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Old 06-07-2020, 05:33 PM   #13
tavo2311
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 157
RESULTS: ROUND 1 - REGION 2

1) 1975 Cincinnati Reds vs. 16) 2019 Washington Nationals

The Nationals are faced with a tough decision off the bat, deciding between Strasburg and Scherzer. Regardless of who goes first though, having these two pitch twice each will give this 16 seed a fighting chance.
Strasburg gets the nod in Cincinnati against the Reds’ Don Gullet and the game stays close into the 6th, with the Reds up 3-1. That’s when Javy Guerra gives up 4 out of the pen and the Big Red Machine cruises the rest of the way to a 10-1 win. 6 of the 8 Reds hitters drove in a run. Meanwhile the Nationals left 19 men on base.

Game 2 is started by Max Scherzer vs. Jack Billingham and the two hurlers did not disappoint. The game goes 1-1 into the 10th with only 8 total hits. Then Anthony Rendon hits a 2-run double, the Nats add a 3rd, and Sean Doolittle closes out a 4-1 win.

Game 3 heads to the nation’s capital, and Patrick Corbin keeps the Reds at bay through 5, while the Nationals push across a run in the 3rd and another in the 5th for a 2-0 lead. Johnny Bench rocks a 3-run dinger off Corbin in the 6th though, and the Reds bullpen throws 4 shutout innings to eventually win 5-2 and take a 2-1 series lead.

Strasburg comes back on short rest in game 4! The Nationals are clearly feeling the heat? The Nats win a tight one, 4-3, with the Nats pen going 4 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk. It could have been a lot easier, as the Nationals left 20 on base. Their clutch hitting may come back to haunt them!

The last game in Washington saw Annibal Sanchez taking his turn in the rotation after being skipped over for Strasburg in game 4. He was opposed by the Reds ace, Gullet. This game was a classic. Sanchez pitched superbly, going 6 innings with 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run. Gullet on the other hand labored through 6, giving up 4 runs, and the Reds trailed 4-1 after the 6th and 6-2 after 7. They then scored 3 in the 8th, 1 in the 9th to tie it, 1 in the 11th to seemingly seal it. The National’s leader Rendon comes through again in the bottom of the 11th with a run scoring double, and the pivotal 5th game goes all the way to the 12th, when the Reds pushed across 5 runs and win 12-7. It was closer than they’d like, but the Reds will now take a 3-2 lead home.

Scherzer opposes Billingham in a rematch of their game 2 pitching duel, and this one was anything but. The Nationals lead 7-1 after 2 innings, and cruise to a 12-2 victory to force a decisive game 7. The Nationals 3-5 hitters (Rendon, Soto, Kendrick) had 3 RBIs each, and Scherzer goes 6 strong for the win.

The Nationals choose not to bring back Strasburg on short rest for a 2nd time in the series, though I assume he is available out of the pen. The Reds counter with 15 game winner Gary Nolan. This game 7 goes scoreless into the 9th!! Finally the Reds fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Ken Griffey Sr. singles in George Foster to walk off vs. Sean Dolittle and advance to round 2.
Rendon made a case for series MVP on a losing team, hitting .393 with 19 rbis, but Ken Griffey Sr. takes home the honors with 12 hits, .400 average, and the series winning walk-off RBI.
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