After seven hard fought games, the 2019 World Series came to an end, ending what was a very entertaining series. The underdog Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros after winning four games. The series was watched, on average, by almost 13.91 million viewers per game (statista.com).

Each game had its own thrilling moments, but the final was naturally the most entertaining. The Astros jumped to an early 1-0 lead when first baseman Yuli Gurriel homered to left field off Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer in the second inning. The Astros bolstered their lead when Gurriel scored on a single by shortstop Carlos Correa in the fifth inning, making the score 2-0. Astros’ starting pitcher Zack Greinke was having a noteworthy pitching performance, but he started to struggle in the latter half of the game, ultimately losing the Astros the series. Third baseman Anthony Rendon homered in the seventh inning, and the next batter, left fielder Juan Soto, walked, forcing Greinke out of the game. Reliever Will Harris replaced him, which turned out to be a bad decision. Washington’s designated hitter Howie Kendrick was Harris’ first batter, and he homered, turning the game in favor of the Nationals by a score of 3-2. The Nationals never allowed another run, and they ended up winning the final game 6-2, to secure their first World Series championship in the history of the franchise.

Junior Ryan Marrione had his own opinion on the matchup: “It was quite exciting, [the Nationals and Astros] made it to game seven. The underdog won, and they had never won a World Series before. The team had some great players, and I found there were many interesting statistics about the series, too.” Junior Daniel Beck also watched the series and had similar feelings towards it: “It was shocking to see the Nationals win and felt good because the Astros are now involved in a cheating scandal. The fact that the away team won every game of the series was also nice to see.”  

Now that the season has officially ended, fans are looking towards free agency and want to see what important decisions their favorite team will make this offseason. Sophomore Brianna Cavallo had some specific issues she wants addressed by her team: “I definitely want to see both Austin Romine and Didi Gregorius back on the [Yankees] next year.”  Although more baseball will not be played until spring training starts in February, many decisions must be made by ball clubs around the league. Until then, fans will still have plenty of action to keep track of during what should be an exciting offseason.