Howie Kendrick sparks Nationals' comeback over Astros to win first World Series in franchise history

HOUSTON - For the last five months, the Washington Nationals, baseball's greatest underachievers at their nadir in late May, thrived when left for dead. They roared back from 12 games under .500 to claim a postseason berth. They won the National League Wild Card game on a fluky late-inning hit and error. They stunned the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and they plowed through the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.

But those conquests did not compare to the stakes presented Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park. They were nine outs from losing Game 7 of the World Series. The Houston Astros, the 107-win machine