On The Road To The World Series
After a record-setting season of home runs, we now turn our attention to a World Series likely to be dominated by pitching.
That doesn’t mean nobody will hit. The Houston Astros hit. The Washington Nationals hit. But the pitching matchups will likely make the memories in the fall classic that opens on Tuesday night (8:08 p.m. ET, Fox) in Houston.
Game 1 will see Max Scherzer on the mound for the Nats, against the Astros’ Gerrit Cole. Cole led the majors in strikeouts while winning 20 games; Scherzer was eighth. Both posted ERAs under 3.00. Houston is 16-0 in Cole’s last 16 starts. The Astros led the majors in strikeouts; the Nats were second.
More of the same will follow. Expect the Nats to throw Stephen Strasburg on Wednesday night against Justin Verlander and then Patrick Corbin against Zack Greinke in Game 3 on Friday night in D.C.
The Astros won the World Series in 2017. The Nationals, in D.C. since 2005, are making their first appearance. The first iteration of the Washington Senators won the World Series in 1924, but no World Series game has been played in D.C. since 1933. The Nats know this history well.
“I truly believe that these guys are fired up to be here,” manager Dave Martinez said. “We played a lot of unbelievable games this year. We’ve come a long way.”
Another quirk: The two World Series teams share a ballpark in West Palm Beach, Fla., during spring training. As if Florida wasn’t already a hot ticket in March, we can add this as further allure for future tourists.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame says this is only the second World Series matching spring stadium mates. The other was in 1942 (New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, who bunked together in St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman
-
Correa joined the Mets with a $315 million contract. Recently, baseball player Carlos Correa announced that he had cut...
-
Oklahoma and Texas will depart from the college sports conference at the end of the season. The Big 12...
-
Robert Kraft wants to re-sign Brady just long enough that he can retire as a Patriot. Earlier this week,...
-
The skilled third-baseman will be enshrined in Cooperstown. Scott Rolen is one of the most skilled and recognized third-basemen...
-
Brady’s 23rd football season has ended. On Monday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys went head-to-head for...
-
Smith has been fired after one season with the team. Over the weekend, the owners of the Houston Texans...
-
Pelé passed due to complications related to colon cancer. On Thursday night, the sporting world received unfortunate news: Pelé,...
-
His return heralded a victory over the Phoenix Suns. On Sunday, Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas needed to take...
-
Mayfield will be available on waiver to other NFL teams. After an underwhelming performance in his current role as...
-
Mike White led the team to a decisive victory over the Bears over the weekend. On Saturday, the New...
-
The game has been moved out of New York due to an encroaching snowstorm. This weekend, the Buffalo Bills...
-
Negative pushback prompted the team to give the role to someone else. Recently, the Brooklyn Nets have been in...