Washington Nationals take on underdog role in 2019 World Series
![WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 15: The Washington Nationals celebrate winning game four and the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park on October 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fdistrictondeck-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2019-2F10-2F1181344266-850x560-ec36ba6aa5cae50d2703c766fa205fa4.jpg)
It’s nothing new for the Washington Nationals this season, but they will once again take on the underdog role in the World Series.
With all of the experts picking the Houston Astros to win the World Series, the Washington Nationals will go into Game 1 as a huge underdog.
That doesn’t come as a surprise with many people picking the Houston Astros to win the World Series not only at the beginning of the postseason but at the beginning of the season.
And most thought that it would be the Los Angeles Dodgers to oppose them in the 2019 World Series.
But the Washington Nationals just keep proving people wrong as they beat the Dodgers in five games in the NLDS and then swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS to reach the World Series.
I’m not an expert in baseball gambling, but according to this report from ESPN, the sportsbook in Las Vegas has the Nationals at +195 underdog.
The Action Network had the Nationals opening as a +170 underdog but have also seen that number go up to +175.
MLB.com also put out their World Series picks, and to no surprise, 37 of 46 experts picked the Houston Astros to win the title.
A lot of the responders on MLB.com mentioned the long layoff as one reason they picked the Astros over the Nats, while others seem to think they won’t be able to deploy the same strategy of shortening their pitching staff in a seven-game series against the Astros.
The majority picked the Astros to win in six games with two thinking the Astros sweep and seven picking the Astros in five, so at least most think the Nationals have a chance.
Seven picked the Nats to win in seven games, while the other two who picked the Nats have them winning in six games.
Those 46 MLB.com experts also predicted the World Series MVP. Five picked Max Scherzer, two picked Anthony Rendon, and the other two picked Stephen Strasburg.
Next. Nats on brink of history. dark
Of course, this all means nothing when it comes to actually playing the game. But it cant’ hurt to have a little more bulletin board material for the Washington Nationals going into Game 1 on Tuesday night.