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District On Deck

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

By Jake Mastroianni

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 23: Juan Soto #22 and Asdrubal Cabrera #13 of the Washington Nationals celebrate their 12-3 win over the Houston Astros in Game Two of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 23, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 23: Juan Soto #22 and Asdrubal Cabrera #13 of the Washington Nationals celebrate their 12-3 win over the Houston Astros in Game Two of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 23, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 11: Anibal  Sanchez #19 of the Washington Nationals acknowledges Jose Martinez (not pictured) of the St. Louis Cardinals who singled to secure the first base hit of the game for his team during the eighth inning in game one of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium on October 11, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – OCTOBER 11: Anibal  Sanchez #19 of the Washington Nationals acknowledges Jose Martinez (not pictured) of the St. Louis Cardinals who singled to secure the first base hit of the game for his team during the eighth inning in game one of the National League Championship Series at Busch Stadium on October 11, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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.

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