The World Series is tied up, and it was supposed to go back to the aces who got things started. However, the scheduled rematch between Houston's Gerrit Cole and Washington's Max Scherzer won't happen, with Dave Martinez making a shocking announcement before Game 5 that Scherzer had to be scratched due to neck spasms. Joe Ross will start in his place. Can the Nationals nevertheless leave D.C. with a shot at bringing the trophy back home? Or will the Astros have the better chance of hoisting another flag in Texas?
What's on tap
8:07 p.m. ET: Astros at Nationals, Game 5
The view from inside the ballpark
WASHINGTON -- Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton summed up where it all stands: "It's gonna be a chess match. It's going to be awesome. This is some good baseball. It's gonna be a thinking man's game." They're not discouraged. They know they have to face Cole, but they're not down in the dumps about going 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position the past two games. Eaton and Trea Turner both recited some of the hard-hit balls that didn't fall in Games 3 and 4. No reason some of those balls won't fall in Game 5.
"It's baseball -- we expected [the Astros] to punch back, they did and here we are," Turner said. There is no loss of mojo, no such thing as momentum. It's about playing the next game -- or, in this case, the next two or three. "The series is back at zero," Eaton said. "It's the race to two wins. It's the last three games, and we are going to try and treat it as a regular-season series. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and try and win two out of three."
Of course, it's not a regular-season series. The winner will get to sip the champagne. -- David Schoenfield
A stat to impress your friends: The longest stretch of the road team winning in the World Series is five games, achieved twice -- by the Braves and Yankees in the 1996 World Series, and by the White Sox and Cubs in 1906. Since the Sox-Cubs series was played entirely in Chicago, that isn't quite the same thing, but what the Astros and Nationals could achieve if Houston wins Game 5 puts them in pretty rare company for this time of year.
Two questions
1. Prediction reset: We're at 2-2, who ya got and how many games?
With Max Scherzer unable to start Game 5, that swings the series advantage in a big way to the Astros. They have a huge edge in Game 5 with Gerrit Cole versus Joe Ross and Game 6 has to read as a toss-up between Justin Verlander and Stephen Strasburg -- slight edge to Strasburg based on the way he's pitching in the postseason, but Houston is playing at home and still has the stronger lineup and bullpen. On the other hand, if the Nats can win one of the next two and Scherzer responds to treatment and can start Game 7 ... well, let's just say Scherzer versus Zack Greinke, two likely Hall of Famers, would be some kind of fun. Astros in 6 (with Verlander finally getting his first World Series in the clincher). -- Schoenfield
The road team wins ... again. The Nats got to Cole once, but can they really do that again? And now that Joe Ross is pithcing instead of Max Scherzer, the path to an Astros victory just became that much easier ... Astros 6, Nationals 1 -- Dan Mullen
2. We've had two games in each ballpark. Which one do you like better?
I like both ballparks. No doubt Minute Maid is a little more distinctive with the train and the look of the park, but I give the slightest of edges to Nationals Park. It doesn't have the roof that is kept closed even on perfect days for baseball. It doesn't have that joke of a left-field section that turns Minute Maid into a Little League park. The neighborhood around the park is in rapid transformation that is turning this area of the city into a popular destination for a game, dinner and beverages. But the best part of both parks: The fans are into the games. Both places are loud. Maybe a home team will actually win a game before this World Series is over. -- Schoenfield
Give me Minute Maid. Nationals Park is a fine place to watch a game and a very good fan experience, but it's completely lacking in one area: charm. Outside the stadium, it's hard to tell the outside of the ballpark from surrounding buildings. From the home-plate view, you look out at two parking garages and no signature view in the outfield. At Minute Maid Park, on the other hand, you've got the train tracks and that distinct architecture in left field -- the kind of things that make a ballpark stand out. I've also really come to enjoy the various standing-room-only perches around the field that add another element to the atmosphere. I only have one request: Play a postseason game with the roof open! It's a much nicer ballpark when there's open sky overhead. -- Mullen
Predictions
Uh-oh. Best of 3. Watch out 👀
— Yulieski Gurriel (@el_yuly10) October 27, 2019
It would be fun to see the home team actually win a game, but the odds are now against that happening with Ross forced into action. He did post a 2.75 ERA over eight starts in August and September, but his season ERA was still 5.48 and he had the sixth-worst WHIP of any pitcher with at least innings. Oh, and all the lineup has to do is beat Gerrit Cole - which they just did in Game 1. It's hard to see the Nationals fashioning six innings of Ross and relievers before they get to Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson, however. Astros 7, Nationals 2 -- Schoenfield
The road team wins ... again. The Nats got to Cole once, but can they really do that again? And Houston is so good at making adjustments when it sees a pitcher again that I see its hitters getting to Scherzer enough to get him out of the game, and once the Astros get to that Washington bullpen ... Astros 4, Nationals 1 -- Mullen
About Saturday night
Stud of the night: Give rookie Jose Urquidy his props -- five shutout innings in his first postseason start, not to mention his first World Series appearance. He turned what was supposed to be a "bullpen game" into his game to earn the win.
Dud of the night: By giving up the tacked-on grand slam to Alex Bregman in the seventh inning, veteran reliever Fernando Rodney basically owns responsibility for putting the game out of reach. But after seeing the Nats' bats shut down a second night in a row, the offense has missed a homestand it can't afford to skip.
Highlight of the night:
Off the diamond
Social media says: After Game 4, Yuli Gurriel summed up what we're all thinking: "Uh-oh. Best of 3. Watch out."
Quote of note: "Now we have two of our big horses going in the next two games. We just have to come back." -- Nationals manager Dave Martinez after his team's Game 4 loss.
Best of the Fall Classic so far
Our running World Series MVP: With the Astros' win in Game 4, we have a new leader -- Houston catcher Robinson Chirinos. Homering for the second consecutive night, his blast opened the floodgates in Houston's Game 4 romp after his Game 3 shot iced the win that brought the Astros back in the series.
The play of the series: George Springer's near miss in the eighth inning of Game 1. With Houston down 5-3 and a runner on second, Springer hit a long drive to right-center that hit off the glove of a leaping Adam Eaton and bounced away. Kyle Tucker scored, but Springer had to settle for a double. Could he have made it to third? Springer said he wasn't able to go full speed with Tucker tagging up. If Springer had made it to third, could he have scored on Jose Altuve's fly ball in the next at-bat? We'll never know. Springer got no farther than second, and the Astros' best chance to tie the score went by the boards.