Alex Bregman definitely has his swagger back. 

The Houston Astros third baseman carried his bat all the way down to first base before dropping it after hitting a solo home run off Washington Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg in the first inning.

Perhaps Bregman was still steaming from what the Nationals did to him in Game 3, when they intentionally walked Michael Brantley to get to Bregman, who was slumping at the time.

Payback can be deadly.

Bregman, who slugged a grand slam in Game 4, admired his monstrous homer with bat in hand and before missing his hand off to his first base coach Don Kelly.

In many baseball circles, this would be frowned upon. It certainly drew attention and ire from former players, including former Nationals outfielder Michael Morse.

Twelve-year veteran and 2013 World Series champion Mike Napoli also had issue with it.

But it was 21-year-old Nationals slugger Juan Soto who got the last word. In the fifth inning, he hit a titanic solo home run to give Washington a 3-2 lead and did the same, flipping his bat to first base coach Tim Bogar as Bregman did as he trotted around the bases.