World Series 2019: Updated Nationals vs. Astros Predictions and Schedule

One single victory.

That's all that stands in between the Houston Astros and their second World Series title in three years after they defeated the Washington Nationals 7-1 in a resounding Game 5 win on Sunday.

Houston responded to losing the first two at home in the best possible way and won all three at Nationals Park to come home on the cusp of another championship.

Gerrit Cole was brilliant yet again, allowing one earned run and three hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings of work. Carlos Correa, George Springer and Yordan Alvarez provided the offensive fireworks with a two-run homer from each against a Nationals pitching staff that was reshuffled before the game.

Max Scherzer was scratched for Joe Ross because of spasms in his trapezius muscle, robbing fans of a showdown between aces.

Here's a look at the rest of the schedule and a prediction for how the rest of the series will unfold.

2019 World Series Remaining Schedule

• Game 6: Tuesday at 8:07 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park; televised on Fox
• Game 7*: Wednesday at 8:08 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park; televised on Fox

*if necessary

World Series Prediction

History suggests the Astros will win this series.

After all, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com noted teams coming home for Game 6 with a 3-2 lead in 2-3-2 formatted series have won 35 of the 46 times (76 percent). That, combined with the momentum on Houston's side following three straight wins on the road, lends itself toward the Astros being crowned the champions.

Still, Stephen Strasburg is quite the counter to history.

Castrovince pointed out the 31-year-old will face Justin Verlander in Tuesday's Game 6 "barring any other unforeseen starting assignment switcheroos," which already worked in Washington's favor once.

There is no questioning Verlander's resume as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation. He counts an American League MVP, AL Rookie of the Year, AL Cy Young, ERA title, American League Championship Series MVP, World Series title and eight All-Star nods among his list of accomplishments and was once again brilliant this season even at 36 years old.

He finished the campaign with a 2.58 ERA, league-best 0.80 WHIP and 300 strikeouts in a league-leading 223 innings. 

However, Verlander has been anything but that version of himself in the playoffs even though he started the postseason with seven shutout innings in the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Since then, he allowed four earned runs in three of his four appearances and has given up six home runs. One of those long balls came from Washington's Kurt Suzuki in Game 2 of the World Series and helped chase the right-hander from the game.

Verlander was no match for Strasburg in that contest, as the Nationals' hurler allowed two earned runs with seven strikeouts in six innings. That the two runs came on an Alex Bregman homer in the first inning before the starter settled in made the performance all the more impressive.

The head-turning showing came after Strasburg posted a 1.64 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 22 innings in his first four playoff appearances this year.

Washington is 5-0 in this postseason when he makes an appearance, and three of those games came on the road. Hostile environments haven't been an issue for him at all, as the fans at Minute Maid Park can attest to following Game 2.

The thought here is Strasburg is dominant once again while the Nationals push enough runs across against an inconsistent Verlander to force a Game 7. That momentum will be short-lived, though, as Houston will ultimately prevail in the decisive contest in large part because of the uncertainty surrounding Scherzer.

The Astros can also turn toward Cole out of the bullpen in a potential seventh game, which is an advantage Washington can't counter.

Prediction: Houston in seven