Nationals vs. Astros: TV Coverage, Start Time for 2019 World Series Game 2

The Washington Nationals have a chance to take a commanding lead over the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the 2019 World Series.

Stephen Strasburg will be on the mound for the Nationals, who secured a 5-4 victory in Game 1. Should the Nats win Wednesday, they'd return to the nation's capital holding a 2-0 series lead with three potential home games on the docket.

But since the beginning of July, the Astros have only dropped consecutive games in Houston on one occasion.

Justin Verlander will counter Strasburg in a pivotal Game 2.

World Series Game 2 Info

When: Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 8:07 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Odds (from Caesars): Astros (-178, bet $178 to win $100); Nationals (+163, bet $100 to win $163)

Game 2 Preview

Juan Soto smacked a homer and drove in three runs to propel Washington in Game 1. The oft-criticized bullpen nearly coughed up a 5-2 lead, but Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle managed to hold off the Astros' hopeful late-inning rallies.

Washington now has a significant trend in its favor.

That, of course, does not guaranteed the Nationals will eventually win the series. The Astros finished the regular season with MLB's best record for a simple reason—they're really good.

"They've got a little bit of everything," Strasburg told reporters before Game 1. "So I think it's just knowing how you want to attack certain guys and not just fall into the pattern of just throwing the same pitch to start guys off or finish guys, and really just take it one pitch at a time and focus in on that.

Houston will be expecting bounce-back performances from Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa. They combined for six strikeouts on a 1-for-9 night in the box.

Bregman took the loss especially hard.

Small sample sizes must be considered carefully, but Bregman is 2-for-3 against Strasburg in his career. Perhaps this will be Bregman's moment to turn around his subpar postseason.

The Astros are hoping that also applies to Verlander, considering he's surrendered 10 runs during his last three starts. He's set to oppose Strasburg, who's allowed four earned runs with 33 strikeouts and one walk in 22 postseason innings.

Given their individual talent, the All-Star matchup is the primary talking point entering Game 2. Verlander, though, understandably said he'll not be focused on Strasburg.

"You try not to. You get a feel for it in the course of a game. Once the game starts, hopefully I go through my inning and then you kind of see where he's at, if he's locked in or not."

But the battle on the bump is a critical topic. If the Nats can handle Verlander, they'll take a 2-0 series lead back to Washington.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR