World Series: Washington Nationals head home for Game 3 with all the momentum

Anibal Sanchez vs. Houston Astros
When the Washington Nationals signed Anibal Sanchez for two years and $19 million this past offseason I don’t believe many thought he’d be starting Game 3 of the World Series.
But with Dave Martinez forced to use Patrick Corbin out of the bullpen in Game 1, it’s Sanchez who gets the ball in Game 3.
And even so, Anibal has earned this start with the way he’s pitched this postseason.
He gave up just 1 earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks over 5 innings with 9 strikeouts in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And then he had a no-hitter through 7.2 innings in the NLCS against St. Louis.
Overall, he’s given up just 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks over 12.2 innings with 14 strikeouts this postseason.
And he was very solid for the Washington Nationals in the regular season with a 3.85 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
Sanchez has been around a while so he’s obviously faced the Houston Astros before, but the last time he face them was in 2016.
Jose Altuve (4-for-11, 1 HR), Michael Brantley (9-for-30), and Josh Reddick (3-for-13, 1 HR) have the most experience against him.
George Springer (3-for-5, 1 HR) and Robinson Chirinos (4-for-7) have had good at-bats against Sanchez in a small sample size.
Sanchez has actually been worse at home this season (4.24 ERA) and has had trouble against lefties (.248). Fortunately, the Astros will likely only have three lefties in their lineup.