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If the series plays out the way the first five games have gone, the Washington Nationals will be World Champions after a Game 7 victory. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen. The road team has won every game in the 2019 World Series and the Nats have to extend that streak in order to take this the distance. The Houston Astros were prohibitive favorites coming into the series and they’ve regrouped after dropping the first two at home. Looking for their second World Series title in three years, the Astros give the ball to Justin Verlander in Game 6. He’ll be opposed by Stephen Strasburg. The game can be seen on FOX with betting options available at BookMaker.eu.
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Washington Nationals at Houston Astros
Date and Time: Tuesday, October 29, 2019, 8:07 p.m. ET
Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
Probable Pitchers: Stephen Strasburg vs. Justin Verlander
Opening MLB Odds: Washington +162, Houston -180, O/U 7.5
Nationals at Astros TV Coverage: FOX
Odds Analysis
Talk about a tale of two series and homefield disadvantage, that’s exactly what we have here. The Nats opened the World Series by taking a pair in Houston, extending their winning streak in the postseason to eight in a row. They got to Astros ace Gerrit Cole in the opener winning 5-4, and pounded out 14 hits to beat Verlander, 12-3, in Game 2. Then the bats went silent. The Nats collected just 17 hits and batted .175 losing all three games by a combined score of 19-3 in our nation’s capital.
The thing about the Astros is that they know they are a good team. They didn’t get rattled after losing the first two games instead they went on the road and took care of business. Two years ago they were a young, enthusiastic group that was happy to be playing in the postseason after several ugly years. This time around they know they belong and they have a little extra swagger after posting the best record in MLB. They also have that extra cushion of knowing they have two games to win one, and with their record over the past few seasons, I’d bank on them winning at least one of the next two.
Probable Pitchers
Stephen Strasburg has been perfect this postseason and the Nats need him to perform like the ace everyone thinks he is. It didn’t help that Max Scherzer was scratched from his Game 5 start leaving a gap in the rotation. But it’s up to Strasburg to fill it. He is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA during the playoffs and has already been in pressure-packed games.
Tossing three shutout innings in relief against the Brewers, Strasburg picked up his first postseason victory when the Nats rallied to win the Wild Card. His most important start might have been in Game 2 of the LDS when he limited the Dodgers to a run on three hits over 6.0 innings to even that series at 1-1. He also started Game 5 and kept LA in check after an early flurry of runs put the Nats in hole. He limited the damage allowing his mates to comeback for the decisive win.
And more importantly, Strasburg outpitched Verlander in Game 2 of the World Series giving up just two runs in 6.0 innings during Houston’s 12-3 victory.
As good as Justin Verlander has been over his career, he’s struggled in the postseason and the World Series. Following his loss in Game 2, he became the only pitcher to start 0-5 in the Fall Classic and he boasts a 5.73 ERA in six World Series starts, yet he can make up for all of that by winning the biggest game of his career to date.
At some point you might think the difficulties have gotten inside his head. Maybe his lack of postseason success already has. Verlander topped the majors with 21 wins and had a sparkling 2.58 ERA during the regular season. He tossed a gem in his first postseason start allowing just one hit over 7.0 innings to beat Tampa Bay 6-2 in the LDS. But he hasn’t been nearly as sharp since.
Verlander surrendered four runs in three of his last four starts and was touched for six homers in those games. He’s 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA in that stretch. Overall this postseason he has a 4.15 ERA across 30.1 innings and yielded four runs on seven hits in the Game 2 loss.
Bet Nationals at Astros at BookMaker.eu
Everything points to the Astros wrapping this thing up on Tuesday. They have the momentum after taking three straight in Washington and they Verlander on the hill. Don’t give up on the Nats yet, though. They tried too hard to make things happen at home and getting away from that environment will help. And besides, Verlander hasn’t been sharp in his last few starts. The Nats aren’t ready to end their run and why not have a Game 7 to make things more interesting.
MLB Score Prediction: Nationals 5, Astros 3
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- This article courtesy of Phil Simon and Bookmaker.eu
