By Jordan Long
The World Series starts tonight as the Houston Astros host the Washington Nationals. Game 2 will be tomorrow in Houston before the series shifts to Washington on Friday. Let’s see who holds the edge.
The Astros were the top baseball team in the regular season, finishing the year at 107-55. In the postseason they faced the Tampa Bay Rays in the Division Series. The Rays forced them to a game 5 where the Astros won 6-1 to head to the American League Championship Series (ALCS). In the ALCS the Astros needed 6 games to get past the New York Yankees.
The Washington Nationals were the 1st Wild Card team with a record of 93-69. They hosted the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Wild Card Game. They knocked off the Brewers 4-3. In the Division Series it took 5 games for them to send the Dodgers home. In the National League Championship Series, they swept the St. Louis Cardinals.
Both teams’ strength is starting pitching. Houston’s starting rotation is one of the best in baseball with Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Zack Greinke. In the regular season the starting pitching ERA was 3rd best in all of baseball with a 3.61. In the postseason the starting pitching is one of the reasons they are here with an ERA of 3.16.
The Nationals, on the other hand, counter with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin. In the regular season Nationals’ starters had an ERA of 3.53, ranking 2nd in all of baseball. In the postseason it has improved to 2.04.
Looking at that, the Nationals have the better starting pitching but not by much. Both teams have the ability for their starter to go deep into games. That will save the bullpen from being over worked.
The Astros bullpen ended the year with a 3.75 ERA, 3rd in Major League Baseball. In the postseason, the Astros bullpen hasn’t been as dominant with an ERA of 4.08. When games were close, they went to their closer Roberto Osuna. He saved 38 games but blew 6 in the regular season. His ERA was 2.63. In the postseason he has 1 save and 1 blown save with an ERA of 3.52.
The Nationals’ bullpen was the worst in baseball with an ERA of 5.66. It is amazing they ended up as the 1st Wild Card team. This bullpen is still not doing their job in the postseason with an ERA of 4.76.
The Nationals’ closer is Sean Doolittle. He has 1 save in the run to the World Series with an ERA of 2.45. The edge for the bullpen goes to Houston.
Both teams will use their offense to score early and often. They both can drive the ball to the outfield into the gap for extra base hits and smack home runs. The Astros batting average in the playoffs is .208 while Washington’s is at .243. That is not much of a difference but Washington right now is better offensively.
On paper, it could be a 6 or 7 game series. The only problem is the Washington Nationals are well rested and haven’t played a game since they swept the Cardinals a week ago. Houston finished off the Yankees on Saturday. Rest might make the Nationals look rusty. If that is the case, it could take 2 games for them to play well. In the end, the Astros defeat the Nationals in 6 games. They are the better team on paper. Their starting pitching will lead the way especially if they can pitch into the 6th or 7th innings. The bullpen will just need to nail down the final 2 or 3 innings.
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