HOUSTON — The Washington Nationals were down to their final eight outs.
But they refused to go down without a fight.
After Adam Eaton grounded out to short to start the top of the seventh inning of Game 7 of the World Series, an Anthony Rendon solo home run off of Zack Greinke cut the Houston Astros' lead to 2-1. But as it turned out, Washington's rally was just getting started, as a Juan Soto walk preceded Houston's decision to remove Greinke in favor of reliever Will Hill, who gave up a 2-run home run to designated hitter Howie Kendrick, which gave the Nationals a 3-2 lead.
Should the Nationals manage to hold onto their lead for the game's final three innings, it would give Washington its first baseball championship since the Senators won the 1924 World Series. Kendrick could ultimately prove to be the biggest reason for his team's potentially historic postseason run, as he also hit the game-winning grand slam in the 10th inning of the Nationals' series-clinching Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Divison Series.
After starter Max Scherzer pitched five innings, Patrick Corbin pitched the sixth inning for the Nationals. With three innings left, Washington still has starter Anibal Sanchez and closer Sean Doolittle at its disposal, as well as its full bullpen and potentially Stephen Strasburg, who pitched 8.1 innings in the Nationals' Game 6 victory on Tuesday.
