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.”