Students of baseball history will remember that the Washington Nationals began life 50 years ago as the Montreal Expos, who were snake-bitten during their 35 years in Canada. The team earned its first playoff berth in the strike-stricken year of 1981, advancing to the NLCS before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
13 years later, when another players' strike hit, Montreal led the National League East, and could've won their 2nd division title. However, the 1994-5 labor issue began a downward spiral for the Expos. A combination of declining attendance, coupled with a decrease in home dates in Montreal (22 games were played in Puerto Rico during the 2003 & 2004 seasons), led to the Expos exiting for Washington after the 2004 season.
Until this year, the Nationals couldn't get past the Division Series round. That all changed two weeks ago when they dispatched the Dodgers, avenging the Expos' defeat 38 years earlier. However, the momentum generated and nurtured in a four game sweep of St. Louis last week may be blunted by the week-long break leading into the start of this year's World Series.
The Houston Astros are in the Fall Classic for the second time in three years, third overall. Their post-season history extends all the way to 1981 as well, as they lost a Division Series that year to the Dodgers, and everyone knows how they fell to the Mets five years later. A member of the American League since 2013, the Astros have become a premier franchise once more.
There are some key players missing who were part of the 2017 team. Catcher Brian McCann retired after Atlanta was eliminated by St. Louis two weeks ago. Homegrown star Dallas Keuchel joined McCann in Atlanta as a late-signing free agent in June. Collin McHugh, who was a key bullpen piece two years ago, finished this season in the minors after a rough return to the starting rotation.
However, the offense is as strong as ever, having picked up veteran catcher Martin Maldonado in mid-season, backed up by Robinson Chirinos, who came over from in-state rival Texas. Former Tri-City Valleycats George Springer & Jose Altuve, the latter the ALCS MVP, are 1-2 in the Astro lineup, so figure 'Cats fans will be tuning in.
Both teams have solid front-line starting pitching. Washington opens with their ace, Max Scherzer. Houston will have Gerrit Cole, who will be a free agent after the series. Where Houston may have a weak spot is in its bullpen. Closer Roberto Osuna blew the save Saturday when the Yankees' DJ LeMahieu took him deep, only for Altuve to save him with a game winning bomb off Aroldis Chapman. Washington had brought in Sean Doolittle to be their closer, but after he got knocked around by the Mets, he lost the closer's role to Daniel Hudson.
This we know. Folks will tune in on Friday for game 3 to see if a certain Bloviator-in-Chief shows up. Houston has the home field, but using the designated hitter allows Washington one extra bat in the lineup off their bench that hasn't seen much playing time in the playoffs. On the other hand, Houston's game 3 starter, Zach Greinke, has been known to hit a few homers, as he did with Arizona and Los Angeles, so he won't be an easy out.
The pick: Houston in 7. Of course, I could be wrong.
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