Related
When Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander gets batters in an 0-2 count, he has a favorite pitch: a deadly changeup that leads to ugly swings and misses.
Anthony Rendon was aware of that when he dug in with a 0-2 count and two men on in the top of the first inning, in Game 2 of the World Series.
According to Inside Edge, hitters were 0-for-12 in that situation with seven strikeouts. Rendon broke the streak in dramatic fashion, slamming the pitch off the left field wall and driving in two runs.
It was Rendon’s first hit of the World Series. The two runs he drove in moved him past Goose Goslin for the second-most career postseason RBIs (15) in Nats history, trailing only Ryan Zimmerman (16).
Even though the Astros tied things up in the bottom of the first inning, it’s worth noting that the Nats have won four-straight postseason games in which they scored first.