The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 7 of the World Series in Houston.

It is the Nationals’ first championship since the franchise moved to Washington D.C. in 2005.

The Nationals are also the first team to win the World Series by winning four games as the visiting team.

Washington won despite being dominated by Houston starter Zack Greinke for better than six innings. They scored all of their runs in the last three innings.

The last time a Washington baseball team won the World Series was 1924, when they were called the Senators.

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Carlos Correa celebrates after hitting an RBI single for the Houston Astros against the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning in Game 7 of the World Series.

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“What a story,” said Ryan Zimmerman, according to The Associated Press. Zimmerman was the Nationals’ first draft pick in the team’s first season in the nation’s capital and the last player left from the original squad.

“I hope D.C.’s ready for us to come home!” Zimmerman said.

The game began as a duel between Greinke and Washington’s Max Scherzer. Neither lasted the game.

The Astros struck first on a solo home run by first baseman Yuli Gurriel off of Scherzer to start the bottom of the second inning. The Washington ace was pitching after being scratched from Game 6 due to an irritated nerve near his neck for which he needed a cortisone injection.

Scherzer looked like he might be in trouble after back-to-back singles by designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and shortstop Carlos Correa with no outs. But Scherzer worked out of that jam.

The Astros kept the pressure on Scherzer with two runners on again in both the third and fourth innings, but they didn’t score.

Houston’s Greinke meanwhile cruised through the first six innings allowing only one hit.

The Astros made it 2-0 on an RBI single by Correa in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Nationals finally showed signs of life in the top of the seventh inning when third baseman Anthony Rendon made it 2-1 on a solo homer to left field–just the second hit Greinke had given up. When he gave up a walk to left-fielder Juan Soto, Greinke’s night was over.

The next batter, designated hitter Howie Kendrick, hit a two-run home run off relief pitcher Will Harris that hit the right field foul pole, giving the Nationals a 3-2 lead.

A single with one out by second baseman Asdrúbal Cabrera chased Harris and it appeared that Washington might break the game open. But reliever Roberto Osuna stopped the Nationals from adding to their then-meager lead.

The Nationals added another run in the eighth inning when Soto hit an RBI single, scoring right-fielder Adam Eaton who had walked and stolen second base. Washington led 4-2.

Come the top of the ninth, the Nationals loaded the bases with one out before Eaton hit a two-run single, extending Washington’s lead to 6-2.

Nats’ reliever Daniel Hudson retired the Astros in the bottom of the ninth without incident.

The winning pitcher was Patrick Corbin who threw three innings in relief of Scherzer. The losing pitcher was the Astros’ Harris.

“It’s every reliever’s nightmare that I get a chance to live,” Harris said, his eyes red-rimmed, according to the AP.

Houston left ten runners on base, the Nationals left seven.

The Nats’ ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who went undefeated in October, was named Most Valuable Player.

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Updated Wednesday at 2:05 a.m. ET

The Washington Nationals avoided elimination by beating the Houston Astros 7-2 in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series, forcing a Game 7 in Houston on Wednesday.

But even a Series-defining Game 7 could have a tough time matching the tension and drama of Game 6 which featured a controversial call that appeared to kill — at least temporarily — a Washington rally.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg was the winning pitcher, lasting eight and a third innings, striking out seven while allowing only two runs on five hits.

Astros ace starter Justin Verlander was the losing pitcher. He pitched five innings, surrendering three runs on five hits and three walks, with three strikeouts. It was Verlander’s second loss of this series and he is 0-6 as a starting pitcher in seven career World Series games.

The Nationals drew first blood to open the game on a run-scoring single by third baseman Anthony Rendon — who delivered five RBIs before the night was out — after lead-off batter Trea Turner hit an infield single and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by right-fielder Adam Eaton.

But Houston struck back immediately in their half of the first inning with a sacrifice fly by second baseman José Altuve after a first-pitch double by center-fielder George Springer, who took third base on a wild pitch by the Nats’ Strasburg. One out later, third baseman Alex Bregman hit a solo homer that gave Houston a 2-1 lead.

But those would prove to be all the runs the Astros would score.

After cruising through the second inning, the Astros’ Verlander had to pitch out of jams in the third and fourth innings, stranding two Nationals runners in both frames.

Washington, which had scored only three runs in the previous three games they had lost at home, finally capitalized in the fifth inning. Eaton and left fielder Juan Soto each hit solo homers to take the lead 3-2.

Houston threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning after right-fielder Josh Reddick singled and Springer followed with his second double of the night. But that was all the Astros got off Strasburg, who retired the next two batters.

Astros reliever Brad Peacock opened the sixth inning in place of Verlander, who had thrown 93 pitches.

The seventh inning opened with a sequence of plays that will likely be talked about for a long time.

After a single by Nationals catcher Yan Gomes, the next batter, Turner, appeared to have beaten out a dribbler to the reliever Peacock who threw late to first base. The throw got past first baseman Yuli Gurriel as the runners advanced.

But Turner was called out for running inside the base path and interfering with Peacock’s throw. After a lengthy delay in which the umpires consulted league officials in New York, the call on the field was confirmed.

So instead of having runners at second and third with no outs, the Nationals had a runner at first with one out. But a batter later, the Nationals’ Rendon launched a two-run home run that extended their lead to 5-2.

Strasburg retired the Astros without incident in the seventh and eighth innings. He was pulled for reliever Sean Doolittle after retiring the first batter he faced in the ninth.

The 2019 World Series is the first postseason series across professional baseball, hockey and basketball in which the road team won the first six games.

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Vlatko Andonovski was officially unveiled Monday as the U.S. Women’s National Team’s new head coach. The Macedonian-born 43-year-old takes the job following a successful stint in charge of the National Women’s Soccer League team Reign FC, where he was named NWSL Coach of the Year in 2019.

At an official presentation in New York City, Andonovski was introduced by U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro and USWNT General Manager Kate Markgraf.

“It’s a huge honor and I’m very excited to get started with this group of players and staff as we work towards continued success for this program. All of the talented coaches and players that have come before have built a legendary tradition of excellence and I’m committed to working very hard to continue to move this program forward,” Andonovski said in a statement Monday.

Andonovski has big shoes to fill. He replaces Jill Ellis, the most successful coach in USWNT history, who won 106 games and lost only seven. In her five-year tenure as head coach, she won two back-to-back World Cups.

He’ll also be the first man since 2014 to coach the women’s team. Five other men have taken up the mantle of USWNT head coach since the team’s formation in 1985, including Tony DiCicco, whom Ellis surpassed in becoming the winningest coach.

At the club level, Andonovski coached FC Kansas City to two NWSL titles between 2013 and 2017. He left Kansas City in 2018 to coach Washington-based Reign FC, where he led the team to two consecutive playoff appearances. Throughout his career, Andonovski has coached USWNT mainstays such as Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn.

U.S. Soccer officials said that his domestic experience and managerial style made him the perfect candidate for the job.

“We identified the qualities we thought were most important for this unique position, we talked to quite a few people in the women’s soccer community domestically and around the world, and in the end, Vlatko was the best fit with his experience with elite players, how he sees the game, how he coaches the game and manages players, and his overall personality and ability to take on a job of this magnitude,” said Markgraf.

United States players will first play under Andonovski in November, when the USWNT plays international friendlies against Sweden and Costa Rica. In January, Andonovski will be tasked with qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. If they qualify, Andonovski will have the chance to coach the team to an Olympic Gold Medal, the only major tournament Ellis did not win.

Fans began wildly speculating who would take over the USWNT when Ellis announced she would step down from his position as head coach in late July. Andonovski was reportedly on the shortlist of potential successors, something fans grew excited about.

Earlier this year, the USWNT played its way to its fourth ever World Cup title, when they beat Netherlands in the final 2-0.

Paolo Zialcita is an intern on NPR’s News Desk.

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