Really, we might as well consider Game 6 of the World Series to be a must-win for both teams. It's self-evident for the Nationals, who are down 3-2 in this best-of-seven affair and have no more room for losses this season. As for the Astros, they have no interest in seeing this series advance to a seventh game, which, health permitting, would put Max Scherzer on the mound and searching for redemption after being scratched from his scheduled start in Game 5.
So the stakes are higher than they've ever been in 2019, and we have a Game 6 pitching match-up that rises to meet them. Stephen Strasburg and Justin Verlander. Each is seeking to pitch his team to victory, of course, and each goes in with different relationships with recent history.
Take Verlander, for instance. He's probably going to be the deserving choice for the AL Cy Young Award this season, and one day he's very likely going to be a Hall of Famer. Insofar as Game 6 is concerned however, Verlander is trying to regain that vintage form. In Game 2, also opposite Strasburg, Verlander allowed four runs and 10 baserunners in six innings. In his previous start, he permitted four runs in seven innings in the ALCS against the Yankees. In both of those starts, Verlander ran into trouble in the first inning before settling in, at least for a while. Over his last four starts this postseason, he has an ERA of 5.40 with six home runs allowed.
MORE ASTROS