The Houston Astros find themselves in an uneviable spot, down 2-0 to the Washington Nationals in the World Series and having to win at least two games at Nationals Park
The Houston Astros were the league’s best team in the regular season and one of the best at home in baseball history. None of that stopped the Washington Nationals.
The Nationals took both games to open the World Series in Houston and head back home for Game 3 on Friday with a 2-0 lead. For 18 innings it’s looked like the Nationals who are the more dominant team.
Everything was working in favor of the Astros to begin the Fall Classic. They were playing at home, where they won 60 games in the regular season, the most since the 1998 Yankees. Only seven teams in the past 100 years won more games at home than the Astros. They had Gerrit Cole, who hadn’t lost a game since May, and Justin Verlander lined up to pitch the first two games.
But it’s the Nationals who ended up celebrating at Minute Maid Park. Now with the clear advantage in this series, the Nationals are just two wins away from winning the first World Series in franchise history
The Astros, meanwhile, are left looking for answers and ways to turn the series around. Here are three things they must do when the series resumes in Washington if they want to avoid making this Fall Classic a short one.