The Washington Nationals clinched their first trip to the World Series in the franchise’s history after completing a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Nats completed the sweep with a 7-4 victory at home on Tuesday night. Washington’s pitching was the dominant factor in the team’s success against the Cardinals.
The Nationals, which moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C., for the 2005 season, had not won a playoff series since their move prior to this season. They lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017 before defeating the favored Los Angeles Dodgers in a winner-take-all Game 5 last week.
Prior to the move, the Montreal Expos played in seasons dating back to the league’s expansion in 1969. The Expos only made it to the playoffs once, in 1981, during their three-plus decades.
Washington will face either the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Astros are leading the series 2-1 after a victory earlier in the day. The next game will be on Wednesday. The Astros most recently won the World Series in 2017, while the Yankees’ most recent championship was a decade ago.
