Here’s the report from tonight’s Game 3.
Final thoughts
No, you’re not imagining things, that took a lot longer than it feels like it should have.
This was the first time a game lasted 4+ hours, didn't go to extra innings, and had 5 or fewer total runs scored https://t.co/InhtMBDxAF
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) October 26, 2019
Tomorrow’s Game 4 (or later today’s Game 4 depending on one’s time zone) could go even longer as the Houston Astros will put together a bullpen game against the Washington Nationals’ Patrick Corbin. We’ll have live coverage of that game, and of every game of the 2019 World Series, here at the Guardian. Until then, thanks to everybody who followed along with today’s liveblog, particularly those who contributed. Ciao!
@HunterFelt cats woke me at 0530 here in Barcelona. Hoping to catch up on a Nats lead, but got some very funkadelic music in the stretch.
— Barney Haywood (@barney_haywood) October 26, 2019
Cup of tea & Nats comeback in the 9th, I suppose...
Yep, that sounds like what cats do. It wasn’t to be, but even the most hardcore Nationals fan had to know it wouldn’t be that easy.
Josh James gets the win coming out of the bullpen for getting one out. Roberto Osuna gets the save. The Washington Nationals remains up 2-1 but Houston is right back in this series.
Houston Astros win Game 3
Astros 4-1 Nationals, FINAL
Juan Soto takes a ball and then a strike. 1-1. He offers at the next pitch. 1-2. The Nationals are down to their last strike. Oscuna’s next pitch is high and Soto doesn’t offer. Soto also doesn’t swing at the next pitch, but it’s right down the middle. The Astros have won Game 3 of the World Series!
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 9th
Rendon swings at the first pitch that he sees and hits a foul pop out. That was not ideal and Washington is down their final out.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 9th
Eaton hits one right in no man’s land between the outfielders. The Nationals have a runner on base with one out.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 9th
Astros closer Roberto Osuna comes into the game to a chorus of boos for obvious reasons. He falls behind Turner 3-1 before getting the benefit of a call on a ball just outside of the zone. The next pitch is fouled off. 3-2. Turner gets a lot of the next pitch, but not enough, it’s just a flyball to the outfield.
Updated
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 9th
Suero gets Gurriel to strike out looking and we’re heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Nationals need three runs to keep the game going and they have three outs to do it.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 9th
Turner makes a fantastic jumping catch to rob Bregman for the second out of the inning.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 9th
Wander Suero, who has the coolest name on either of the roster, is in to pitch the top of the ninth for the Nationals. Brantley is up to bat. Suero’s first pitch wanders out of the strikes zone. 1-0. Brantley swings and misses on the next pitch then fouls off the next before flying out to Soto.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 8th
Gomes cannot. He grounds out to third to end the inning. We’re heading into the ninth inning.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 8th
Robles gets called out looking. It’s up to catcher Yan Gomes, who is apparently on the Nationals roster, to see if he can do anything.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 8th
Howie Kendrick pops up in the game for the Nationals and he manages to nail one of the submarining Smith’s offerings and poke it down the middle for a one-out single.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 8th
Joe Smith will handle the bottom of the 8th, because we’re into the generic name portion of each team’s bullpen. He gets ahead of Ryan Zimmerman 1-2 before getting him to swing at something that is in a completely different zip code of where anybody was expecting it.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 8th
Springer hits a single off of Ross’s foot, this has been a very painful-looking game. Altuve’s next pitch is also right at Ross but it ends up becoming a groundball out.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 8th
Ross, who is still pitching by the way, will now face a pinch-hitting Yordan Alvarez, who pops up to Turner for the second out.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 8th
Chirinos grounds out to start the 8th. Man, maybe these relievers should have started the game, maybe we’d have had a quicker start.
Roger Kirkby:
The most annoying thing in baseball? It’s got to be “let’s go Yankees” no question, no argument
One again, as I’m writing here from the Boston area, I will plead the fifth.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 7th
Cabrera gets underneath a pitch and pops it to third. That was some very quick work from Harris and we’re heading into the eighth.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 7th
Juan Soto takes a healthy cut and comes out empty. 0-1. Looks at a strike. 0-2. And then can’t check his swing. That’s a three pitch strikeout.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 7th
Will Harris come out for the bottom of the 7th? Yes, yes Harris will. Rendon is up with his goal to get on no matter what. At this point, with three down and three innings remaining, the Nationals need baserunners badly. Rendon works yet another full count, the three millionth of the night, and then fouls the next one back. We remain at 3-2. He hits one long but it’s not long enough and Springer gets under it for the first out of the inning.
Seventh Inning Stretch
I normally post a version of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” here but spare me this one indulgence tonight.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 7th
Josh Reddick is up next and he at least makes Ross work, getting into a full count. There seems to be a lot of those in this game, hence the game time. On 3-2 he gets Reddick to fly out. Seventh Inning Stretch time!
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 7th
Ross gets Correa to pop up. He’s not wasting any time here.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 7th
Is this “Can You Get To That?” by Funkadelic coming out of the break? Okay this is now the greatest World Series broadcast of all time. That was enough to motivate this blogger, I’ve gotten my second wind here. Let’s do this.
Our new pitcher Joe Ross gets Gurriel to ground out to start the inning.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 6th
Harris and the rest of the Astros think that they have Eaton struck out on an 0-2 pitch but the umpire calls “no swing.” It ends up not mattering as Eaton grounds out to the end the inning. We’re headed to the seventh… wait, only the seventh?
Miles to go, my friends.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 6th
Will Harris is in to pitch with two on and just one out. This feels like the Nationals’ best shot at getting back in the game. Turner just barely stays alive on a 2-2 count, fouling one right of himself. The trainers come in to see if he can keep in the game.
He heads back to the plate, even though it looks like that he got hurt in a very, very sensitive area. After gritting his way through all of that, his reward is striking out on a nasty breaking ball.
@HunterFelt Is Baby Shark as annoying as the tomahawk chop?
— Ringo B (@TheRealRingo) October 26, 2019
The Tomahawk Chop is something well beyond annoying.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 6th
Matt Adams in in here for a pinch-hitting appearance. Matt Adams fall behind 0-2, but Robles does manage to get himself into scoring position with a straight steal. Adams takes two balls, the second of which is nearly a wild pitch. Adams fouls off the 2-2 pitch and then takes a pitch. Brad Peacock’s run another full count and, now, his second straight walk.
Guess what, we’re going to have a pitching change! (I warned you.)
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 6th
Robles is in next and he also works a full count against the deceptive Peacock before Robles gets on base after a checked-swing call goes his way.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, bottom 6th
And they are doing “Baby Shark” chants at Nationals Park as Gerardo Parra hits for a possibly hurt Kurt Suzuki. Is this really how the song goes? No wonder my friends with kids hate it with a passion. Brad Peacock is in to pitch for Josh James and he gets Parra to strike out on a 3-2 count.
Ryan Zimerman narrowly escaping a beaning is a total mood, as they say on Twitter.
you ever just stop and think about life? pic.twitter.com/Son0c6Z0YB
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 26, 2019
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 6th
The Nationals intentionally walk Brantley to get to Bregman who grounds out to end the inning. As often happens in Rodney appearances, there’s a lot of drama but somehow no runners score.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 6th
Now the trainers are out for Suzuki whose body has taken a pummeling in the series. There are runners on first and third with still just one out. Altuve takes a strike to start off his at-bat then fouls off the next pitch. He’s already down 0-2 but falling behind in the count doesn’t seem to be affecting the Houston hitters that much tonight.
Somehow, Rodney’s next pitch hits Altuve’s jersey but nobody says anything. Springer takes second on the “ball.” On the next pitch Altuve grounds out into a fielder’s choice. Tucker gets caught in a rundown but that allows the runners to get to second and third.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 6th
With a runner on third and just one out, Rodney has no choice but to concentrate on his hitter, who happens to be the dangerous George Springer who works a walk. Suzuki barely blocks the ball to keep Tucker from having a shot at coming home.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 6th
Fernando Rodney is pitching, so it’s seat-belt time. Right out the gate, Tucker steals second and then makes it to third after Suzuki’s throw goes into the outfield.
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 6th
Kyle Tucker is up, hitting in the pitcher’s spot and he works a full count off a possibly tiring Sanchez who is now at 92 pitches. The 93rd pitch? That’s outside of the zone and that’s going to be Sanchez’s night. I hope you like pitching changes because we’re going to be getting plenty of them from here on out.
Home run! (Astros)
Astros 4-1 Nationals, top 6th
There’s no catching that one! Chirinos hits a home run that stays on the friendly side of the foul pole. The Astros have a three-run lead!
Astros 3-1 Nationals, top 6th
Reddick hits one into right field but Adam Eaton takes a dive and snowcones it for the first out of the inning.
Astros 3-1 Nationals, bottom 5th
Zimmerman’s back up and seems to be unaffected by hitting the ground but James’s next pitch is even higher and couldn’t find the strike zone with a Geiger counter, as Tom Waits would say. Zimmerman just fouls off the next two pitches to keep the count at 2-2 with 2 out and 2 on. There’s a conference on the mound. Kind of a key spot, this. The next pitch is somewhere around his shoulders. On 3-2, Zimmerman swings and misses! The Astros escape! Onto the sixth inning!
Astros 3-1 Nationals, bottom 5th
Josh James is out of the bullpen to face Ryan Zimmerman with runners on second and third. James’s first pitch starts up and out of the zone but hits the top part of the plate. 0-1. James’s next pitch just catches the plate. Absolutely filthy pitch that and the next one… almost hits Zimmerman’s head. Zimmerman goes down hard and the trainers are in to check to see if he’s okay.
Astros 3-1 Nationals, bottom 5th
The inning’s down to Cabrera who gets ahead of Greinke 3-1. Just getting him out of the game sooner rather than latter would be a good idea for Washington. He’s been quite good tonight.
Well that might help the cause, Cabrera hits a booming double but Eaton has to hold at third thanks to a quality throw by Josh Reddick and that will indeed do it for Greinke.
Astros 3-1 Nationals, bottom 5th
Juan Soto, showing some plate discipline that belies his age, works a full count but Greinke gets his sixth strike out on his 90th pitch of the game. Soto is angry at himself and the Nationals are in danger of not even advancing the leadoff runner.
Astros 3-1 Nationals, bottom 5th
Adam Eaton starts off the bottom of the 5th by managing a single on a lowball that he had no business swinging at. Rendon follows that up by flying out on the first pitch he sees.
Astros 3-1 Nationals, top 5th
The Nationals bullpen is starting to loosen as Sanchez’s pitch count hits the 80s. Luckily for the Nationals, they manage to just barely get Correa out at first on a groundout to short. The inning is over, but Houston got the run they gave up right back.
Astros 3-1 Nationals, top 5th
Gurriel hits a base hit literally off of Sanchez, it rattles off his glove so there are two on now with two out for Houston.
Astros 3-1 Nationals, top 5th
Sanchez, still not entirely thrilled by the umpire’s calls, gets Bregman to fly out.
Run scoring single! (Astros)
Astros 3-1 Nationals, top 5th
Sanchez falls behind Brantley 3-1 on a borderline ball call. It’s something of a tight strike zone here. On the next pitch, Brantley singles in Altuve.
Astros 2-1 Nationals, top 5th
Jose Altuve golfs a low pitch into the outfield for a one-out double.
Astros 2-1 Nationals, top 5th
Sanchez is back out there and Springer quickly grounds out.
@HunterFelt I did not know that about Greinke I'm even more impressed with him now
— Ringo B (@TheRealRingo) October 26, 2019
And he can bat!
I almost called Greinke hitting a home run in this game, but wisely decided against it. (Although theoretically there’s still time.)
Astros 2-1 Nationals, bottom 4th
Sanchez is hitting for himself here for the Nationals and he fails to get a bunt down, striking out after bunting one foul. Turner then grounds out to the pitcher to end the inning. Martinez might take some heat for not pinch-hitting his pitcher there.
Run scoring triple (Nationals)
Astros 2-1 Nationals, bottom 4th
Robles hits a ball that bounces around in the corner and the Nationals are on the board thanks to an RBI triple!
Updated
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 4th
Suzuki is up next and he strikes out yet again. Can’t be the hero every night.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 4th
Zimmerman is up and he’s immediately in an 0-2 hole and then, after a ball, hits one sounds like a home run that goes just foul. Zimmerman shows some patience at the plate and works a full count and then a walk.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, top 4th
Normally I would take this moment to mock National League rules, but Greinke is one of like three or four starting pitchers who are actually worth watching at the plate. Greinke takes some mighty hacks against Sanchez including one at 2-2 that proves his undoing. A 1-2-3 inning for Sanchez.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, top 4th
And we get a call out from the International Space Station, cheering on Houston’s Astros. Let’s see if that Space Mojo helps their hitters here at the top of the fourth. Well it doesn’t help Chirinos who strikes out. Now the inning’s down to Greinke.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, top 4th
Man there’s been a lot of drama already. I have no idea how I’m going to get through this game. Reddick is here to start off the inning and he pops up to Rendon for the first out.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 3rd
Cabrera is up in a huge spot after that quality at-bat by Soto. He holds up on a pitch outside. 1-0. Greinke hits the corner with his next pitch and then finds the other side of the plate with the third. Cabrera’s already down 1-2 in the blink of an eye. Cabrera now has to protect the plate, fouling off the fourth pitch of the at-bat. Still, 1-2. On the next pitch, Cabrera can’t connect and Greinke gets out of the jam.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 3rd
Greinke’s first two pitches to Soto are both balls but the third pitch just catches the plate. 2-1. This feels like a pivotal moment here in the ballgame. Ball three is so high and inside that it pushes him a little off the plate, which is possibly the purpose. 3-1. Greinke’s next pitch is a fastball right down the middle. Soto probably would like that pitch back. 3-2. Greinke looks back the runner, the crowd predictably boos. The next pitch… that’s way too low and the bases are loaded with two out.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 3rd
Rendon is up with a chance to do damage but he hits one up high to the outfield. It’s birthday boy Juan Soto’s time now.
Updated
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 3rd
Adam Eaton is up next, he takes two pitches outside before fouling off a 2-0 offering. He takes another two balls and that will be Greinke’s first walk of the game.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 3rd
Greinke has turned himself into one of the league’s most consistent pitchers while managing social anxiety disorder (something which some New York Yankees fans mocked him for during the ALCS). It would be nice to talk about that while he picks up a strikeout or something like that, but instead Trea Turner works a full count against him and hits a one-out single.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, bottom 3rd
Greinke gets his counterpart to strike out as Sanchez goes out swinging.
I think the Astros win one game. This could be it.
— janice ⚾️ (@chestnuthell) October 26, 2019
I’ll be honest here: It would be nice to see Zack Greinke get a win. He’s one of baseball’s best stories.
Email from Roger Kirkby:
Hi Hunter, sweep? Sweep? Let’s have no talk of that. Twists, turns, fireworks, errors and bullpens are still to unfold. Settle in for the long run would be my suggestion.
I said it would be a sweep if the Nationals won tonight. I did, however, also predict that they wouldn’t. So far, Houston is on pace but we have a very long way to go.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, top 3rd
Two quicks out for Sanchez after a bit of lousy luck on the first two hitters. Brantley steals second on Sanchez after a first-pitch ball. The book is to run on Anibal, the booth takes pains to mention. Correa gets ahead of the count 3-1 but Correa takes a strike for a full count. This feels like a key moment here, to see if Sanchez can limit the damage.
He does! Correa swings and misses and the inning is over.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, top 3rd
Gurriel pops one up for the second out.
Astros 2-0 Nationals, top 3rd
Bregman flies out for the first out of the inning and Brantley has to head back to first.
Run! (Astros)
Astros 2-0 Nationals, top 3rd
Why is the booth interviewing Martinez right now? Brantley hits an infield hit that scores Altuve and the booth misses the entire thing. (Oh and the Altuve triple actually ends up being a double and an error, so that’s an unearned run on Sanchez, if you’re a stickler for such things.)
Astros 1-0 Nationals, top 3rd
Altuve scalds a double just fair… no wait, the ball rattles around in the corner and Altuve makes it to third! A leadoff triple for Altuve!
A randomly generated Haiku for Zack, make of it what you will.
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) October 26, 2019
Overcast autumn
A high, checkered fastball runs
in spite of the Greinke @HunterFelt
Astros 1-0 Nationals, bottom 2nd
Robles is up next and he takes a solid cut on Greinke’s first pitch. 0-1. Greinke knows that if he gets this out he’ll just have to deal with the pitcher Sanchez next. His next pitch is outside. 1-1.
And it turns out he won’t even have to worry about Sanchez, he gets Robles to grind into a double play to end the inning. That’s one way to save a pitch count.
Astros 1-0 Nationals, bottom 2nd
Kurt Suzuki who broke a 2-2 tie in Game 2 is up now with a golden chance. Greinke gets him to fish on a 1-1 changeup but can’t get him to go on a 1-2 change out of the zone. 2-2. Suzuki fouls the next one off and then hits one super-long but quite foul. 2-2, still. He’s making Greinke work. Suzuki fouls one off AGAIN but Greinke gets first strikeout of the game on a pitch on the corner. One down.
Astros 1-0 Nationals, bottom 2nd
Ryan Zimmerman, longtime National, gets his first World Series at-bat at home. Greinke gets ahead 0-2 but he can’t get a call on two pitches out of the zone. Zimmerman fouls the next one off. Still 2-2, Zimmerman laces one into the outfield. Runners on first and second and still nobody out.
Astros 1-0 Nationals, bottom 2nd
Asdrubal Cabrera is up and he gets a leadoff single off of Greinke
Astros 1-0 Nationals, top 2nd
Springer is up here with a chance to give Houston a 3-0 lead with a single but he falls behind 0-2. Sanchez can’t put him away though and in a blink it’s a full count. He grounds out to end the inning, which could have gone a lot worse for Washington. Still, the Astros are ahead early.
Astros 1-0 Nationals, top 2nd
This is a solid spot for Greinke, a rare decent-hitting pitcher, who has a chance to drive in a run here while still making an out. Instead, he bunts to get Chirnos to second. Reddick can’t score on this either.
Astros 1-0 Nationals, top 2nd
Robinson Chirinos is up next with one out and a runner on second. He gets ahead of Sanchez 3-1 and then laces a single. Josh Reddick can’t score, however, so there’s just runners on the corners
Run! (Astros get a hit with a runner in scoring position!)
Astros 1-0 Nationals, top 2nd
Josh Reddick is up next with one out and a runners on second. Reddick ignores the first two pitches, both of them balls. He stays patient on the next pitch, but Sanchez gets the call on that one. 2-1. On the next pitch, Reddick drives in Correa! The Astros have a hit with a runner in scoring position! And a lead! Reddick takes second on a high throw to home.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, top 2nd
Yuli Gurriel is up and then he’s down. He lines out on the first pitch. Carlos Correa, after taking a strike, doubles into leftfield. I’m guessing the word on Sanchez is swing early.
Juan Soto is hitting .000/.000/.000 since turning 21.
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) October 26, 2019
Washed.
Numbers don’t lie.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, bottom 1st
Juan Soto grounds out to end the inning, both sides have left a runner on second in the first. Try saying that three times fast.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, bottom 1st
Anthony Rendon is up next, he takes a low ball and then souls off Greinke’s next pitch. 1-1. The next pitch is a called strike, low in the zone. 1-2. Greinke’s next pitch curves a bit out of the zone. 2-2. On 3-2, Greinke doesn’t get a call on what seems like a low strike. Rendon is still alive and he stays that way by fouling off the next pitch. Then he gets a good swing on the next one and makes his way to second base for a two-out double. He might have to thank the home plate umpire for that one.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, bottom 1st
Adam Eaton grounds out to first swiftly afterwards.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, bottom 1st
Now it’s time for the Nationals to come to bat against Zack Greinke. Greinke’s first pitch is a ball as his second. And the third. Greinke gets a call on a high slider for a strike one and on the next pitch it looks like Trea Turner has gotten all of it but it ends up just being a scary flyball out.
Oh, and though I was wondering whether we'd have a full seven games each going to the visitors I'm now reckoning on a sweep by the #Nationals.
— ⲀlisonⲰ 🔶🌊♿️⚾☕🍣 ♀️🏳️🌈🛠️⚙️👩🏽🇪🇺🇬🇧🇯🇴 (@AlisonW) October 26, 2019
If the Nationals win tonight, it will be a sweep. I’m saying that right now.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, top 1st
Alex Bregman is up next and he takes a high strike on the corner. Sanchez has only thrown 11 pitches but it feels like he’s thrown just as many to his first baseman. On his 12th pitch, Bregman fouls one off. 0-2. Bregman takes a ball outside. 1-2. The next pitch is a ball and, finally, Springer springs for second and makes it there without a throw. It doesn’t matter, Sanchez strikes out Bregman on the next pitch. The Astros have already left a runner in scoring position, it feels like it would have been less demoralizing if Springer had just stayed on first.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, top 1st
Brantley is up with one on and now one out, he fouls the first pitch of the at-bat off. Sanchez’s next pitch is a borderline ball. 1-1. Man, he’s absolutely fixated on Springer at first, he keeps throwing to first. On 1-1, the gets Brantley to swing and miss on a high cut fastball. 1-2. The crowd wants its first strikeout of the game.
Instead Brantley gets jammed and pops out to Robles. Two out.
Astros 0-0 Nationals, top 1st
One on for Jose Altuve. After a few throws to first, Sanchez throws his first pitch to Altuve, it’s a ball. Sanchez then throws over to first again. Altuve swings at the second actual pitch of the at-bat, 1-1. He skies one that Victor Robles manages to turn around and catch near the outfield. It sure looked like that one was going to fall. Springer has to run back to first
Astros 0-0 Nationals, top 1st
Springer starts things off with an infield hit that Sanchez can’t corral but Springer would have been safe at first no matter what.
First pitch
Astros 0-0 Nationals, top 1st
Anibal Sanchez, who hasn’t pitched in two weeks, throws the first pitch to George Springer. It’s called for a strike. Game 3 is officially on the way.
@HunterFelt Stros in six
— Ringo B (@TheRealRingo) October 26, 2019
Trust me!!
Of course I trust anybody with the handle The Real Ringo. Peace and love, peace and love.
Oh, R.I.P. all of the “Juan Soto Is Only 20 Years Old!” commentary. Today was his birthday, so he is now 21. The positive news it that he’ll be able to legally drink champagne in a clubhouse should the opportunity arrive.
National Anthem
Our anthem singer? Well, D.C. Washington. That’s fitting enough. He zooms through it with his resonant booming voice and I dig it. No filler, all killer. 9/10.
Nationals starters
The crowd seems slightly more into it with the announcement of the Nationals starters. No Howie Kendrick in the lineup for Washington as Asdrubal Cabrera is in his place in this National League game.
1. Trea Turner, SS
2. Adam Eaton, RF
3. Anthony Rendon, 3B
4. Juan Soto, LF
5. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
6. Ryan Zimmerman, 1B
7. Kurt Suzuki, C
8. Victor Robles, CF
9. Anibal Sanchez, P
Houston Astros starters
Yordan Alvarez is the casualty of the Astros lineup with the Designated Hitter not in play today.
1. George Springer, CF
2. Jose Altuve, 2B
3. Michael Brantley, LF
4. Alex Bregman, 3B
5. Yuli Gurriel, 1B
6. Carlos Correa, SS
7. Josh Reddick, RF
8. Robinson Chirinos, C
9. Zack Greinke, P
Predictions
Well last time around I had the Nationals upsetting the Astros in Game 1 but had Houston eventually winning the whole series. I’m pretty much stuck here in predicting that the Astros will flip the script on the Nationals and pull off a road win. I’m guessing, a 6-5 Washington victory, probably in extra innings because it feels inevitable that we’re going to get at least one of those in this series.
Agree? Disagree? You can email them to us (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or just tweet them out (@HunterFelt).
And, of course, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz, who were on different sides of that 2004 ALCS immediately bring it up to start the FOX pregame show.
Am I mentioning this for the second time just because I happen to be to blogging here from the Greater Boston area. I will be issuing no further comments on the matter at this time.
Sticking to non-sports department
An update on the controversy in Houston. The Astros fired assistant GM Brandon Taubman after confirming that he targeted female reporters with aggressive taunts and then lied about his behavior. They have, however, issued no apologies for releasing a statement that discredited the Sports Illustrated writer who broke the story. It’s sounding like Astros owner Jim Crane is attempting to declare the story dead. It should be noted that the MLB is still investigating the incident and how Houston responded
“We made our statement, we got it wrong from the start. Jeff had reached out to the reporters and apologized. We made our statement. Other than that, we’re not going revisit at this point. We’ll play baseball.” - Astros owner Jim Crane, who declined to take questions.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) October 25, 2019
Stephanie Apstein met with Jeff Luhnow in the dugout just now. She asked for a retraction to the team’s first statement suggesting she fabricated her story. He didn’t commit to issuing one.
— Ben Strauss (@benjstrauss) October 25, 2019
Luckily Washington won’t have to deal with any particular cultural fault lines, right? Oh wait, what’s that? Trump is going to be in attendance if there’s a Game 5 (although he will not throw out the first pitch). Maybe a Nationals sweep wouldn’t be so bad for the league, despite the potential missed revenue.
Preamble
Well, who expected the World Series to start like this? The heavily favorite Houston Astros began the series at home with the one-two punch of Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander starting Games 1 and 2. Maybe it wasn’t shocking that the Nationals were able to pull off an upset in Game 1—especially considering that they were coming off a sweep of the St Louis Cardinals in the NLCS—but their 12-3 shellacking of Houston in Game 2 certainly seemed like a statement game by a team prepared to make this a short series.
Needles to say, this makes Game 3 a major deal for the Astros. The number of MLB teams that have come back from an 0-3 start in a seven game postseason series? That would be one: the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who memorably defeated the New York Yankees in that year’s ALCS. The Astros need to win this game, and it doesn’t help that they will have to pull it off on the road, in the district’s first World Series game since before World War 2, against a team that has just won eight straight.
The good news? The pitching matchup should favor them. In theory, Houston’s Zack Greinke is as a ridiculously overqualified Number 3 starter as you can imagine and Washington’s Anibal Sanchez is only starting because the Nationals needed Patrick Corbin to come out of the bullpen to help squelch a potential Astros comeback back in Game 1.
Of course, Greinke has struggled a bit this postseason and Sanchez has been as sturdy-as-they-come for Washington, even taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the St Louis Cardinals. Plus, it won’t matter at all unless the vaunted Astros offense can stop stranding runners in scoring position. If the Astros lose today, they will have a bullpen game in tomorrow’s Game 4. They can’t be confident about that.
So, this could be the series. Should the Astros survive, they are absolutely talented enough to at least take two out of three here at Nationals Park and take the series back to Houston. If they lose, they could just be playing out the string. Stay tuned here to our liveblog to see how it turns out. If you would like the contribute, feel free to send us your thoughts either via email (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or on Twitter (to @HunterFelt). First pitch is scheduled right around 8:08pm EST (although I wouldn’t set your watch that that) but we’ll be back well before then. It’s Game 3 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park!
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Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at Game 2, where the Nationals took a commanding two-games-to-none lead.
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