The conventional wisdom is that Houston, having won two straight to even the 2019 World Series at two games apiece, has the edge, with aces Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander on regular rest ready to close things out.
That conventional wisdom overlooks the fact that Washington also has its aces, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, ready to go in Games 5 and 6.
It’s frustrating, certainly, for Nats fans that they won’t be able to see their team of destiny close out a Series on home soil, but the legions of fans who left Nationals Park dispirited after midnight last night have to have perspective on where things stand.
The Series is now a best-of-three, starting tonight at 8:07 p.m. Eastern, with a reprise of the Game 1 matchup pitting Scherzer and Cole.
Washington somehow got to Cole, who hadn’t lost since May 22, touching him up for five runs on eight hits in seven innings in the 5-4 Game 1 win.
Ryan Zimmerman and Juan Soto each hit solo homers off Cole, and Soto added a two-run double that plated the eventual winning run.
Scherzer, you may remember, had to gut this one out for the Nats, after giving up a first-inning two-run double to Yuli Gurriel, then needing 112 pitches to get through five innings, in which he gave up five hits and walked three, and had just one clean inning, his 1-2-3 fifth.
Still, he gave up just those two first-inning runs, before giving the ball to the bullpen, which did its own job gutting things out, giving up two runs on five hits in four innings, with Sean Doolittle closing things out, retiring each of the four batters that he faced, including a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Nats may have the slight edge in bullpen strength heading into Game 5. Manager Davey Martinez hasn’t had to use Doolittle or his other late-inning closeout option, Daniel Hudson, since Game 1, while Houston manager A.J. Hinch likely won’t have Brad Peacock, who threw 21 pitches in relief in Game 3 and 32 pitches in relief in Game 4, and might have to be judicious with his use of Will Harris, who threw 25 pitches in an inning and two-thirds in Game 3 and got two outs on seven pitches in Game 4.
Closer Roberto Osuna wasn’t needed in Game 4, so he should be fresh if needed in the late innings tonight.
That’s the penalty for the Nats not being able to take better advantage of some key late-inning situations in Game 4. Washington left two runners on base in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, and was just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in Game 4.
That is after going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the 4-1 loss in Game 3.
Starters Anibal Sanchez and Patrick Corbin each got touched up for four runs in their outings, but you’re not going to beat a 107-win team in a World Series game hitting .050 with runners in scoring position, no matter what your pitchers are doing.
The Nats will need to get a big hit or two, need to get six, maybe seven, good innings from Scherzer, then get the ball to Doolittle and Hudson to close things out to get back to Houston needing a split to bring home a world championship.
Story by Chris Graham
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