5 reasons the Nationals will win the World Series regardless who they face

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 15: Trea Turner #7 Anibal Sanchez #19 and Brian Dozier #9 of the Washington Nationals celebrate winning the NL pennant after a 7-4 win in Game 4 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 14: Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals fields the ball for an out in the sixth inning of the game three of the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park on October 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

2. Rested starters

This run to the World Series was almost over before it started for the Nationals because they got their top starting pitchers out of their routine in the NLDS. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin were all pitching in relief and being asked to do things they don’t typically do. Corbin pitched three times in a five-game series but only made one start. Scherzer threw an inning of relief in Game 2, which threw off the rest of the staff in Game 3.

The World Series will not start until next Tuesday, regardless of how the rest of the ALCS shakes out. There may be a rust factor that comes into play for the Nationals hitters, but probably not. Most importantly, the extra rest will allow their vaunted starting pitchers to recover fully and all prepare to pitch as many innings as possible in the World Series.

For the Nationals to win, they must have Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin all firing on full strength. Corbin was thrown into the fire in relief the most in the NLDS and has not looked great in the playoffs. He has allowed 11 earned runs, 11 hits and 10 walks in only 13.1 innings in the playoffs. Corbin stands to benefit the most from a week off.

Having spent over $500 million on their top three starters, the Nationals built themselves to ride elite starting pitching to a title. Strasburg is on another level now and looks poised to go pitch for pitch with Gerrit Cole if it comes down to it. If the ALCS goes seven games, all three of the Astros top starters will have to make another start while the Nationals are at home getting ready.

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