Veteran hitter Howie Kendrick just missed making it to the World Series when he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels.
But the super-utility man is one win away from the Fall Classic after the Washington Nationals blitzed the St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 at Nationals Park on Monday to take a 3-0 series lead in the NL Championship Series.
“Some of the best things come from the unlikely moments,” Kendrick said.
Unlikely was certainly the case in late May when the Nationals record was 19-31 — the only mark worse in the National League belonged to the lowly Miami Marlins.
But Washington rallied, saved its season, finished September with an eight-game winning streak and has now won 15 of its last 17 contests. The Nationals will host Game 4 on Tuesday for a chance to be in the first team from Washington to make the World Series since the Senators in 1933.
And Kendrick helped them get there, as he smashed doubles in three straight at-bats and drove in three runs Monday.
The native of Florida became the 16th player in the postseason to record three doubles in a single game and the second to do so at the age of 36 or older.
“He is the greatest, ever,” Washington third baseman Anthony Rendon said. “You see the man — he is still doing it. He is built like a freakin’ cinder block. He is strong. He does damage; he knows how to hit.”
Rendon joked that when he’s 36, unlike Kendrick, he’ll be sitting on the couch.
“He is probably going to play another 20 years,” Rendon said.
That would be 21 years too many for the Cardinals, who have just two runs in the series while Kendrick is batting .417 against them. He had four RBIs in Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, with his grand slam coming in the 10th inning.
“If I am getting hits that is a good thing,” Kendrick said. “It feels better than getting outs.”
Kendrick didn’t realize the Nationals had won 15 of their last 17 games.
“We are playing really good baseball,” he said.
Rendon had two hits Monday.
“We are going to ride this wave as long as we can,” he said.
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