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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Packers rally to edge Lions, 23-22 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Washington on to World Series ■ Nationals complete sweep of St. Louis, return to Series for first time since 1933 By Howard Fendrich AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON — As the Washington Nationals moved a party 86 years in the making from their ballpark’s infi eld to a booze-fi lled clubhouse, manager Dave Martinez paused near the dugout and thrust the silver NL Championship Series tro- phy overhead, to the delight of loud, delirious fans still in the stands. Who would have thought this was possible fi ve months ago, when the team was fl ail- ing, trade talk was swirling around Washington and folks fi gured Martinez’s job was in jeopardy? From 19-31 during a me- diocre May to the Fall Classic in an outstanding October — and the city’s fi rst World Series appearance since 1933. Extending their stunning Right from the fi rst inning “I just kept counting Tuesday, most in a sellout down: We’re 12 outs from crowd of 43,976 rose from the World Series. We’re their seats to applaud or yell nine outs from the World or twirl their red towels, to chant “Let’s go, Nats!” and Series. Six. Three.” “M-V-P!” and various players’ — Trea Turner, shortstop for names, enjoying every mo- the Washington Nationals ment of that game-deciding outburst. turnaround, the wild-card And then, a couple of hours Nationals got RBIs from and several innings later, as middle-of-the-order stars An- Tanner Rainey, Sean Doolittle thony Rendon and Juan Soto and Daniel Hudson were in a seven-run fi rst inning protecting a shrinking lead, Tuesday night, and Patrick those same spectators stood Corbin’s 12-strikeout perfor- and shouted and reveled mance plus a trio of relievers some more. helped hold on to beat the St. “I just kept counting down: Louis Cardinals 7-4 in Game We’re 12 outs from the World 4 to complete a sweep in the Series. We’re nine outs from NLCS. the World Series,” short- “Often, bumpy roads lead stop Trea Turner said. “Six. to beautiful places,” said Mar- Three.” tinez, who underwent a heart Now the Nationals get procedure in September, “and plenty of time to rest and this is a beautiful place.” set up their so-far terrifi c rotation before beginning the last series of the season against the Houston Astros or New York Yankees in a week. Houston leads the best-of-sev- en AL Championship Series 2-1 after winning Game 3 at New York 4-1 Tuesday. The Nationals became the fourth team to reach the World Series after being 12 games under .500. “We think we can compete with any team, any time,” NLCS MVP Howie Kend- rick said. “People always get caught up in the things that are on paper, but the reality of it is you have to go out and play. Once we get out on the fi eld, anything can happen.” The last time the World Series came to the nation’s capital, more than eight decades ago, the Washington Senators lost to the New York Giants in fi ve games. AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Astros take 2-1 lead over Yankees fi rst base as Josh Reddick gloved the ball a step in front of the right-fi eld wall, NEW YORK — Didi Gregorius turned 343 feet away. on a fi rst-pitch fastball from Gerrit Cole “I missed it,” Gregorius said. “I know I with two on and two outs in the fi fth didn’t have all of it.” inning and sent it soaring toward the New York stranded nine during a 4-1 right-fi eld seats. The crowd at Yankee loss to Houston on Tuesday night that Stadium rose and roared, hoping for a put the Yankees in a 2-1 AL Champion- go-ahead drive. ship Series defi cit, going 0 for 6 with “I think every fl yball in 2019 is a runners in scoring position. homer,” Houston manager AJ Hinch Gregorius, who hit a grand slam said. “It’s kind of been conditioned that against Minnesota in the previous way.” playoff round, left the bases loaded in Gregorius stood at the plate, watching, the fi rst when he hit an inning-ending then took some tentative steps toward groundout — also on the fi rst pitch. He By Ronald Blum AP Baseball Writer went 0 for 4 and saw just six pitches af- ter averaging 4.01 per plate appearance during the regular season. “Most of the game was on me,” he said. “I didn’t come through, so I was the one that failed, not the whole team.” New York averaged 4.06 pitches per plate appearance during the regular season, second to Seattle’s 4.11. But the Yankees had a hyper-aggressive approach on Cole, with Aaron Judge, Edwin Encarnación and Gregorius hit- ting the fi rst pitch in the opening inning. Encarnación also saw just one pitch in the third. ■ Green Bay takes advantage of two controversial penalty calls late By Keith Jenkins AP Sports Writer GREEN BAY, Wis. — It took Mason Crosby 13 seasons to perform his fi rst Lambeau Leap. The 35-year-old kicker nailed a 23-yard fi eld goal as time expired and jumped into the crowd with a boost from long snapper Hunter Bradley after he fi nished off a rally for the Green Bay Packers, who benefi ted from some questionable offi ciating to edge the Detroit Lions 23-22 on Monday night. “That was fun, yeah,” Crosby said of leaping into the crowd. “That feeling, once you get up in the stands, the energy in there and teammates and everyone’s around, that’s something I’ll always remember. That was great.” Aaron Rodgers, in his second straight game without top target Davante Adams, completed 24 of 39 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns, including a beauti- ful 35-yard throw to Allen Lazard for the second-year pro’s fi rst career score. Rodgers linked up with Jamaal Williams for the other TD. Williams fi nished with 104 yards on 14 car- ries and four catches for 32 yards for Green Bay (5-1), which captured its fi rst win in fi ve tries against its NFC North rival. The Packers, who are off to their fi rst 3-0 start in the NFC North since 2012, might not have pulled it off if not for two fourth-quarter penalties for illegal hands to the face against Detroit’s Trey Flowers, both of them on third down. The fi rst set up Lazard’s touchdown, and the second allowed Green Bay to run the clock down to 2 seconds before Crosby’s game-winner. In both cases, replays showed Flowers’ hands on the neck or shoulder — not the face — of a Packers lineman. “I actually changed the position of my hand, because it was to the chest initially,” Flowers said. “I was doing it all game. I didn’t know that was a fl ag to the chest, so I changed it. And he called it again. “I didn’t think hands to the chest was a penalty. I thought hands to the face, but I had him right here in the chest. The second time I changed it. ... That’s part of a move that I do. So, nah, I don’t think that was a penalty.” Referee Clete Blakeman said each of the calls was made by umpire Jeff Rice, and he discussed the last one with him. “Basically, it’s for illegal use of the hands, hands-to- the-face foul,” Blakeman told a pool reporter. “To be a foul, we basically need some forceful contact that’s prolonged to the head and neck area of the defender. “So, in his mind he had pinned him back, it was prolonged, and that’s what created the foul.”