DLD Playoff Prediction Series: World Series

This is it. The final showdown between the 2 best teams in baseball plays out in a 7 game series between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros. The Stros will have the home-field advantage, so the first 2 games will go through Houston.

The Nats come into the series having a week off after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals. The two-headed monster added a couple more heads as Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez have joined Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg to form a formidable rotation this postseason. All 4 have allowed a combined 16 runs allowed in 10 games (1.6 runs/outing) and 61.2 innings pitched (over 6 IP/outing). The offense 4.2 runs per game against the Dodgers and 5 runs/game against the Cards. They’ve also scored in some clutch moments, most notably (*SIGH*) the go-ahead grand slam by Howie Kendrick in game 5 of the NLDS. So what about the bullpen? Collectively this postseason they’ve put up a 4.76 ERA. It doesn’t look good but you can attribute most of the runs scored against them in games 1 and 3 of the NLDS which the Nats lost. If you only account for the NLCS, then the 1 run allowed in the 9.1 innings pitched should attest to how well they’ve done so far. Most of the pressure will be against the Nats starters to go at least 6 innings in their outings to have a chance at winning the Fall Classic.

The Astros wrapped up their last series against the Yankees in dramatic fashion with a 2 run walk-off home run by Jose Altuve. That series went 6 games but most didn’t think it would go less, especially knowing the talent both teams had. The Stros won every game that Gerrit Cole has pitched this postseason. Add, mostly, to how well Justin Verlander has pitched and Zack Greinke’s most recent performance, it’s hard to see any team having a chance at taking out the Stros. The offense hasn’t been the dominant juggernaut we’re used to seeing but going up against 2 of the elite pitching staffs in baseball will put a damper on any prominent offense. Like the Nats, the Stros have also had their share of clutch performances. The bullpen has been as good as imagined. Their 4.08 postseason ERA isn’t attractive but they’ve held their own. It’ll be important for the Astros to take the lead first. They have the propensity to hold on and add to leads when they get on the board first but struggle when they don’t score first and trail after the 4th inning.

Here are some of the staff’s picks for the World Series:

Alberto

Nationals in 6 games

Carole

Astros in 5 games

Kevin

Astros in 5 games

Eric

Nationals in 7 games

Brent

Nationals in 6 games

Erika

Nationals in 7

Oskar

Astros in 6

This matchup might be a lot closer than most realize. I hope it goes 7 games because this will be the last bit of baseball we’ll see until next year.

Oskar is a contributor to Dodgers-Lowdown. You can follow the rest of the team that have Twitter accounts by clicking on their name. Photo Credit: Safest Betting Sites website

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