World Series: Nats Bring the Hammer to Houston, Pound Out a 2-0 Lead

Question: What do you give a team that's won 18 of its last 20 games and 8 in a row in the post-season?
Answer: Absolutely nothing. That'll only make it worse.

The Houston Astros discovered this the hard way -- as if they didn't know it already -- by committing everything they didn't do on their way to a 107-win regular season and a playoff romp to the World Series.

And when it all happened in the late innings of Game 2, the wheels really came off the wagon.

 

The 'Stro' 12-3 loss in this one puts them down two games to none

Justin Verlander began his outing serving up red meat to the Nationals in the first inning, got into a rhythm for a while, and then threw BP in Washington's 6-run seventh.

It wasn't enough to tempt fate by missing his spots. He was missing them inside the zone.

 

Thus, Verlander's playoff irony continued:

• Dude's now rung up a record 200 post-season strikeouts, but
• Despite his 14-9 playoff record, he's now winless in six World Series starts and 0-5 in those decisions.

Maybe he's allergic to the Fall Classic or something.

 

This futility spans Verlander's time with Detroit to his tenure with Houston:

• 2006 Game 1: 5 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 8 K, 2 BB
• 2006 Game 5: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 K, 3 BB
• 2012 Game 1: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 K, 1 BB
• 2017 Game 2: 6 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 5 K, 2 BB
• 2017 Game 6: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 9 K, 0 BB

 

Apparently not.

The Minute Maid train only has 800 feet of track, but the way Verlander and Houston's pen were laying rails tonight, Juan Soto & Co could almost ride it back to DC.

 

Meanwhile, Stephen Strasburg's been waiting seven years for this moment.

Washington made a controversial decision back then to shut him down for the playoffs due to his return from Tommy John surgery and a season-long innings count.

Maybe that's accounted for his longevity and continued exellence since then, but in any case, dude made his first Series start a memorable one.

 

In support, the Nats' attack aggressively took advantantage of everything Houston had to offer to stun the 'Stros crowd for the second night in a row:

 

Seamheads have the stats to back up a claim that teams winning the Series' first two games have an 80% shot at hoisting the hardware.

However, it's difficult to conceive Houston won't make this a battle royale.

If they're gonna do that, the first order of business is to prove they're as solid a road team as Washington is.