Nationals, Astros rely on rotations
Fall Classic will showcase All-Star starters at their peak
Now this is a serious World Series throw-down.
Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke vs. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin — all of them All-Star starters, still pitching at their peak.
It’s a mound meeting that every fan can enjoy, the Astros against the Nationals. Capital hill, indeed.
“We’ve got the best pitcher in the world going. And then after that, we’ve got the best pitcher in the world going, too. And then after that, we’ve got the best pitcher in the world going, too,” Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Bregman and fellow MVP candidate Anthony Rendon certainly did their parts to make this the Year of the Home Run. And Jose Altuve lit up Minute Maid Park with his walk-off homer to beat the Yankees in the AL Championship Series.
But the focus of this Fall Classic is right on the rotations.
Cole is set to throw the first pitch on Tuesday night in Houston. He led the majors with 326 strikeouts, was second to Verlander in the big leagues with 20 wins and topped the AL with a 2.50 ERA.
He also is 19-0 in his last 25 starts. That includes 3-0 in the playoffs so far, allowing one earned run in 222⁄ innings while fanning 32.
The clubs saw each other back in February when they played in the exhibition opener, and Scherzer gave up a homer to the first batter of the game.
Now, eight months later, they meet for real. The 107-win Astros trying to capture their second crown in three years, the wild-card Nationals making their Series debut.
“The World Series comes through Houston. I like the sound of that. I think it should be that way for many years to come,” Bregman said.
No slight to Bregman and other big hitters here: Altuve, the ALCS MVP, postseason star George Springer and top shortstops Trea Turner and Carlos Correa. And not to overlook the young stars on this stage for the first time, rookies like Juan Soto and Yordan Álvarez.
Yet in an era when teams search for new pitching strategies — witness the Astros’ parade of relievers in Game 6 of the ALCS — the two clubs left figure to rely heavily on their starters.
That’s just fine by Astros manager AJ Hinch.
“Philosophically, whether it’s about the new-age opener or pulling guys third time through, most of the people that support that haven’t had Verlander or Cole on their team,” he said.