Just as they did all season, the Washington Nationals stayed the course and rallied on Wednesday night.

The only difference was their latest win came in Game 7 of the World Series.

The Nationals trailed the Houston Astros through six innings, but scored three runs in the seventh and won 6-2 to make history. It's the first championship in franchise history and marked the first time in Major League history that the road team won all seven games.

Max Scherzer, who was scratched from his scheduled start on Sunday, gritted through five innings. He allowed seven hits and had a baserunner in each inning, but allowed just two runs. Zack Greinke was brilliant for the Astros until the seventh. He allowed just two hits and issued two walks in 6 1/3 frames.

Yuli Gurriel got the scoring started with a solo home run in the second and Houston took a 2-0 lead when Carlos Correa singled to left in the fifth. Scherzer minimized the damage in the inning, keeping the Nationals within striking distance.

Anthony Rendon homered in the seventh and Howie Kendrick put Washington in front with a two-run blast to right.

The Nationals added insurance runs on an RBI single by Juan Soto in the eighth and a two-RBI single by Adam Eaton with the bases loaded in the ninth.

Houston had many chances to add runs in the early innings, but failed to capitalize. They went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.

Stephen Strasburg, who the Nationals shut down for the postseason earlier in his career, was named the World Series MVP.

Washington hit a low point in May when they dipped 12 games under .500, but they were able to secure one of the National League Wild Card bids.

Howie Kendrick and Anthony Rendon homered in the seventh inning as the Nationals overcame a two-run deficit, rocking the Houston Astros 6-2 Wednesday night to win the first title in franchise history.

With all eyes on Max Scherzer

The Washington Nationals endured a wild seventh inning and beat the Houston Astros 7-2 on Tuesday night to force a Game 7 in the World Series.

After a disputed call went against the Nationals in the seventh, Anthony Rendon hit a two-run home run off Will Harris. Davey Martinez, still upset over the missed call, was ejected by umpires during all the drama.

Stephen Strasburg lived up to the moment, pitching into the ninth. He struck out seven, walked two and allowed five hits. The only runs he allowed came in the first when Jose Altuve hit a sacrifice fly to score George Springer and Alex Bregman clubbed a solo home run.

Sean Doolittle relieved Strasburg and got the final two outs of the game.

Justin Verlander allowed three runs, including a pair of homers, in five innings. He had three strikeouts and as many walks.

Rendon finished the game with five RBI. In addition to his home run, he had an RBI single in the first and a two-run double in the ninth.

The Game 7 matchup is scheduled to be Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke. Scherzer was supposed to start Game 5, but was scratched because of an irritated nerve in his neck.

Gerrit Cole was dominant over seven innings as the Houston Astros defeated the Washington Nationals 7-1 on Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead in the World Series.

Cole, who lost earlier in the series for the first time since May, struck out nine and allowed one run on three hits. Juan Soto homered off Cole in the seventh for Washington's only run of the game.

Joe Ross was pressed into duty for the Nationals after Max Scherzer, who was scheduled to start, was scratched due to neck spasms.

Ross allowed four runs in five innings. He struck out one, walked two and allowed five hits. Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run home run in the second and Carlos Correa followed it up with a two-run blast of his own in the fourth.

Already leading 4-1, Yuli Gurriel had an RBI single in the eighth and George Springer hit a two-run home run off Daniel Hudson in the ninth.

The road team has won every game of the series so far as the action shifts back to Houston.

The Nationals will turn to Stephen Strasburg and the Astros will start Justin Verlander in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

Gerrit Cole gave Houston a firm grip on the Series by beating the Nationals 7-1 Sunday night for a 3-2 lead.

Cole looked exactly like the stud who dominated baseball most of this season, bouncing back from a Game 1 clunker to pitch the Astros to their third straight win.

What a turnaround for his teammates, too -- outscored 17-7 overall at home, Houston hammered Washington 19-3 at Nationals Park.

Things looked bleak for the Houston Astros just 48 hours ago, but after an 8-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night the World Series is now tied at two games apiece.

The Astros took Game 4 of the Fall Classic in the nation's capital thanks to a trio of multi-score innings, some early offense and a great performance from rookie Jose Urquidy.

Houston scored twice in the top of the first inning on RBI singles by Alex Bergman and Yuli Gurriel. Robinson Chirinos added a two-run home run in the fourth and Bregman clubbed a grand slam in the seventh.

Urquidy went five for the Astros, allowing just two hits and striking out four. Washington's only offense came when Juan Soto drove in Gerardo Parra in the sixth with Josh James on the mound. The Nationals managed just four hits on the night, going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros were 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

The Nationals will turn to Max Scherzer on Sunday night in hopes of getting them back on track after back-to-back losses. He'll face off against Gerrit Cole, who lost in the series opener for the first time since May.

Jose Urquidy outpitched all those big-name aces who preceded him, the unheralded Houston rookie quieting the Washington bats.

Alex Bregman busted out of his slump with a go-ahead single in the first inning and a grand slam in the seventh, and the resurgent Astros routed the Nationals 8-1 Saturday night for a 2-all tie in the World Series.

"From the very beginning I thought he was calm, I thought he was in control of his stuff," Astros manager AJ Hinch said about Urquidy. "His fastball had a little extra life to it. It's had good life this postseason. And then he just came up with big pitch after big pitch."

Badly in need of a victory to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole, the Houston Astros rose to the challenge on Friday night.

The Astros took Game 3 of the World Series 4-1 over the Washington Nationals, giving themselves a chance to draw even in the fourth game.

Josh Reddick got the Astros on the board in the second inning with an RBI single that scored Carlos Correa. Houston didn't score more than one run in any inning, but scored in the third (an RBI single by Michael Brantley), fifth (another Brantley RBI single) and sixth (a Robinson Chirinos home run).

Washington's lone run came in the fourth when Victor Robles tripled, scoring Ryan Zimmerman.

The Nationals had a man on with one out in each of the final two innings, but never truly threatened.

The 107-win Astros were aggressive from the jump, stealing four bases in the first World Series game held in Washington in 86 years.

The Nationals had won eight straight postseason games, tied for the longest streak in a single postseason.

Game 4 will feature Patrick Corbin against rookie Jose Urquidy.

The first World Series game in the nation's capital in 86 years won't exactly go down as a classic contest to remember, but the Houston Astros don't care about baseball elegance or splendor. They just needed a W.

The Astros will enjoy their 4-1 victory Friday, which included baserunners all over the place, some magical 68 mph curveballs from Zack Greinke and a Houston bullpen that tossed 4⅓ scoreless innings, and means we won't see the first World Series sweep since 2012.

The Washington Nationals are headed home with a 2-0 lead over the Houston Astros in the World Series.

The scoring stopped after both clubs scored two runs in the first inning until the seventh when the Nationals scored six runs and took control of the game. The scoring included a home run by Kurt Suzuki and RBI singles by Howie Kendrick, Asdrubal Cabrera and Ryan Zimmerman.

Already with a commanding lead, the Nationals tacked on three more runs via an Adam Eaton home run and another Cabrera single in the eighth. Michael Taylor homered in the ninth to give the Nationals a 12-2 advantage.

The Astros didn't go down quietly, but the deficit was simply too large. Martin Maldonado homered with one out and Jose Altuve and George Springer reached base with two outs. Jake Marisnick grounded out to end the game.

Stephen Strasburg and Justin Verlander both lasted six innings. Strasburg struck out seven and allowed two runs on seven hits. Verlander had six Ks and surrendered four runs on seven hits.

The Nationals have won 18 of their last 20 games dating back to the regular season.

Game 3 will be Friday night with Anibal Sanchez facing off against Zack Greinke. The nation's capital hasn't hosted a World Series game since 1933.