The 2019 MLB season will come to a close Wednesday with Game 7 of the World Series between the Nationals and Astros from Houston at 8:08 PM Eastern time.
Starters
Max Scherzer was scratched from his Game 5 start due to neck and back spasms, but he received a cortisone shot and is expected to start for the road team. Zack Greinke is expected to start for the home side.
All hands should be on deck except for Game 6 starters Stephen Strasburg and Justin Verlander. Lefty Patrick Corbin is likely to be the first man out of Washington's bullpen if Scherzer doesn't work deep into the game, while Houston's bullpen is likely to be heavily involved since Greinke has worked through five full innings only once in his four starts this postseason.
Correlations
The road team has won each of this series' first six games, and the Nationals will look to keep that trend going against Greinke, who isn't known as a big-game pitcher. Washington has been carried by its best players, and that should continue here. Anthony Rendon ($8,000) drove in five runs in Game 6, while Juan Soto ($8,000) hit his third home run of the series. Like Soto, two-hole hitter Adam Eaton ($6,500) will have the platoon advantage against Greinke and went deep in Game 6.
The two players to drive in a run for the Astros in Game 6 were predictably Jose Altuve ($8,500) and Alex Bregman ($9,000), the latter via a home run. Those two are the lifeblood of this lineup, and they could get to Scherzer early. Strasburg admitted post-game that the Astros got to him in the first inning of Game 6 because he was tipping pitches, and Scherzer could suffer the same fate before he realizes it unless he's careful. Another key weapon in the heart of the Astros order — and one who has the platoon advantage against Scherzer — is Michael Brantley ($7,500), who has a trio of multi-hit efforts in this series.
One-Offs
Yuli Gurriel ($6,000) has outperformed his modest valuation in this series, with at least one hit in every game of this series prior to a hitless Game 6 in which he still reached base via walk. He prefers righty-on-righty matchups to facing lefties, with a .376 regular-season wOBA against righties that grew to .392 at home.
Game 7 heroics often come from unexpected sources, and who would be more deserving than Victor Robles ($5,500)? Robles has been on the receiving end of multiple questionable third strike calls over the past two games, so perhaps he's due for a big play. After all, karma was on Washington's side in Game 6, when Rendon hit a two-run homer immediately after Trea Turner was ruled out on a dubious interference call.
