World Series Opener Showed That Gerrit Cole Is Vulnerable As Washington Takes Game 1 In Houston
19-0 in his last 25 starts with a 0.40 earn run average in his previous starts came to an end for Gerrit Cole in game one of the World Series against Washington in Houston.
Juan Soto, beamed brightest and their bullpen bent but didn’t break in a statement-making 5-4 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. “according to https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/juan-soto-nationals-beat-astros-in-world-series-game-1
With five earned runs off Cole -- matching the total the Astros right-hander and free-agent-to-be had allowed in his previous eight starts combined -- Washington, which has the best record in baseball over the last five months, washed away all the “rest vs. rust” conversation that pervaded a six-day layoff created by its swift sweep of St. Louis in the National League Championship Series. Big moments from 35-year-old “Mr. National” Ryan Zimmerman, who hit the first Fall Classic homer in franchise history, and the 20-year-old wunderkind Soto, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, highlighted the Nationals’ first win in a World Series game and the first for a team from the District since Game 3 in 1933 “according to https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/juan-soto-nationals-beat-astros-in-world-series-game-1
In the second inning, the Nats got their first Series swat from an appropriate source in Zimmerman, who was selected with their first Draft pick after the move from Montreal exactly 5,250 days earlier. “according to https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/juan-soto-nationals-beat-astros-in-world-series-game-1
The Nats tied it in the fourth from the other end of the age spectrum, when Soto took Cole deep with a jaw-dropping opposite-field dinger that landed on Minute Maid Park’s famous railroad tracks. “according to https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/juan-soto-nationals-beat-astros-in-world-series-game-1
The Nats took the lead for good when they roughed Cole up for a three-run fifth elevated by Adam Eaton’s RBI single and punctuated by Soto’s wall-puncturing double to left that brought home a pair to make it 5-2. “according to https://www.mlb.com/nationals/news/juan-soto-nationals-beat-astros-in-world-series-game-1
As for Houston,
They had a setback in game one of the World Series despite efforts from right fielder George Springer.
George Springer homered in his record fifth consecutive World Series game to make it 5-3 in the seventh. Daniel Hudson relieved Rainey and recorded an inning-ending strikeout of Yordan Alvarez with the bases loaded in an especially huge moment. “according to https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/juan-soto-nationals-beat-astros-in-world-series-game-1
Springer’s RBI double off Hudson in the eighth nearly cleared the right-center-field wall and put a lump in the throat of the Nationals faithful. But closer Sean Doolittle converted the four-out save to seal a win that reverberated some 1,400 miles away. “according to https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/juan-soto-nationals-beat-astros-in-world-series-game-1
Washington and Houston will play game two of their seven game series on Wednesday night in Houston where Stephen Strasburg will start for Washington against Houston’s Justin Verlander.
First pitch is set for 8:07pm from Minute Maid Park.