*Photo from CBS Sports*
Washington leads series 2-1
For the first time, the Houston Astros looked like they belonged in this world series. Jose Altuve doubled twice, the bullpen held strong, and the Astros forced a game 5 with a 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals. The Astros were also aggressive on the basepaths, with 4 steals in game 3, two of them coming from George Springer. In the first world series game in Washington in 86 years, Houston was reborn.
After a scoreless first inning on both sides, the Astros took the lead in the second on a bloop single from Josh Reddick that scored Carlos Correa to make it 1-0. In the 3rd, Altuve scored on an infield single by Michael Brantley to make it 2-0. In the 4th, Washington got on the board with a Victor Robles triple down the left field line that scored Ryan Zimmerman. In the 5th, Brantley hit an RBI single to make it 3-1 Houston. In the 6th, Robinson Chirinos turned on the first pitch, and it hit the foul pole for a solo homer to make it 4-1 Houston.
Starter Zack Greinke went 4 2/3 innings for Houston, giving up one run on 7 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 6 to get the no decision. Josh James got the win, as he finished the 5th inning. Roberto Osuna worked the 9th for his first world series save. Manager AJ Hinch said of game 3 that ''We're pretty good, too, it kind of re-establishes us.'' Altuve said simply that "We didn't panic." Reliever Will Harris said of the slow world series start that ''Not the script you'd want to write to start out a World Series, we believe in each other in there. We know we have obviously a very talented, capable team.'' Hinch said of Altuve's performance that ''Jose's the heart and soul of what we do, it was his turn to be a catalyst.''
Starter Anibal Sanchez went 5 1/3 innings for Washington, giving up 4 runs on 10 hits and one walk. He took his first loss this postseason. The Nats 8 game winning streak was snapped, despite the rowdy crowd in Washington. Manager Dave Martinez said of the fan support that ''It was electric, the boys in the dugout, they were fired up.'' But they couldn't come through. Martinez said of the hitting struggles that ''Tonight we were a little bit aggressive outside the strike zone, we took balls I thought we should hit, uncharacteristic of what we've been doing.'' Adam Eaton simply said that ''Nobody, thought this was going to be easy.''
Game 4 is on Saturday in Washington, and Houston will go with a bullpen game, with Jose Urquidy opening. Patrick Corbin starts for Washington.
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