It's Oct. 25 and there's a ballgame being played on South Capitol Street tonight. How cool is that? Welcome to the World Series, Washington. It's kind of a circus around here, but there's no better reason to have a circus in town than this.
There's also the matter of the actual ballgame, which let's not forget is kind of important. The Nationals had a great time in Houston, but now they need to keep the positive vibes going and not give the Astros reason to feel like they're right back in this thing.
One very interesting twist to Davey Martinez's lineup tonight: Asdrúbal Cabrera is starting at second base, with Howie Kendrick on the bench. The reason: Cabrera has big numbers in his career against Zack Greinke: a .432 batting average (16-for-37), .512 on-base percentage and 1.079 OPS. The Nationals will have to hope that holds true tonight. Though you also have to assume Kendrick is going to end up pinch-hitting in a big spot at some point.
AnÃbal Sánchez gets the ball for the Nats, a full two weeks removed from his last outing, when he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. He's facing a very different lineup in the Astros, but then again, that lineup is facing a very different pitcher than it saw in Houston.
WORLD SERIES - GAME 3
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 8:07 p.m. EDT
TV: FOX
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 62 degrees, wind 2 mph out to center field
NATIONALS
SS Trea Turner
RF Adam Eaton
3B Anthony Rendon
LF Juan Soto
2B Asdrubal Cabrera
1B Ryan Zimmerman
C Kurt Suzuki
CF Victor Robles
RHP Anibal Sanchez
ASTROS
CF George Springer
2B Jose Altuve
LF Michael Brantley
3B Alex Bregman
1B Yuli Gurriel
SS Carlos Correa
RF Josh Reddick
C Robinson Chirinos
RHP Zack Greinke
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