The Washington Nationals beat the Brewers in a late comeback to win the 2019 NL Wild Card game. Juan Soto was the hero of the night as his single gave his team the victory.
Trading Off Homers
Max Scherzer took the mound for the locals in the 2019 NL Wild Card game. It didn’t take him long to find trouble. Yasmani Grandal went deep with a man on base early in the first. Just like that, the Brewers were up 2-0.
Milwaukee added one more run an inning later with an Eric Thames home run. Brandon Woodruff had no problems for the first two innings. He gave up a homer to Trea Turner in the third, allowing Washington to chip away at the lead.
The score was 3-1 after three innings of play.
Brewers Played With Fire
Woodruff left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning after an uneventful fourth. In came Brent Suter to take over pitching duties. He got the first two outs, but single and an error brought the lead run to the plate. Suter managed to get out of that inning and the Brewers were able to hold on to their 2-run lead.
Stephen Strasburg came into the ballgame in the top of the sixth and got three quick outs thanks to a double play after giving up a hit to Ryan Braun. Drew Pomeranz came in on relief for the Brewers and retired the side in order.
Nationals Made Comeback For The Win
The seventh inning sailed along smoothly as both bullpens were at top of their game. Strasburg and Pomeranz pitched one-two-three innings. Washington’s pitcher struck out his opposite number on a questionable call.
Josh Hader came into the game in the bottom of the eighth looking to get the final six outs of the 2019 NL Wild Card game. His outing was a tough one. He hit Michael A. Taylor and it was clear he didn’t have his usual stuff with him. Hader followed that up with a hit to Ryan Zimmerman before walking Anthony Rendon to load up the bases.
Juan Soto singled to right to empty the bases aided by a fielding error by Trent Grisham. The Nationals were up 4-3 and were three outs away from the ALDS.
Daniel Hudson closed things out to send the Nationals to the Divisional Series.
Final Score: Brewers 3-4 Nationals
Where To Watch
National will take on the Dodgers in the NLDS starting Thursday. Game 1 kicks off at 8:37 PM ET on TBS.