In 2019, the Washington Nationals advanced to the World Series for the first time in franchise history and also Washington, D.C.'s first appearance in the World Series since the American League's Senators in 1933. They proceeded to defeat the Houston Astros in seven games to win the franchise's first World Series championship, and the first for Washington, D.C. since 1924.
Game log
|- style="text-align:center; background: #bfb" | 1 || October 1 || Brewers || 4–3 || Strasburg (1–0) || Hader (0–1) || Hudson (1) || 42,993 || 1–0
|- style="background:#fbb;" | 1 || October 3 || @ Dodgers || 0–6 || Buehler (1–0) || Corbin (0–1) || — || 53,095 || 0–1 |- style="text-align:center; background:#bfb" | 2 || October 4 || @ Dodgers || 4–2 || Strasburg (1–0) || Kershaw (0–1) || Hudson (1) || 53,086 || 1–1 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 3 || October 6 || Dodgers || 4–10 || Ryu (1–0) || Corbin (0–2) || — || 43,423 || 1–2 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 4 || October 7 || Dodgers || 6–1 || Scherzer (1–0) || Urías (0–1) || — || 36,847 || 2–2 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 5 || October 9 || @ Dodgers || 7–3 (10) || Hudson (1–0) || Kelly (0–1) || — || 54,159 || 3–2
|- style="background:#bfb;" | 1 || October 11 || @ Cardinals || 2–0 || Sánchez (1–0) || Mikolas (0–1) || Doolittle (1) || 45,075 || 1–0 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 2 || October 12 || @ Cardinals || 3–1 || Scherzer (1–0) || Wainwright (0–1) || Hudson (1) || 46,458 || 2–0 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 3 || October 14 || Cardinals || 8–1 || Strasburg (1–0) || Flaherty (0–1) || — || 43,675 || 3–0 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 4 || October 15 || Cardinals || 7–4 || Corbin (1–0) || Hudson (0–1) || Hudson (2) || 43,976 || 4–0
|- style="background:#bfb;" | 1 || October 22 || @ Astros || 5–4 || Scherzer (1–0) || Cole (0–1) || Doolittle (1) || 43,339 || 1–0 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 2 || October 23 || @ Astros || 12–3 || Strasburg (1–0) || Verlander (0–1) || — || 43,357 || 2–0 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 3 || October 25 || Astros || 1–4 || James (1–0) || Sánchez (0–1) || Osuna (1) || 43,867 || 2–1 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 4 || October 26 || Astros || 1–8 || Urquidy (1–0) || Corbin (0–1) || — || 43,889 || 2–2 |- style="background:#fbb;" | 5 || October 27 || Astros || 1–7 || Cole (1–1) || Ross (0–1) || — || 43,910 || 2–3 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 6 || October 29 || @ Astros || 7–2 || Strasburg (2–0) || Verlander (0–2) || — || 43,384 || 3–3 |- style="background:#bfb;" | 7 || October 30 || @ Astros || 6–2 || Corbin (1–1) || Harris (0–1) || — || 43,326 || 4–3
Wild-Card Game, October 1
Scherzer walked the Brewers′ first batter, right fielder Trent Grisham, and then gave up a home run in the next Milwaukee at-bat to catcher Yasmani Grandal.Dougherty, Jesse, "Nationals storm back late in wild-card game to stun Brewers, 4–3, advance to NLDS," washingtonpost.com, October 2, 2019, 1:51 a.m. EDT Retrieved October 3, 2019Anonymous, "Soto lifts Nats to 4–3 comeback wild-card win over Brewers," Associated Press, October 1, 2019, 11:18 p.m. Retrieved October 2, 2019 In the second inning, Milwaukee first baseman Eric Thames led off with a solo home run, and the Nationals trailed 3–0. Against Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruff, the Nationals managed only two hits, although one of them was a home run that shortstop Trea Turner hit in the bottom of the third to cut Milwaukee's lead to 3–1.Brewers vs. Nationals – Play-by-Play – October 1, 2019 – ESPN In the bottom of the eighth inning, Milwaukee closer Josh Hader came in for a potential six-out save. Michael A. Taylor pinch-hit for Strasburg and reached first when the umpiring crew ruled that a pitch which appeared either to have hit Taylor or the knob of his bat had in fact hit him, and a Brewers challenge resulted in that decision being upheld. Ryan Zimmerman hit a broken-bat single to center, advancing Taylor to third. After Andrew Stevenson came in to pinch-run for Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon walked on a full count to load the bases. Juan Soto then singled to right and outfielder Trent Grisham misplayed the ball; by the time Soto was tagged out between second and third to end the inning, Taylor, Stevenson, and Rendon all had scored to give the Nationals a 4–3 lead, their first lead of the game. Soto, with his back to the play and unsure whether the throw was going to home or third, pulled up between bases to bait the Brewers into catching him in a rundown, thus ensuring that Rendon would score the go-ahead run before Soto could be tagged out. Daniel Hudson then closed for the Nats, giving up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning and earning a save to lock down a 4–3 victory.
Division Series
Game 1, October 3
The Dodgers scored their first run in the first inning without ever putting the ball in play.Nationals vs. Dodgers – Play-by-Play – October 3, 2019 – ESPN Catcher Yan Gomes had a passed ball,Anonymous, "Buehler, Muncy lead Dodgers past Nats 6-0 in NLDS opener," Associated Press, October 4, 2019, 12:10 a.m. Retrieved October 4, 2019 and Corbin became only the second pitcher ever to walk four batters in the first inning of his first postseason appearance.The only other pitcher to walk four batters in the first inning of the first postseason appearance of his career was Art Reinhart of the St. Louis Cardinals, who walked four batters – including Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth – in the fifth inning of Game 4 the 1926 World Series against the New York Yankees (See Anonymous, "Buehler, Muncy lead Dodgers past Nats 6–0 in NLDS opener," Associated Press, October 4, 2019, 12:10 a.m.) Corbin then retired seven of the next eight Los Angeles batters. Corbin allowed consecutive singles to second baseman Max Muncy and shortstop Corey Seager to start the fourth inning, although he kept Los Angeles from adding to its lead. In the fifth inning, however, he walked center fielder Cody Bellinger with two outs and gave up a single to right fielder Chris Taylor that advanced Bellinger to third, after which Kendrick committed another error on a Muncy grounder that allowed Bellinger to score and stake Los Angeles to a 2–0 lead; Taylor was thrown out at home to end the inning.Dougherty, Jesse, "Nationals drop Game 1 of NLDS on the road, falling to Dodgers, 6-0," washingtonpost.com, October 4, 2019, 1:37 a.m. EDT Retrieved October 4, 2019 Corbin left the game after six innings, having thrown 107 pitches, 62 for strikes, and striking out nine Dodgers while walking five and giving up three hits.Nationals vs. Dodgers – Box Score – October 3, 2019 – ESPN
For the Dodgers, Buehler allowed only one base runner – on a second-inning single by left fielder Juan Soto – through the first three innings. The Nats threatened to tie the game at 1–1 in the fourth inning when right fielder Adam Eaton, third baseman Anthony Rendon, and Kendrick all walked, but Buehler got second baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera to ground out to end the inning and kept Washington off the board. Like Corbin, Buehler pitched six innings; he walked three, struck out eight, allowed only one hit, and threw 100 pitches, 62 of them strikes. He retired the last seven batters he faced and left the game with a 2–0 lead.
Against Los Angeles relievers Adam Kolarek, Kenta Maeda, and Joe Kelly, the Nationals offense managed only more hit, a double by shortstop Trea Turner in the ninth, their only base runner after the fourth inning; the Dodgers pitching staff finished with a combined 13 strikeouts, giving up only three walks. The Washington bullpen fared poorly, allowing four hits, two walks, and four earned runs over two innings of work.Fortier, Sam, "Dodgers highlight a critical problem: Nats still lack a trustworthy third bullpen arm," washingtonpost.com, October 4, 2019, 7:16 p.m. EDT Retrieved October 5, 2019 With one out in the seventh, Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey – making the first postseason appearance of his career – walked pinch hitter Joc Pederson and gave up a single to third baseman Justin Turner. Fernando Rodney came in to relieve Rainey, walked Taylor to load the bases, and allowed a two-out single to Muncy that scored Bellinger and Turner and stretched the Dodgers′ lead to 4–0. In the eighth inning, Hunter Strickland gave up two solo homers, to pitch hitter Gavin Lux and Pederson. The Dodgers shut out the Nationals on two hits and won 6–0 to take a 1–0 series lead. Los Angeles extended its winning streak to eight games, dating back into the regular season, while Washington's winning streak in the regular season and postseason combined ended at nine. This would be Washington's only road loss in their World Series run; following this game, they would win eight straight road games to clinch the title.
Game 2, October 4 9:37 p.m. (EDT) at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California
Starting for Los Angeles, three-time Cy Young Award-winner Clayton Kershaw had a rocky first inning, giving up a double to Washington's leadoff hitter, shortstop Trea Turner, on the first pitch of the game.Anonymous, "Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer dominate Dodgers in Game 2," Associated Press, October 5, 2019, 1:26 a.m. Retrieved October 5, 2019Dougherty, Jesse, and Sam Fortier, "Stephen Strasburg dominates as Nationals take Game 2 of NLDS to even series with Dodgers," washingtonpost.com, October 5, 2019, 2:41 a.m. EDT Retrieved October 5, 2019 He then issued a one-out walk to third baseman Anthony Rendon and hit left fielder Juan Soto with a pitch to load the bases. Second baseman Howie Kendrick singled to drive in Turner from third base before Kershaw got out of the first inning without further damage. In the second inning, Kershaw hit the Nats leadoff hitter, center fielder Victor Robles, with a pitch, and Robles reached second on a sacrifice bunt by pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Right fielder Adam Eaton drove in Robles with a single, and Rendon doubled to score Eaton and make the score 3–0. Over the next four innings, Kershaw only gave up two more hits, and he finished his outing with four strikeouts and a walk, having given up three runs on six hits in six innings of work.