2019 World Series Championship: Who Will Win?

Tuesday night marks the beginning of the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas. The Houston Astros will be playing the Washington Nationals on their home turf in the best-of-seven series. From Game 3 up to Game 5, the Astros will be in at the National Parks in Washington, D.C.

Experts are expecting a drawn out 2019 World Series as both teams have stepped up to the plate. But will it be the Astros who take the championship a second time? Or, will it be the Nationals’ first time getting their name etched into the trophy?

2019 World Series Stats

Before we can go on to speculate any predictions and give picks, we need to look at the stats going into the series.

Their stellar 107-55 regular-season record has earned the Astros their home-field advantage.
The Astros made it to the 2019 World Series by beating the Tampa Bay Rays in five divisional round games and the New York Yankees in six American League Champion Series (ALCS) games.
So far, the starting line-up for the Astros is: Gerrit Cole in Game 1; Justin Verlander in Game 2; and Zack Greinke in Game 3.
They are missing their fourth starter Ryan Pressly, which means they have a slightly worse bullpen.
The Washington Nationals first won the NL Wild Card Game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Then, they beat top seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in five divisional games. In the National League Championship Series (NLCS), they beat the St. Louis Cardinals.
They haven’t announced their rotational order yet but expectations are that Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin, and Stephen Strasburg will start the first three games.

Expert Predictions, Picks, and MVP for the World Series

Let’s look at what the rationale behind going for either the Washington Nationals or the Houston Astros as the winners of the 2019 World Series.

Washington Nationals:

They’ve had extra rest in the run up to the finale.
The Astros’ batting line may struggle against the Nationals’ rotation. Looking at how Houston struggled against the Yankees’ lacklustre pitching in the ALCS is testament to this.
The Nats’ are also quite timely with their hitting.

Houston Astros

Despite the Nationals’ impressive rotation, the Astros may be the only team that can match it man for man.
Astros are quite a talented team with a better offense, defense; better baserunning, bullpen, and manager.
They faced a much tougher group in their ascent to the World Series.
It seems like the Astros are better equipped and have more depth.
Houston Astros also tend to play excellent when at home so they may go undefeated at Minute Maid Park (they’re at 15-5 playing at home).

General Predictions

It will be a low-scoring series which may benefit the underdogs – the Nationals.
The Astros will win the 2019 World Series in five to six games.
The Washington Nationals will win the championship in seven games.