The Houston Astros were not going to go down quietly.
After the Washington Nationals shockingly took the first two games of the series in Houston against Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander, the Astros made their mark in Game 3 Friday night with a 4-1 win to cut Washington's lead to 2-1.
Zack Greinke, whom the Astros traded for at the July 31 trade deadline this summer, lasted just 4.2 innings, but held the Nationals to just one run before turning it over to the bullpen for the final 4.1 innings. Five Astros relievers combined to allow just two hits and struck out seven.
The real difference in this game was the Astros' ability to hit with runners in scoring position, though. After going 3-for-17 in those scenarios the first two games, Houston went 4-for-8 with RISP on Friday.
The Nationals, on the other hand, went 0-for-10 with RISP, leaving 12 men on base.
Michael Brantley had two RBIs for Houston, knocking in Jose Altuve — who doubled twice — each time. Catcher Robinson Chirinos also hit a solo home run off the left field foul pole in the sixth inning off Nationals pitcher Anibal Sanchez, who allowed four runs on 10 hits over 5.1 innings in his first start since he flirted with a no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLCS.
The Astros are trying to become the 14th team in MLB history to come back from an 0-2 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series. It has not been done in the World Series since 1996 when the New York Yankees won four straight against the Atlanta Braves after losing the first two games at home.
The Astros aim to even the series on Saturday in Game 4, which starts at 8:07 p.m. ET.
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