       2     0       0       0     0      0.00
Doolittle          6      0       5         11     7       7      3     4       3      0     1      12.60

Gonzalez         5      5     31.6      16     7      7    12    26       0      4     1        1.99

Grace               8      0      7.3         8     3      3       3     7        0      0     0      3.68
E Jackson        2      0      1.3         1     0       0       0    0        0      0     0       0.00 

Kelley              6      0     3.6         4     0      0       1      0        1      0     0      0.00
Kintzler         10      0    10           5     0       0       0     3        1      2     0       0.00
Madson           5      0      4.6         1     0      0       1      5        0      0     0      0.00

O Perez           5      0      3.63      3     0      0       1       3       0      0     0       0.00

Roark              4      4    26.3      29     6       5       5    20       0      2     1       1.71
E Romero        5      0      2.6        8     6       6       1      4       1      0     0     20.22

Scherzer          6     6     43.3      34   13     11    16     49        0      2      0      2.28
Solis                6     0       2.3        2      1      1      0       0        0      0     0       3.86
Strasburg         5     5    32.3      28    10       9      9     23       0      3     1       2.51
JA Turner        2      0      1          7      4       4      1       2        0      0     0    36.00

George bracket: 2017 Nationals sweep 2017 Yankees

Game 1: Nationals 2, Yankees 1 (13 innings)
WP: Albers (3-0)
LP: Betances (1-1)
HR: S Castro (3)

Game 2: Nationals 9, Yankees 8
WP: Kintzler (1-0)
LP: Chapman (0-2)
HR: Goodwin (1), Sanchez (8), Harper (3), MA Taylor (4)

Game 3: Nationals 5, Yankees 0
WP: Gonzalez (4-1)
LP: Sabathia (1-1)
HR: Zimmerman (7)

Game 4: Nationals 4, Yankees 3 (10 innings)
WP: Kintzler (2-0)
LP: Kahnle (1-1)
Save: Doolittle (3)
HR: Judge (9), Hicks (1)

The vaunted New York bullpen suffered repeated meltdowns in the four games as the Nationals won three of the contests in their final at-bats.

The series opened in Washington with Max Scherzer (eight innings, four hits, 11 strikeouts) and Luis Severino (7.1 innings, three hits, 10 strikeouts) matching goose eggs. Their relievers followed suit until the 13th, when Starlin Castro hit a two-out homer off Matt Albers, in his third inning of relief, With Arodis Chapman and David Robertson having already been used, the Yankees used Dellin Betances in the bottom of the inning. Pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick singled. After Trea Turner popped up, Betances walked Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy (with a wild pitch mixed in) in succession to tie the game. With Ryan Zimmerman at the plate, Harper then scored the winning run on a passed ball charged to Gary Sanchez.

That pitchers duel was followed by Game Two's slugfest. Masahiro Tanaka was pretty good for five innings (one run allowed) but Betances and Adam Warren each allowed three runs in one inning of work apiece. The Yankees scored four runs off Jacob Turner in the sixth and two more in the ninth off Matt Grace to take an 8-7 lead, but Chapman allowed singles to Harper and Rendon in the bottom of the inning followed by Zimmerman's two-out two-run double.

Gio Gonzalez took a two-hit shutout into the ninth of Game Three in Yankee Stadium, while Zimmerman hit a two-run homer and Matt Wieters chased home two runs with a double. Gonzalez walked the leadoff man in the ninth, and Brandon Kintzler entered to get three outs from two hitters, Aaron Judge and Sanchez, to end it.

The Nats wrapped up the series with another extra-inning win in Game Four. Wieters doubled in three runs in the second inning. Judge hit a two-run homer for New York in the third off Stephen Strasburg, and Aaron Hicks a solo shot in the fifth to tie the game at three. It remained 3-3 into the 10th. Tommy Kahnle walked Jayson Werth to open the inning, then allowed a single to Michael A. Taylor, advancing Werth to third. Betances entered and got a popup and a strikeout before walking Harper and Rendon to plate the go-ahead run. Sean Doolittle worked a perfect bottom of the 10th with a pair of strikeouts to end the game and series.

Player of the Series: Matt Wieters

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

Stat break: 2017 Washington Nationals

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Difo                   6     1     2    1        1   0     0      0      0    .333
Goodwin         12     1     1    0        1    0     0     1      0    .083
Harper             67   14   23    7        3    1    2      7      0    .343
Kendrick         23     6     8    5        3    0    1     1      0     .348
Lind                12     2     4    1        0    0    1       2      0    .333
Lobaton            3     1     0    1        0    0     0     0      0    .000
Murphy           67     6   24  12      11    0    2      2      0    .358
Rendon           67   13   22  14        5    0    5       2      0    .328
MA Taylor      67     7   13  15        3   1    3       1      3    .194
T Turner         66   13   11    5        2    0    2      5       0    .167
Werth              35     1   10    0        1    1    0      3      0    .286
Wieters           60     8   18     8       3    1    0      7      1    .300
Zimmerman    66   15   21   17       3    0    6      3      1    .318

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L     ERA

Albers              5      0       6          2     3       3      3     2       0      2    0        4.50

Blanton            3      0       3           2     1       1      1     2       0      0     0       3.00

Cole                 2      0       1.6        1     0      0       2     0       0       0     0      0.00
Doolittle          4      0       3         11     7       7      1     1       2      0     1      21.00

Gonzalez         4      4     23.6      14     7      7    12    15       0      3     1        2.66

Grace               7      0      6.3         6     1      1       3     7        0      0     0      1.42
E Jackson        1      0      0.3         0     0       0       0    0        0      0     0       0.00 

Kelley              6      0     3.6         4     0      0       1      0        1      0     0      0.00
Kintzler           7      0      7.3        4     0       0       0     2        1      0     0       0.00
Madson           4      0     3.6         1     0      0       1      2        0      0     0      0.00

O Perez           4      0      3.3        3     0      0       1       3       0      0     0       0.00

Roark              3      3    20.3      18     4       3       4    14       0      2     1       1.33
E Romero        5      0      2.6        8     6       6       1      4       1      0     0     20.22

Scherzer          5     5     35.3      30   13     11    12     38        0      2      0      2.80
Solis                6     0       2.3        2      1      1      0       0        0      0     0       3.86
Strasburg         4     4    24.3      22      7       6      7     16       0      3     1       2.22

George bracket: 2017 Washington Nationals defeat 1924 Washington Senators in seven games

Game 1: Senators 4, Nationals 3 (10 innings)
WP: Marberry (3-0)
LP: Doolittle (0-1)
HR: Harper (2), Lind (1)

Game 2: Senators 5, Nationals 2
WP: Mogridge (2-1)
LP: Gonzalez (2-1)
Save: Marberry (2)
HR: Bluege (2)

Game 3: Nationals 5, Senators 1
WP: Strasburg (2-1)
LP: Zachary (1-1)
HR: Wieters (1)

Game 4: Senators 1, Nationals 0
WP: Johnson (5-0)
LP: Roark (2-1)

Game 5: Nationals 5, Senators 4
WP: Scherzer (2-0)
LP: Zachary (1-2)
Save: Doolittle (1)
HR: Kendrick (1), Rendon 2 (4)

Game 6: Nationals 5, Senators 4
WP: Gonzalez (3-1)
LP: Mogridge (2-2)
Save: Kintzler (1)
HR: Zimmerman 2 (6)

Game 7: Nationals 4, Senators 3
WP: Strasburg (3-1)
LP: Johnson (5-1)
Save: Doolittle (2)
HR: Rendon (5), Taylor (3)

The Nationals had to win three straight one-run games -- and hand Walter Johnson his first loss of the tournament -- to advance to the elite eight.

The Nats almost beat Johnson in the opener. Bryce Harper's two-run homer gave the Nats a first-inning lead. Sam Rice tied it with a two-RBI single in the sixth, and the score remained tied at 2 into the 10th. Adam Lind led off the top of the 10th with a homer off Fred Marberry, but the Senators rallied with two outs in the bottom of the 10th off Sean Doolittle. Bucky Harris walked, Rice plated him with a double, and Goose Goslin singled Rice home.

The Senators led all the way in Game 3. Rice brought home a run in the first with a sac fly, and and Ossie Bluege' leadoff homer started a two-run second. George Mogridge went 6.2 innings for the win, with Allen Russell and Marberry splitting the rest of the outs.

The series shifted to 2017 and Nationals Park, and the Nats roughed up Tom Zachary for four runs in the first inning. The lefty was pulled after that frame, but Stephen Strasburg allowed one run in six innings for the win. The Nats used four relievers over the final three innings; they didn't allow a hit.

Johnson fired a five-hit shutout in Game 4 to put the Senators one game from advancing. The Big Train walked one and struck out 11. And he needed to be that good, as the only run the Senators got off Tanner Roark was unearned.

Facing elimination, the Nats got two homers from Anthony Rendon and another from Howard Kendrick to support Max Scherzer, who allowed three runs on nine hits in 7.1 innings. The Senators scored a run in the ninth off Doolittle to make it a one-run loss.

The series reverted to 1924 and Griffith Stadium. Once again, the Nationals won 5-4; this time they got two homers from Ryan Zimmerman. The Nats took a 5-0 lead into the ninth, and Doolittle again struggled, allowing four runs before Brandon Kintzler entered to get the last two outs with the tying run on third.

The Senators opened the finale with their, but Rendon hit a two-run homer in the first off Johnson, and Michael Taylor hit another in the fourth. Strasburg allowed two runs, one unearned, in six innings, and the Nationals bullpen allowed one run over the final three innings. Doolittle finally had a scoreless inning in the ninth to seal the series.

Player of the series: Anthony Rendon

Pitcher availability: Every reliever is available, but Kintzler pitched in six of the seven games, while Madson and Doolittle pitched in each of the final three games.

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

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)

Stat break: 2017 Washington Nationals

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Difo                   1    0      0    1        0   0     0      0      0    .000
Goodwin           5     1     1    0        1    0     0     1      0    .200
Harper             18     3     6    2        1    0    0      3      0    .333
Kendrick           4     1     2    1        1    0    0      0      0    .500
Lind                  3     1     0   0        0    0    0       2      0    .000
Murphy           19     1     8    5        4    0    0      0      0    .421
Rendon           17     2     3    1        1    0   0       1      0    .176
MA Taylor      17     2     4    4         2   0    1      0       1    .235
T Turner          16     7     6    4        1    0    1      2       0    .375
Werth                7     0    2    0        0    0    0       1      0    .286
Wieters            15     3    7    1        0    0    0       2      0    .467
Zimmerman    18     3    5    5        0    0    2       1      1    .278

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L     ERA

Albers              2      0       3.6        1     1       1      2     2       0      1    0        2.45

Blanton            2      0       2           1     1       1      1     2       0      0     0       4.50

Cole                 1      0       0.6        0     0      0       0     0       0       0     0      0.00

Gonzalez          1      1      6           5     3      3       3      6       0      1    0        4.50

Grace               1      0      2           2     0      0       0      3        0      0     0      0.00

Kelley              2      0      0.3        1     0      0       0      0        0      0     0      0.00

O Perez           2      0      1.3         1     0      0       1      2       0      0     0       0.00

Roark              1      1      8           7     1       1       0      7       0      1     0       1.13
E Romero        3      0      1           3     2       2       0      1       1      0     0       6.00

Scherzer           1     1       6        11     6       6       3      8        0      0      0      9.00
Solis                2     0       0.6        1      1      1      0       0        0      0     0     13.43
Strasberg         1      1      6.3       4       1      1      2       6       0       1    0        1.42 

George bracket: 2017 Nationals sweep 1961 Cubs

Game 1: Nationals 8. Cubs 7 (11 innings)
WP: Albers (1-0)
LP: Brewer (0-1)
HR: Turner (1), Scherzer (1)

Game 2: Nationals 5, Cubs 4
WP: Gonzalez (1-0)
LP: Ellsworth (0-1)
Save: Romero (1)
HR: Banks 2 (2), Williams (1), Zimmerman (1)

Game 3: Nationals 7, Cubs 4
WP: Strasburg (1-0)
LP: Hobbie (0-1)
HR: MA Taylor (1), Bouchee (1)

Game 4: Nationals 5, Cubs 1
WP: Roark (1-0)
LP: Cardwell (0-1)
HR: Zimmerman (2), Altman (1)

The scores were competitive, thanks in part to Washington's underwhelming bullpen, but the outcome wasn't. (The Nationals did not have their three late-season bullpen additions active for this series.)

The Nationals rallied in the opener to overcome a 7-2 deficit. Trey Turner hit a three-run homer in the seventh, and the Nats tied it in the ninth on two singles, a double and a pinch-hit sac fly. Bryce Harper doubled Turner home from first in the bottom of the 11th for the winning tally. Max Scherzer, who homered, was more effective as a hitter than as a pitcher.

Ernie Banks homered twice off Gio Gonzalez in the second game at Nationals Park, but the Nats already led and managed to hold on despite their leaky bullpen. Washington used three relievers to get though the ninth without allowing the tying run to score.

The series moved to Wrigley Field for Game Three. Michael A. Taylor hit a three-run homer in the eighth to open a 7-1 lead, but the Cubs got those three runs back in the eighth and ninth innings to make the final respectable.

Don Cardwell came back on short rest for Game Four, and he and Tanner Rourke dueled evenly for eight innings. But the Nats rallied for four runs in the ninth, with Ryan Zimmerman blasting a three-run homer off reliever Bob Anderson for the climax, and the Nats again went through three relief pitchers for three outs in the ninth, this time getting a 1-2-3 inning.

Player of the Series: Daniel Murphy

Player availability: All pitchers will be rested and ready for the opener of Round Two. Brandon Kintzler will be added to the active roster.

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