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The two teams share a spring training site in West Palm Beach, Florida, and opened the 2019 spring training schedule against each other. This was the second World Series to feature two expansion teams, the first being in 2015 between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets. For the first time in any of the major North American sports leagues, the visiting team won all the games of a seven-game championship series, surpassing the previous high of five. It was the sixth straight World Series in which the championship was clinched by the visiting team.
Roberto Osuna pitched the eighth inning for Houston, when Juan Soto batted in Adam Eaton with two outs to give Washington a two-run lead. The Nationals extended their lead to 6–2 in the ninth inning, with two runs scoring on a one-out single by Eaton with the bases loaded. This was the first World Series appearance for the franchise that began its existence as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and moved to Washington, D.C.
Postseason rosters
If I recall correctly, Scherzer said in a post-game interview that the Astros seemed to know what pitches were coming in the first inning, and that the Nats had to change their signals. More recently, after the cheating scandal broke, Kurt Suzuki, Scherzer’s catcher in Game One, declared that the Astros were stealing signs in that game. Series not held in 1904 because the NL champions refused to participate, and in 1994 due to a players' strike. The "top" of an inning refers to when the visiting team bats, as the visiting team's runs are listed above the home team's runs in the linescore. The "bottom" of an inning refers to when the home team bats, as the home team's runs are listed below the visiting team's runs in the linescore.
New Spanish-language radio network Unanimo Deportes, flagshipped at WMYM Miami, broadcast its first World Series with Beto Ferreiro and Orlando Hernández announcing. MLB International fed the series to broadcasters outside the United States, with Matt Vasgersian providing play-by-play and Buck Martinez as color commentator. In the end, the Nationals pitched their way to the franchise's first world championship and the first title for the nation's capital since 1924. The wild-card Nationals and the 107-win Astros took the 2019 World Series to the max.
Team Player Value--Batters
However, they were defeated by the Washington Nationals in seven games in the World Series. A two-run home run by Yordan Álvarez in the top of the second inning gave the Astros an early lead. In the top of the fourth, Carlos Correa hit another two-run home run, extending Houston's lead to 4–0.
In the third inning, José Altuve doubled and advanced to third on an error, then scored on an infield single by Michael Brantley, giving the Astros a 2–0 lead. The Nationals loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the third, but were unable to score. In the bottom of the fourth, Ryan Zimmerman walked then was driven in by a triple by Víctor Robles, cutting the Astros' lead to 2–1. The starting pitchers were Stephen Strasburg for the Nationals and Justin Verlander for the Astros.
When is the World Series game today?
After a walk and a single to start the game, Anthony Rendon batted in two runs with a double. Alex Bregman tied the game with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. In the top of the second inning, Verlander recorded the 200th postseason strikeout of his career, surpassing John Smoltz (whose career spanned 1988–2009) and setting a new MLB record. On August 4, Verlander struck out 10 batters over 6 innings in a 3–1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Altuve became the 16th player in Astros history to reach 100 home runs. On April 12, Altuve connected for his second career grand slam, and first since 2014, in a 10–6 win over the Seattle Mariners. He hit another home run the next night off Félix Hernández, homering for the fifth consecutive game and sixth home run in that span. Altuve was the first Astro to hit a home run in five consecutive games since Morgan Ensberg's franchise-record six consecutive games in 2006. Verlander, the starting pitcher, struck out eight of the first 10 batters that he faced and 11 of 20 overall.
The Astros' only runs came on a two-run home run by Abraham Toro in the top of the ninth inning. This was Verlander's second career no-hitter against the Blue Jays, making him just the third pitcher of the modern era to no-hit the same team twice, and the first to pitch both no-hitters against the same team on the road. He is the sixth pitcher to throw three or more no-hitters in his career. On September 7, Verlander continued his domanance, reaching 32 consecutive batters retired, a streak that established an Astros franchise record and was tied by teammate Ryan Pressly in 2022.
While the ball ended up selling for a lucrative price, the ball's selling price fell short of the $3.05 million record set by Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1998. If the performance of Houston’s returning batters is comparable in 2020 to what it was in 2019, we should conclude that the Astros did not cheat in 2019, at least not during the regular season. However, the numbers do suggest the clear possibility that the Astros cheated throughout the 2019 regular season. However, the 2019 Houston lineup wasn’t vastly different than the one in 2018. Of the nine regulars from 2016, only three remained — Springer, Correa, and Altuve. Bregman and Gurriel were also on the 2016 team, but played sparingly.
For the first time in major North American sports history, the visiting team won all seven games of a best-of-seven postseason series. In championship series of the NBA, NHL, and MLB contested during 2019, road teams compiled an overall 17–3 record. Additionally, the Nationals became the first team to win the World Series in their first appearance since 2002, when the Anaheim Angels accomplished the feat by defeating the San Francisco Giants in seven games. Verlander exited after five innings, having allowed three runs on five hits while striking out three batters.
The Astros had home-field advantage for the series, due to having a better regular-season record than the Nationals. It was the third World Series in which home-field advantage was decided by the regular-season records of the American and National league champions, a practice that started in the 2017 season. It was the first World Series in which the Houston Astros had home-field advantage. The series was played in a 2–3–2 format, with the Astros hosting Games 1, 2, 6, and 7; and the Nationals hosting Games 3, 4, and 5.
It was not a coincidence that these staffs anchored the AL and NL pennant winners throughout the MLB playoffs . Rather, at a time of year when even the deepest of bullpens are strained, having reliable starting pitching options to go at least six innings was essential to the success of these teams. During a contest versus the St. Louis Cardinals on July 28, José Altuve homered for his 1,500th career hit, one of three hits in a 6–2 win that afternoon, in his 1,190th career game. The only players in the divisional play era to reach the milestone faster were Ichiro Suzuki, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Nomar Garciaparra, Tony Gwynn and Derek Jeter.
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