⚾ Houston Has A Problem

The Astros have suddenly found themselves pushed to the brink in the World Series. What happened? [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The Astros suddenly find themselves with their backs against the wall ... a softball-playing Forrest Gump kicks off the Halloween weekend festivities ... and sports fans look forward to a Sports Equinox-level loaded weekend. “We know we have to go out there and win some games,” Houston Astros’ talismanic second baseman Jose Altuve said on Wednesday night. “We have no choice.” Altuve’s comments represent a tidy and positively-spun way of saying the Astros — those mighty Astros, who crushed their way to 107 wins and possess a pitching 1-2-3 punch for the ages — have been pushed around in this World Series, shoved to the edge of defeat by a Washington Nationals squad that has no time for big reputations. Houston indeed has a problem and just like Altuve said, it’s out of options. Having seen its major advantages — home field and starting Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander on consecutive nights — swatted away in Games 1 and 2, the Astros must now find a route to a victory that deviates from the expected script. Heading into Friday’s Game 3 (FOX, 8:07 p.m. ET), not much about this Fall Classic has followed the running order. You don’t figure on seeing Cole concede five runs like he did in the opener, because he hadn’t done that since May 22. He hadn’t lost since then, either, going a ridiculous 19-0 with a 1.59 ERA in the interim. You’re not primed for him and Verlander to fall in back-to-back starts, because we hadn’t seen that all year. You don’t predict ill-timed throwing errors for Alex Bregman or base-stealing misjudgments from Altuve, and you certainly don’t predict a nine-run explosion across the seventh and eighth innings like the Washington outburst that tore open Game 2 and turned the momentum behind the Nationals into a locomotive. Winning the first two games of a World Series isn’t a failsafe precursor of triumph, but it certainly helps. The last 11 teams to do so have gone on to clinch the championship. The last team to lose the first two games at home and come back to win were the 1996 New York Yankees, who mounted a remarkable revival against the Atlanta Braves. [STORY IMAGE 1] FOX announcer John Smoltz was on the losing end of that, despite winning Game 1 and pitching lights-out in an epic duel against Andy Pettitte in a 1-0 Yankees win in Game 5. It meant that the Braves’ epic Big Three era, spearheaded by the fearsome Hall of Fame combo of Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, would ultimately realize just one World Series title. “It’s one of the main things I will never forget from my career,” Smoltz told me in a telephone conversation. “It’s the greatest moment that I would like back. What people fail to realize is that a situation like that with our team changed the direction of the entire organization.” Smoltz has been in awe of the way the Nationals — now in an 84-40 stretch since righting their early-season wobbles — have executed their business, but he can still see a glimmer of hope for Houston. “Right now, the Nationals are executing as good as you possibly can,” Smoltz added. “It’s been amazing to see them break it open and take the pressure off that bullpen. Before you know it, the series could be over and the bullpen hasn’t been really tested. “The overall depth was key for them. It meant the pressure on Cole and Verlander to win was unbelievable and it really puts Houston in this precarious situation. Their mantra now has to be all about figuring out how to get Cole and Verlander another start each. “When the game plan isn’t working, you need to not rip it up but maybe get away from it a little. Houston has to impose themselves offensively.” [STORY IMAGE 2] With the Nationals boasting Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg but a supposedly dismal bullpen, Houston manager A.J. Hinch built his tactical approach around trying to get past the starters with patience and guile, but it hasn’t worked. The Washington offense has had more than enough to protect their back-up arms. As Houston’s third ace, Zack Grienke, prepares to start Game 3, the pitching narrative has changed somewhat. Unlike their rival, the Nationals have four established starters, with Aníbal Sánchez primed for Friday and Patrick Corbin for Game 4, while the Astros are penciled in for a bullpen game on Saturday, unless they risk bringing back Cole on short rest. Smoltz feels the Nationals, originally coming in as one of the biggest underdogs in recent World Series history, benefitted from starting the series on the road. “It takes a lot of the edginess out of it; it can free you up,” he added. “But it doesn’t necessarily work in reverse. Now Houston is up against it. When the better team has lost the edge, it’s like you’ve given something away. You don’t just get to say: ‘we’re the underdog now, we can play with freedom.’ They will be feeling it.” The odds have flipped. The Nationals are now favored with [FOX Bet]( at -275, with the Astros now +230 underdogs. Yet as quickly as the Nationals shifted the narrative, it can turn the other way. If Greinke can reestablish the Astros’ pitching dominance, if the clumsy errors are set right, if the Nationals bats cool a little and if Houston’s are able to light up, this thing is not done yet. Yet for all their months of excellence, their resounding favoritism and seemingly unstoppable vibe just a few days ago, that’s what it has come to for Houston: a handful of ifs and maybes, and a desperate need to turn the tide. [STORY IMAGE 3] Here’s what others have said ... Ben Lindbergh, The Ringer: “Verlander became the first pitcher to lose his first five World Series decisions, and his lifetime Series ERA in six starts sits at 5.72. He’s pitched perfectly fine in the first two rounds of the playoffs and in much larger samples, compiling a combined 2.82 ERA in 149 2/3 innings in the ALDS and ALCS, but he’d surely love another crack at ending that Fall Classic streak. Dangerous as the Astros are, he’s not guaranteed to get one: If the Nats can take two out of three in D.C., they could end this series without seeing him again.” Tyler Kepner, New York Times: “The Astros may be further emboldened by the fate of three of the last four teams to fall into this trap. The 1985 Kansas City Royals, the 1986 Mets and the 1996 Yankees all lost the first two games at home but ended up winning the title. The 1999 Atlanta Braves did not, and the situation has not arisen since. The urgency is obvious.” Richard Justice, MLB.com: “This is an extreme version of what the last five months have been like. When the Nationals have needed a pitch or a hit or a defensive play, they’ve gotten it. Sometimes, that happens in sports. Months from now, the Nats will look back and not be able to fully explain how it happened. Shock the world? That’s for other people to say. Inside baseball, no one is really shocked as this World Series shifts to Nationals Park, where the home team has won 44 of its last 62 games.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Russell Westbrook wants to change, but can he? [Jesse Washington at]( [The Undefeated]( [details]( how the Rockets are gambling this mercurial guard can be the difference. - Alex Morgan starting a family highlights challenges male athletes don't have to consider, [writes Dan Wetzel at]( [Yahoo Sports](. - [Tim Cato at]( Athletic]( [considers Slovenia]( and how Luka Doncic stands on the precipice of becoming the most important athlete in the small country’s history. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( It’s officially Halloween week, and we’re sure to be seeing plenty of spooky celebrations over the sports weekend. But it’s already going to be hard to top this amazing clip from the costumed Halloween softball game at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. There were a lot of great highlights (like [an enormous triceratops]( who couldn’t see the pitches and had to rely on teammates for timing its swing), but far and away the winner was Forrest Gump, who — true to character — could not stop running after legging out a single. Absolutely perfect. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Houston Astros at Washington Nationals (FOX, 8:07 p.m. ET) The World Series heads to the nation’s capital for Game 3 with the Nats holding a commanding 2-0 lead. Aníbal Sánchez gets the ball for the Nationals opposite Houston’s starter, Zack Greinke. WWE Friday Night SmackDown (FS1, 8 p.m. ET) For one night only, SmackDown will air on FS1. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair will both be in attendance for this packed show. No. 13 Wisconsin at No. 3 Ohio State (FOX, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET) This Big 10 showdown figures to be the most pivotal matchup of CFB Week 9. Can the Buckeyes keep rolling against a tough Badgers squad? Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs (NBC, Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET) The Week 8 game that everyone is dying to see pits Aaron Rodgers’ 6-1 Packers against the Chiefs, but Patrick Mahomes will not be playing, per Andy Reid. The road game will still be a tough matchup for the Packers, if not the QB showdown the world was waiting for. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Jose Altuve to hit a HR & Astros to win: +500 If the Astros are to make this a series, they’ll likely need a lift from their hero. Somehow, some way, Jose Altuve just comes up big when Houston needs him the most. Meanwhile, the odds on the Astros to win the championship have slipped all the way to +230, with the Nationals standing as -275 favorites to complete their Cinderella story. [WHAT THEY SAID] “No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one third of your games. No matter how bad you are, you’re going to win one third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.” —Tommy Lasorda [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2019 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. FOX.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900