Nats' miraculous comeback one for the ages

The Nationals pulled off a miraculous comeback against the best team in the National League in their second straight elimination game.

Of course they did.

After all, all they did was win for the last 4 1/2 months of the season. And, oh, did they win: 78 of their last 118 games for a .661 winning percentage since May 24.

Thanks to a grand slam by Howie Kendrick in the 10th inning, the Nats shocked the top-seeded Dodgers 7-3, winning the best-of-five series NL Division Series before a stunned crowd of 53,000 at Dodger Stadium.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez deserves major credit for finding a way to piece together Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Rainey, Patrick Corbin, Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle into a victory.

The Dodgers did not score for eight straight frames. Nats relievers allowed no runs, one hit, no walks and struck out five in the final four innings.

Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto combined to go 5-for-9 with a double, two homers, five runs and three RBIs. Kendrick, of course, had the other four RBIs.

Michael A. Taylor played more games in the minor leagues (57) this season than the majors (53) and ended up making the diving catch that preserved the win and sent the Nats to the NL Championship Series for the first time.

But most importantly for the Nationals as an organization, they earned their first Game 5 win and first NLDS. Goodbye, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. It is the franchise's first NLDS win since the 1981 Expos defeated the Phillies.

Down 3-1 against the Brewers in the NL wild card, the Nats found a way to come back and win 4-3.

Down 3-0 in the second inning Wednesday night at Chavez Ravine, the Nats found a way to come back and win.

This team is different. Now they get a shot at the Cardinals in the NLCS starting Friday night in St. Louis.