Success breeds confidence.
That's why the Astros went to Nationals Park last week down 0-2 in the World Series with the possibility of being eliminated on the road.
The Washington Nationals had outplayed the Astros in Houston, spoiling starts by both of their Cy Young contenders Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander.
But it's not like the Astros had never been in a bind.
They lost three straight games at Yankee Stadium two years ago, falling behind 3-2 in the American League Championship Series.
Verlander pitched seven shutout innings for the Astros in Game 6. Evan Gattis, Jose Altuve and Brian McCann hit home runs in Game 7 with outstanding pitching from Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers Jr. to advance the Astros to the World Series.
Losing last year's ALCS to the Boston Red Sox motivated the Astros to take it back.Then in this postseason, they faced elimination in the American League Division Series against a very good Tampa Bay Rays team.
Champions respond to adversity differently. There's a familiarity with the situation because of past experience. And having come out of it successfully, there's also a belief that comes with it.
"The confidence comes from the success that we've had," A.J. Hinch said after Game 5 win against the Nationals. "We feel like we're in every game. We've had games where we've come from behind. We've had games where we've stretched the lead. We've had games like today where we just methodically just kept going with big swings and we look up and we have a comfortable win.
"I think that the leadership in that room is impressive. I think the feel for the moment, the feel for the game is increased every season. Our players are really good about playing for today."
Sticking with that theme, Hinch is not yet ready to consider Game 7. He'd like to wrap up the World Series as soon as possible.
Justin Verlander on the mound for Game 6 makes the team and most Astros fans feel confident about their chances.
The Astros still have to bring their best at home, which they failed to do earlier in the series.
Cole was better Sunday than he was in Game 1. He executed pitches better, rarely and barely missing his spots.
The bats came alive and Houston hitters finally hit with runners in scoring position.
"We didn't tweak anything. We just continued to play the series," Hinch said. "We know on the front end, you can't assume anything when you're ahead. On the other end, you can't assume when you're down.
"So I don't think we tweaked anything but we started to bring our personality back, started to bring our run production back, started playing from ahead. That was key for us this three games in Washington. Subsequently, our pitching staff decided not to give up very many runs. Combine those things and we come away with three wins."
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Astros Take 3-2 Lead Over Nationals In World Series
#Astros discuss World Series Game 5 with the media in DC. https://t.co/xKkKN4oz8p
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 28, 2019
