World Series Game 2: Nats @ Astros

The improvisational roadshow that is Major League Baseball foisted another bad Astros apology on us complete with Jeff Luhnow, the smartest man in baseball, to opine that “we may never know” the intent behind his asshole AGM’s outburst after the ALCS clincher.

Meanwhile, Jeff Passan reports:

(stage whisper) IT’S GOING VERY WELL.

Meanwhile, the Nationals shocked the world last night, not by winning Game One (read ShutUpWesley’s recap here) but by playing pretty solid for a team that had a six-day layoff.

They’re sticking with the same lineup tonight . . .

NATIONALS

SS — Trea Turner
RF — Adam Eaton
3B — Anthony Rendon
LF — Juan Soto
DH — Howie Kendrick
2B — Asdrubal Cabrera
1B — Ryan Zimmerman
C — Kurt Suzuki
CF — Victor Robles

SP — Stephen Strasburg

. . . and starting Stephen Strasburg. All he’s done this postseason is strikeout 33 in 22 innings against just one walk. He’s absolutely, as the kids say — and I cannot stress this enough — shoved.

Here are the Astros:

ASTROS

CF — George Springer
2B — Jose Altuve
LF — Michael Brantley
3B — Alex Begman
1B — Yuli Gurriel
DH — Yordan Alvarez
SS — Carlos Correa
C — Robinson Chirinos
RF — Josh Reddick

SP — Justin Verlander

Springer, Altuve, Brantley, Correa, and Bregman figure to hold their performance over the course of the series, but the Nationals will be in real trouble if Yordan Alvarez is emerging from a slump (he went 2-for-3 last night after going 0 for his past bleleventy billion). Five power hitters are too many to contend with in a seven-game series. Six is impossible.

Finally, Justin Verlander will be making his sixth start in a World Series. He’s 0-4 with a 5.67 ERA in 27 World Series innings.