World Series Nationals-Astros Game 2 live updates: Time, channel, lineups, starting pitchers


World Series Nationals-Astros Game 2 live updates: Time, channel, lineups, starting pitchers

Simone Biles threw out the first pitch at Minute Maid Park. The gold medalist Olympian casually backflipped and tossed a strike over the plate in front of 40,000 people. It was a summit of success in Houston on Wednesday as, minutes earlier, legendary slugger Hank Aaron presented an award on the field.

How to watch

Game 2: Washington Nationals at Houston Astros (Washington leads series, 1-0)

Where: Minute Maid Park in Houston

Starting pitchers: Stephen Strasburg (18-6, 3.32 ERA) vs. Justin Verlander (21-6, 2.58 ERA)

HOUSTON — The Washington Nationals beat baseball’s best pitcher since May in Game 1 (Gerrit Cole), but now to win Game 2 on Wednesday night, they will have to beat the sport’s most consistent pitcher all season (Justin Verlander). Cole has the strikeouts and the incredible numbers, but Verlander has been the Houston Astros’ anchor, the steadiest pitcher (and one of the most versatile) in the majors this year. He never allowed more than four runs in a start, and he pitched five or more innings in 33 of his 34 outings. In short, the Nationals shouldn’t hope for an unexpected fifth-inning rally like they managed against Cole.

The stakes of Game 2 at Minute Maid Park for the Astros are immense. If the Nationals win, they will have beaten the Astros’ two top pitchers to seize another commanding 2-0 series lead headed back to Washington. If the Astros win, it rights the ship and gives them a little breathing room. The team knows it’s at a disadvantage in Game 4 when it will oppose the Nationals’ starter, probably Patrick Corbin, with its bullpen. Wednesday night is a crucial domino.

The Nationals turn to right-hander Stephen Strasburg, whose consistency this season, like Verlander’s, was overshadowed by another ace’s prolonged run of dominance. Strasburg will face an Astros lineup struggling not to put runners on base but to score them. Their postseason-long struggle to drive in runners in scoring position continued in Game 1 (they stranded 11 runners). Base runners are always important, but the dominance of the Game 2 starters increases the value of every opportunity to score.

Some pitchers, such as Nationals ace Max Scherzer, judge a pitcher’s performance on WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched). The metric measures traffic on the bases and attempts to provide a clearer picture of overall performance without untimely hits boosting stats like ERA. An elite WHIP is around 1.000; Strasburg was eighth in the majors this season at 1.038. Verlander led baseball with the third-lowest rate since 1900 (0.803).

This is one of the best Game 2 pitching matchups in recent memory. But, as Game 1 showed, don’t count out the offenses.

Aníbal Sánchez to start Game 3. Then things get interesting.

The Washington Nationals’ radical pitching strategy is about to receive its first big test. The team has used its starters as relievers throughout the postseason and now, having deployed third starter Patrick Corbin in relief in Game 1, the approach has altered the team’s rotation plans. Aníbal Sánchez will now get the ball in Game 3, Manager Dave Martinez announced Wednesday, but he left his Game 4 starter unknown, presumably in case Corbin makes a relief appearance in Game 2 or 3 and then cannot start on Saturday. So what are the options? (Read the full story)

Lineups

Game 2 reading

World Series overview

  • Game 1 at Houston — Nationals 5, Astros 4
  • Game 2 at Houston — Wednesday, 8:07 p.m.
  • Game 3 at Washington — Friday, 8:07 p.m.
  • Game 4 at Washington — Saturday, 8:07 p.m.
  • Game 5 at Washington — Sunday, 8:07 p.m. (if necessary)
  • Game 6 at Houston — Tuesday, 8:07 p.m. (if necessary)
  • Game 7 at Houston — Wednesday, Oct. 30, 8:08 p.m. (if necessary)




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