2019 World Series Game 5 vs. Houston Astros

Lore & Background

The Astros had home-field advantage because they had the better regular-season record. It was the third World Series in which home-field advantage was decided by the regular-season records of the American and National league champions, a practice that started in the 2017 Major League Baseball season. It was the first World Series in which the Houston Astros had home-field advantage. The series was played in a 2–3–2 format, with the Astros hosting Games 1, 2, 6, and 7; and the Nationals hosting Games 3, 4, and 5.

For the first time in any of the major North American sports leagues, the visiting team won all the games of a seven-game championship series, surpassing the previous high of five. The road team outscored the home team 49–14 in the seven games played. Washington won despite scoring only three runs at home. It was the sixth straight World Series in which the visiting team clinched the championship and the fourth consecutive seventh game of a Series won by the visiting team.

With the Nationals being from the National League East, this marked the sixth World Series in a row to have been won by teams from separate divisions in Major League Baseball. For the third straight year, MLB sold presenting sponsorships to all of postseason series. As with the 2017 and 2018 World Series, this World Series was sponsored by YouTube TV and was officially known as the 2019 World Series presented by YouTube TV.

Reader's Guide

This was the first World Series appearance for the franchise that began its existence as the Montreal Expos in 1969, and moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005 to become the Nationals. The Nationals were also the last team from the 1969 expansion class (which also included the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers—who began as the Seattle Pilots—and San Diego Padres) to earn a trip to the series. Also, after their World Series appearance, all National League (NL) teams had played in at least one World Series.

The only American League (AL) team that has yet to play in a World Series is the Seattle Mariners, who were part of the 1977 expansion. Prior to this series, the Astros and Nationals had never played each other in a postseason series, even though Houston played in the NL from 1962 to 2012 before moving to the AL West in 2013. In fact, the Nationals are the only team the Astros have faced in the World Series that they have never faced in a pre-World Series playoff round, since the Astros have faced the White Sox, Dodgers, and Braves during at least one playoff round prior to the World Series.

The Astros and Nationals did not play an interleague game in 2019, and last faced each other during the 2017 regular season. The two teams share a spring training site in West Palm Beach, Florida, and opened the 2019 spring training schedule against each other. This was the second World Series to feature two expansion teams, the first being in between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets. The Astros were deemed as heavy favorites to win the title.

Did You Know?

• The Nationals finished the 2018 season with an 82–80 win–loss record, and started the 2019 season with a 19–31 record.
• Second-year manager Dave Martinez began to receive public pressure to be fired by the Nationals.
• The team engineered a turnaround and finished the season in second place in the National League East, four games behind the Atlanta Braves, ending the year with a 93–69 record.
• The Nationals were one of two teams to qualify for the playoffs as a wild card team from the National League.
• Martinez had missed three games in September for a cardiac catheterization procedure to treat angina.