Houston gets back into the series with a win on the road

Astros playoff report presented by APG&E: Houston takes World Series Game 3 in D.C. to get back on track

Jose Altuve in World Series Game 3
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

Jose Altuve scores on a night of much improved offense in World Series Game 3

After falling into a 2-0 hole with losses in both Games 1 and 2 in Houston, the Astros had to get things back under control with a win in Game 3 to avoid going down 3-0. They accomplished that mission, getting a 4-1 victory by getting a much better offensive night, including performing better in scoring opportunities. Here is a recap of World Series Game 3 from D.C.:

Final Score: Astros 4, Nationals 1.

Series: Nationals lead 2-1.

Winning Pitcher: Josh James.

Losing Pitcher: Anibal Sanchez.

Houston strikes first

With their offensive woes on display in the first two games, George Springer tried to quickly turn the tide with a leadoff infield single in the top of the first inning of World Series Game 3. Jose Altuve nearly scored him with a long drive to center field, but instead would be the first out on a terrific running catch by Victor Robles. Springer would steal second, but be stranded as the first runner in scoring position. They would get on the board in the top of the second, getting a one-out double by Carlos Correa, who would score on a bloop single by Josh Reddick, making it 1-0.

 

The next two batters would reach base, bringing up Zack Greinke, who would put down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third for George Springer, who would groundout to strand both runners. Altuve led off the top of the third with a double and was able to advance to third as Juan Soto would have trouble with the ball in the left-field corner. That set up Michael Brantley for an RBI infield single, extending the early lead to 2-0.

Greinke holds the lead but unable to complete five innings

Meanwhile, Zack Greinke was able to work in and out of trouble through the first three innings. He worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the first, then after allowing back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the second, was able to get a strikeout and double play to strand both runners. He faced another jam in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with two outs before getting a pivotal strikeout to leave all three Nationals on base.

 

Washington would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth, getting a leadoff walk that would score on a one-out RBI-triple by Victor Robles to cut Houston's lead in half at 2-1. Houston was able to get the run right back in the top of the fifth as Altuve and Brantley combined for a score with a one-out double then RBI-single, making it 3-1.

Greinke would continue into the fifth, but after two outs and putting runners on second and third after a two-out double, would see his night ended as Houston went to Josh James, who would get the final out of the inning. Greinke's final line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR.

Chirinos homers as Houston's bullpen holds on to the lead

In the top of the sixth, Robinson Chirinos pushed Houston's lead to three runs with a one-out solo home run, making it a 4-1 game. Kyle Tucker would pinch-hit in the pitcher's spot next, and after a lengthy at-bat against Anibal Sanchez, was able to work a walk to end Sanchez's night and cause Washington to dip into their bullpen. Tucker stole second and was able to advance to third on an errant throw, but despite the Astros loading the bases would not be able to add any more to their lead.

 

Brad Peacock took over on the mound for the bottom of the sixth, but after back-to-back one-out walks was lifted in favor of Will Harris, who would finish off the inning. He would return for the bottom of the seventh and be able to retire the Nationals in order, getting five big outs for his team, heading to the eighth with a 4-1 lead. Houston tasked Joe Smith with the bottom of the eighth, and he was able to work around a one-out single to send the game to the ninth.

The Astros then turned to their closer, Roberto Osuna, in the bottom of the ninth to hold on to the three-run lead. He would do so as Houston would avoid going down 3-0 in the series and would instead make it a much more competitive 2-1 deficit heading to Game 4.

Up Next: World Series Game 4 will get underway on Saturday with another 7:07 PM Central start time. The Nationals will start Patrick Corbin, who before his one-inning relief appearance in Game 1 of this series last started a game in NLCS Game 4 where he went five innings during which he allowed four earned runs. The Astros will give the nod to Jose Urquidy, who last pitched out of the bullpen in ALCS Game 6, where he went 2.2 innings while allowing a solo home run.

The Astros playoff report is presented by APG&E.

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Jake Meyers is the latest Astro to be rushed back from injury too soon. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

Houston center fielder Jake Meyers was removed from Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland during pregame warmups because of right calf tightness.

Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a right calf injury, jogged onto the field before the game but soon summoned the training staff, who joined him on the field to tend to him. He remained on the field on one knee as manager Joe Espada joined the group. After a couple minutes, Meyers got up and was helped off the field and to the tunnel in right field by a trainer.

Mauricio Dubón moved from shortstop to center field and Zack Short entered the game to replace Dubón at shortstop.

Meyers is batting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs this season.

After the game, Meyers met with the media and spoke about the injury. Meyers declined to answer when asked if the latest injury feels worse than the one he sustained Sunday. Wow, that is not a good sign.

 

Lack of imaging strikes again!

The Athletic's Chandler Rome reported on Thursday that the Astros didn't do any imaging on Meyers after the initial injury. You can't make this stuff up. This is exactly the kind of thing that has the Astros return-to-play policy under constant scrutiny.

The All-Star break is right around the corner, why take the risk in playing Meyers after missing just two games with calf discomfort? The guy literally fell to the ground running out to his position before the game started. The people that make these risk vs. reward assessments clearly are making some serious mistakes.

The question remains: will the Astros finally do something about it?


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