What better way to kick off baseball’s two-day hiatus than by looking ahead to the upcoming Fall Classic? This year’s World Series feels like something of a throwback, featuring three powerhouse starting pitching matchups to get things going. It’s hard to imagine a better sextet of starters from two teams than Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, and Zack Greinke on one end, with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin on the other.
The Astros figure enter the Series as the odds-on favorite. Houston won an MLB-best 107 games in the regular season compared to Washington’s 93. Houston’s +280 run differential was also the league’s best, again significantly better than the Nationals’ still-strong +149 mark. The Astros unquestionably boast a stronger bullpen than their D.C. counterparts, and their lineup, for all their struggles in the ALCS, was among the best of all-time in the regular season.
All that said, there are reasons one might reasonably expect an upset, even beyond the vagaries somewhat inherent in short series. The Nationals are probably the better defensive team, last night’s glove show by Houston notwithstanding, with Víctor Robles perhaps baseball’s best defensive outfielder. Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto can go toe-to-toe with any duo in the Astros’ order.
Most importantly, though, any Nationals’ optimism is rooted in the nature of the short series. Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin could (and probably would) start six of the seven games for Washington should this Series go the distance. No one’s surprised any time the Nats fly a curly W when any of those three take the mound. The Nats’ pitching depth (most notably in middle relief and setup work) was the club’s Achilles heel during the regular season. Yet the postseason’s heavy dose of off days has allowed manager Dave Martinez to leverage his top arms. To this point, Washington hasn’t felt any ill effects for essentially deploying a six-man pitching staff (the aforementioned trio of starters, fourth starter Aníbal Sánchez, and top relievers Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson). With six days off between NLCS Game 4 and Tuesday night’s Game 1, Washington’s arms should be more than ready to empty the tank one final time.
So, MLBTR readers, we turn things over to you. Will the Astros cement themselves as a dynasty by winning their second World Series in a span of three 100-win seasons? Or will the Nationals’ three aces pitch their way to Washington’s first World Series parade since the Coolidge administration?
(poll link for app users)
i voted for the Stros, but i dont think ive been right about the Nats since the wild card, so heck if i have a good clue
I’ve picked the Nats in every series. There are too many ways they can beat you.
But not this series, It’s Houston. They are a better team, with a better starting staff (not dissing Washington) and a better bullpen.
Nats in 7,
I wish you would have told me that earlier, nats over cards was my only mistake in my postseason bracket.
On paper, each rotation and lineup are close enough to call a toss up. The real difference between these teams is the bullpen. It’s hard for me to justify the Nats’ winning that match-up.
In honor of Astros history, no DH in this World Series.
NL rules.
With the way Yordan is hitting, I don’t think the Astros would mind.
Hahaha… there was no DH in the ALCS!
As a Nats fan, I voted for the Nats but the reality is Astros in 6.
I’m not a Nats fan but I’m still rooting for them. The Astros won it all less than 2 years ago. The Nats have never even been to the World Series dating all the way back to their days in Canada. I hope the Nats finally get one. Otherwise for the next year I will have to keep hearing all about Houston winning 2 championships in 3 years which will inevitably lead to people talking about whether or not the Astros are starting a “dynasty.” I get so tired of seeing the same teams win it over and over so unless it’s my team I don’t want to see any dynasties. It pretty much ruins the league for every fan that isn’t part of the supposed dynastic fan base. Whichever team wins the world series will eat up most the media coverage but if it is the Astros it will be even more. Especially with Gerrit Cole becoming a free agent in the off season. As a Braves fan I know I shouldn’t be rooting for the Nats but it will actually be slightly more beneficial for the Braves if the Nats win. The Braves can’t win it anymore this season anyway and if the Nats win it all it will drop their draft status to the last pick which is the best scenario the Braves could have the Nats in next year. I also want them to represent the NL East division well. The NL East is probably both the most underrated division and toughest division in baseball. When the Phillies are a 4th place team in your division it’s gotta be the toughest.
Draft position doesn’t change based on playoffs in MLB. The order is already set.
And, of course, should the Nats win, Braves fans will be able to point to their better head-to-head record during the regular season and claim bragging rights. Mets fans, too.
It would be another case where the Wild Card invalidates the results of 162 games played. Sucks.
I must say as a sports fan my opinion is the complete opposite creating a dynasty is one of the hardest things to do in sports and I love seeing it happen esp in today’s sports where’s it’s become hard to buy championships like the Yankees used to do. For any team in today’s Day n age to be able to build a dynasty is fascinating because it takes so much to actually do so.
…and the Red Sox, with the highest payroll, bought the 2018 Series.
Boston bought the WS with the highest payroll in 2018. It can still be bought. I t has NEVER been a sure thing, though. Having the highest payroll has NEVER guaranteed a WS victory. That’s just something Yankees haters say so they don’t have to respect the 27. And it’s B.S. Spending more improves your odds and that’s all. Yankees haven’t had the highest payroll in years.
StandUpGuy, I respect your opinion and if it were any other team except the Nats or Mets, I would be rooting for the other team for the reasons you state (to include your Braves). In the 1990s the Braves were in it every year and while they earned it, it got old. Same with the Yankees from 1996-2001 (minus 1997). But I can never ever root for the Nats or Mets under any circumstances.
Yeah. What I said would be considered somewhat sacreligous by most of my Braves fan friends (same with my Philly and Mets fan friends and the Yank friends would disown me) but I didn’t root against the Phils when they were about to with their first championship in a long time and my friends hated me for it. I remember back then (it was right after both the White & Red Sox won their 1st championships in over 80 years) a lot of media people like ESPN were saying that the Cubs, Giants, Indians and Phils were the most cursed teams in baseball now. Call me over empathetic if you want but I don’t like any team’s fan base to feel cursed. Especially when the benefactor is some team that is going to add to a dynasty. I don’t really root for teams as much as I root for their fans. Believe me when I tell you that Nationals fans will get more joy out if their 1st world championship than most Astros fans will get out of their 2nd in three years. Every fan in DC will be sitting on the edge of their seat waiting to see if it can be done. I promise you that in Houston plenty of casual fans will be sitting around thinking, “So, what? We did this already just 2 years ago.” I know that all to well as a hardcore Braves fan. I went to the World series in ’96 and ’99. In 1999 the Braves couldn’t even sell out a WORLD SERIES game! Fans get complacent by nature when they expect to win. I went to the playoffs in 2005 and we won the game on a walk off homer by Rafael Furcal against these same Houston Astros. I was so pumped up and jacked. You know what happened? 80% of the fans in the Stadium didn’t really care. They just went for a good time. The Braves had won 14 consecutive division titles and at that point I talked to fans that didn’t care because they literally thought the Braves were gonna win the division every year forever. I’m not joking. I had several people literally tell me that is what they believed verbatim at the game that night (well maybe not forever but literally like several more decades). The Yankees also ruined the whole dynasty thing for me when they started buying championships at a payroll rate way higher than any other team could ever afford. Okay… We get it. The Yankees are in the most populated city in the country and therefore have the largest fan base. Does that mean MLB should allow them to buy the WS from every other league in the team every year? I didn’t have a problem with the Yanks paying Bernie Williams or Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera or even trading for A Rod. But when they are buying guys like Jason Giambi, Mark Texiera, Gary Sheffield, and CC Sabathia over and over again by paying such outlandish prices that they know no other team can compete with it is really sad for baseball. The Braves lost in multiple world series to the Yankees only because the Yankees did that. If the Yankees didn’t outspend every team in baseball by over $80 million every single year the Braves would have 3 world championships and 14 consecutive division titles and they would be one of the most dynastic teams of all time. The Braves tried to do it fair, too. They played like the other 28 teams in the league. The Yankees wouldn’t win like that. They could never build an entire team. They had to buy the teams they won with. The Yank friends I know love it when they win but are definitely saddened about how they do it. One of my friends told me he doesn’t even feel like he’s rooting for a baseball team. He is just rooting for the laundry they wear on their $200 million dollar backs. Why root for laundry? Who cares what someone wears when they perform well if they don’t care anything about the city on the jersey.
Standup, I have to disagree. I went to several playoff/ws games in Houston 2017 and have been to 4 post season games this year. There is nothing complacent about that ball park. Houston is a very difficult place to win and the fans rarely sit down.
Paragraph breaks bro.
Like this.
MLBTR should have a comment length limit about half of that comment. Maybe less.
‘Tis the Season for Teams of Destiny……
Nats are the team of destiny.
Hoping for a classic astros in 7
It should be awesome. The best 2 starting rotations in baseball. I hope the matchups go 1: Cole vs. Sherzer 2. Verlander vs. Strasburg 3. Grienke vs. Corbin 4. Sanchez vs. Astros #4 starter. Then they can just repeat 1-3 for games 5-7. Who is the Astros #4 starter? Being that game 4 will be in DC and Sanchez is likely better than Houston’s #4 I would say that is the only game where Washington seems to have a clear advantage. The other matchups should be great. I think the Nats have the best 4 man rotation in baseball and the Astros have the best 3 man rotation. The Astros would be smart to see if they can get Gerrit Cole to actually pitch 3 games. Like games 1,4 and 7. That way it is Cole, Verlander or Grienke all the time. They could run the risk of wearing his arm out but it is the end of the season and I can’t think of a better reason to do it. Not to mention he is likely leaving the team this off season anyway so it will be the next teams problem. Not to mention Cole would probably love the opportunity. If he can go 3-0 in the World Series he will easily break his expected $200 million paycheck.
….. it’s just a simple Question who will win?
Astros in 5 With no Hot Air
Technically the Astros aren’t using a 4th starter. For most of the year Miley was in the mix but he kinda blew up ya the end. Most likely game 4 would be another bullpen game
Scherzer will request he start vs. Verlander. Wins a Cy Young but starts the game after opening day?
Astros in 4
,The Astros are the better team on paper, but I like the Nats they have a good mix of young playes and vets. Their starting pitching might be better than the Astros.
You honestly think wash has the better starting trio? What are you smoking bro and please share it with me! Scherzer is prolly overall the best of the bunch verlander a very close second Cole right now is the hottest grienke has been a stud for years, Corbin is not elite like those mentioned above and well stras has been elite in the playoffs. Houston overall has the better trio man come on!
You are forgetting about Sanchez, who has been great in his two starts in the post season.
That bullpen game plan for the Astros needs to end. Just go with Urquidy.
Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin are younger and look stronger to me at this time in the season. Cole looks great, but Verlander and Greinke are not as good as they were during the season.
Yes a the moment the Nationals Starting Pitching might have a slight edge. Yes Cole has been absolutely filthy but Strasburg has been arguably right behind him as the second best pitcher this postseason. Scherzer is right behind Strasburg throwing a Nono through 7 his last outing. And Corbin has been deceptively good despite how many runs he has given up this postseason. Corbin had 12ks through 6 innings before getting tired and getting blown up. If he can pace himself a little more in his next start look out! Oh and then you also have Sanchez who threw 7 2/3 innings of no hit baseball. Meanwhile on the Astros the only “hot” hand is Cole. Verlander was shaky to start his last outing and Greinke has gotten blown up the whole postseason. Now you tell me who’s crazy.
I worry about the Nats ability to get it cranked up again after a long layoff.
That’s my concern too. For whatever reason, timing maybe(?), teams on a roll can lose their mojo. This happened to Detriot against the Giants in 2012. Detroit swept and had a long layoff, while the Giants fought and won a hard seven-game series against the Cards. When the World Series started Detroit was rested, but the Giants had the hot hand. Giants swept them out.
Yeah, that’s why they lost… sure.
It’s pretty much always a factor when it happens.
It’s the World Series, I’m sure you don’t need to crank up any Nats ball player.
Pulling for the Nats. As much as I appreciate the talent of the Stros, I don’t like how they got there. Tanking is BS, and horrible for baseball.
The Nats tanked too. Did you forget that they had back to back #1 overall picks in Harper and Strasburg? They got Rendon the year after that with another high pick. Houston did it more recently, but that’s just the nature of the game now.
People are starting to see why starting pitching is so important and can carry you through the playoffs
Astros. I made a video of myself predicting Astros winning WS once the Astros jumped in front in G5 vs the Yanks. Obviously they didn’t end up winning that one, but they won the series nonetheless. Heck, I also made a tweet with Astros winning WS on September 1st so I guess I’m all in now. This coming from an A’s fan.
Any lotto numbers? Lol
Stros in 5.
Congratulations on making it 2 in 3 Stros!
Houston is the best team in baseball and there is no pitcher I’d take over Cole..
Post season baseball is relentless and you need a pen. Does anyone think that Washington’s pen matches up?
With all that said, it will be Washington… It’s likely to be Washington. It’s baseball. Houston should win. But it’s baseball.
“It will be Washington”…
”Houston should win”…
I think you covered your bases lol
You understood my point perfectly… I gave you a like. It’s baseball, my official position is… “I don’t have a clue.” .
it’s much easier to answer who has a better team. Houston. But that doesn’t mean all that much in a seven game series.
The Astros are what the Cubs were supposed to be. And I’m a Cubs fan.
…or the Dodgers, or the Yankees, or the Red Sox, or Nationals, or the Mets, or the Rays, or the Indians———doesn’t anyone appreciate how dang difficult it is to win a championship—-especially in baseball.
I imagine that, if somehow the Nationals win, the Astros will be considered “failures” for not winning the World Series. Somehow the Astros “lost” last season and it could happen again.
Head says Astros. As a guy who does not like Bryce Harper though, would like to see the Nats win, especially with Philly missing the playoffs after higher expectations.
I want to see Harper trending at the top of Twitter again.
That’s some funny sh….
What do the sabermetrics say? Let’s add up the WAR and other stats and we can call it right now and get to football.
Oh Wilford, go back the the Hallmark®️ channel or something.
Astros in 6
I think the Astros will win easily, but I’m rooting for the Nats. Long time since they’ve won. Astros just won a couple years ago. They are a likable team… so are Astros.
Go Astros !
Absolutely hate the Nats and Scherzer.
Stros in 5.
The nats had a a good break, hopefully they’ve taken notes and won’t let the Astros sign stealing cameras effect them.
I despise everything about the Astros and have for years. Nats In 7. If they are able to do what the rays did but keep it up they’ve got more than a shot.
When the post season began, I picked Washington and the Astros with the Astro’s winning it all. I got a couple wrong along the way.. I thought the A’s would beat the Rays… and that the Braves would beat the Cards.
Rooting for the Nats, but think the Astros take it
This is a series where we’ll very likely have a strong indication on who will be the 2019 World Champion. If the Stros take early control at home, the Nats will be be in catch up mode and that will result with them making mistakes that push them even further back, If the Nats overcome the layoff and actually return home tied or if by some miracle, ahead by 2, the Series could end in D.C. But with all that said, there’s a lot of ifs that will need to happen for that to happen. Advantage Astros by a wide margin, but unless and if lady luck smiles on the Nats, they will pull off their post season miracle. Still, I expect to see Houston celebrating a World Series win, at least this year.
To win a World Series, it takes talent and a good portion of luck. Astros have the greater talent, but do they have enough luck? The Nats have some talent as well, but do they have any luck left to win it?
Time will tell, and as a baseball fan, I’m more than willing to wait and see how things turn out. As well, I plan on enjoying the WS one game, one inning and one pitch and batter at a time… Now if anyone can make Tuesday already? I wanna watch some World Series baseball….
Nats, only if they wear the Expos logo on their sleeves. Flip the curly “M” upside down!
I’ve been suggesting they do this a couple times a season for years, those old Expos unis are sweet
Indians!
sigh…..
WSN’s Starting Pitchers are the only team that has a better core than HOU’s. If we study the first two post season series, Gerrit Cole, Anibal Sanchez and Stephen Strasburg are pitching great. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander need longer rest. Patrick Corbin and Zack Grienke are not pitching at their best. Sanchez may be the indicator.
Bullpens are as good as their Manager. WSN has 3 reliable relievers but are mixing in Starters. I don’t know what happened with Dave Martinez. He changed from the worst Manager in MLB to a Manager calling all the right shots at all the right times. AJ Hinch’s management of his pitching staff during the 2017 WS G3 and G7 was masterful.
Both teams have excellent offense and deep benches. Both have great OF and corner IF defense. HOU’s middle IF defense is better. However, great defenders sometimes have their worst games during the post season.
I voted HOU. I saw some of WSN’s young players make some mistakes that went unnoticed by the media. These mistakes didn’t cost them at the time but, they can’t always get away with them.
Anything other than voting for Houston makes you delusional
Would you bet on the batting champion getting a hit in his next at bat if given 2-1 odds?
I once had a LAD trounced WSN delusion…
Nats in 3!
That would be impressive…
Go Nats but I’m not to confident they can beat Houston. I also didn’t think the could beat LA either though so hopefully they can prove me wrong again.
Astros in a very hard-fought six games.
The Astros are the better team but the Nationals are the team that is playing better. Talent wise the Astros should win but the National are in such a groove now I think they take it in 6.
You have to take into account who they were playing the Astros by far had the tougher path to the WS. Astros in 6.
I am an American League fan so Astros all the way!
Astros. I don’t cheer for organizations that abandoned their fanbase. But if Montreal gets another team someday, then it’s all good.
More like the fanbase never materialized. Or abandoned the team. Take your pick. I’m all for the far superior fanbase in D.C.
I wanna see the Nationals shock the world and sweep the Astros
astros in 5, because i can see them possibly punting game 4 if they have to use the pen a bunch in game 3.
i.e. they decide they won’t use pressly, harris osuna, or cole in game 4 for any reason (or greinke, but i think he’d only possibly be used as a pinch hitter for game 4 anyways)
Eh… Ditka in 5.
If I was betting, I’d bet Houston in 6. However, go Nats!
I watched both Championship series and even though the Nats swept the Cards, it should be noted that the Cards stunk. As another commentator noted above, Nats made some mistakes. With Houston benefiting from them instead of the practically non-performing Cards, then Nats go through some suffering.
Houston, on the other hand, was firing on all cylinders. I don’t think any team in history could have beaten Houston in that ALCS. Yes, the Yanks won 2, but they are probably also among the top teams in history as far as collection of talent goes.
Regardless, I’m hoping for an upset. The 3 teams I typically root for are the Pirates, Indians, and Rays. With the first two not in the postseason and the Rays losing a well-fought series against Houston, I’m just rooting for intrigue!
Chris Correa was going to vote Astros, but he lost his password to MLBTRADERUMORS.
Really looking forward to this series. The starting pitching on both sides is unreal and both have very good lineups. I think the Nats can pull it off, as I favor Scherzer, Stras and Corbin over Cole, Verlander and Greinke.
I’m with you Sky, they are younger and in their prime.
Astros, so I can stop listening to Nats fans talking smack about Bryce Harper leaving. There’s no chest puffing for “almost won a WS”. Also, Astros really are a quality team.
Ya, it’s gotten really old now. Makes it difficult to cheer for the Nationals when some of their fans just..don’t..shut..up..about Harper.
Especially since those same fans had their heads so far up his butt a year before that.
This Series has a chance to be almost completely unwatchable for the casual fan.
Can you imagine if ALL the starters live up to expectations?
Casual fans don’t watch a playoff game unless their team’s in it. That’s why they’re casual fans.
Please. I love a pitchers duel. Even the bat boy could hit 20 home runs.
Stros in five games… Expos fan since the days of Dawson but the Stros are just good… They beat the Evil Empire… Cole will be World Series MVP with his pitching Heroics…
If the Braves were not a terrible organization, then my entire postseason card would have been 100% accurate. I had Nats over Astros and I’m sticking to it.
Astro’s in 5
This could be a great world series. Nationals are a crazy talented team that is somehow an underdog after failing to advance for so many years. Astros are top to bottom the best team in baseball for a few years now. But, in a 7 game series vs a 162 game marathon, anything can happen. I didn’t think the nationals had the bullpen to escape the divisional round, but here we are. This could be a 7 game series, and while my heart says Washington, my brain is saying Houston.
Astros in 4, maybe 5 because of their starting pitching. Bullpen will bite the Nats.
Congrats to the cities and fan base of the Astros and Nats. Each has 3 legit Aces/#2s and the offense has quite a few stars. Should be a great series. I hope it goes 7.
Hey Franco, you should have had Yankees as an option. They would have been top choice with this crowd.
Um, no. But calling two WS in 3 years a dynasty is downright moronic.
The Washington Nationals in 7 Games!!!!!