The World Series matchup is set.
The Houston Astros host the Washington Nationals Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series under a 2-3-2 format.
FOX will televise baseball's signature event for the 20th consecutive season.
First pitch is 8:08 p.m. ET.
It's the best team in baseball against the team that's playing best.
The Astros won the most games (107) in Major League Baseball this season and dominated visiting opponents with a 60-21 home mark.
The key to the team's success?
Houston pitchers recorded the most strikeouts of all 30 MLB pitching staffs while their hitters were the most difficult to whiff.
The red-hot Nationals, winners in 16 of their last 18 games, are an easy team to categorize, too.
The regular season and postseason performances of the streaking Nats are incredibly similar.
Stumbling start, rousing finish.
Washington began the season 19-31 and fell 10 games behind division-leading Atlanta before rallying to post an MLB-best 74-38 mark the rest of the way.
Virtually the same situation here in October.
The Nats were left for dead not once, but twice, after facing a pair of two-run, eighth-inning deficits in the wild-card game against Milwaukee and deciding Game 5 of the NLDS against Los Angeles.
Granted, left-handers Josh Hader and Clayton Kershaw suffered through injuries and inconsistencies this season, however the Nats must be given high marks for their poise and persistence against a pair of southpaws with big reputations.
The Nats had a 13% chance to rally against Hader and only an 11% chance to overcome Kershaw, according to win probability rates at Baseball-Reference.
After rallying from their death bed, the Nationals played with a sense of urgency in the NLCS.
They never trailed at any point during their spectacular four-game sweep over the Cardinals.
Like most championship showdowns, the two combatants are outstanding teams with many quality contributors.
Sharp gamblers look to support teams like Houston and Washington, not fade them.
The Astros are fresh off a dramatic Game 6 win in the ALCS over the Yankees with little Jose Altuve providing the biggest hit of the series.
The Nats appear ready after using their week-long layoff to rest the seven most important arms of their solid pitching staff.
Starters Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Anibal Sanchez and Patrick Corbin have combined with relievers Tanner Rainey, Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle to pitch 85 of the Nationals' 90 postseason innings.
Sometimes the best bet is no bet.
Play ball!
UGLY UGA.....For the second straight week, the Georgia Bulldogs fell in the category of Impossible Favorite, a team laying more points than they score.
Unlike last week, however, the Bulldogs did not suffer an embarrassing loss.
Fans are interested in wins and losses; gamblers live and die on point differential.
Georgia blanked Kentucky, 21-0, but closed a 24-point choice at most betting outlets.
Never in the history of sports betting has a 24-point favorite covered a game in which they score only 21 points.
The game was contested in a heavy downpour of rain in Athens.
The Kentucky Wildcats were so inept offensively that they failed to complete a pass over the first 55 minutes of the game.
There were four other Impossible Favorites on last Saturday's card: Wisconsin, Missouri, North Dakota State and Furman.
The Badgers shockingly lost to Illinois, 24-23, as a 30-point choice.
The Tigers, as a 21-point favorite, played sloppy football in a 21-14 loss to struggling Vanderbilt.
FCS powerhouse North Dakota State continued its winning ways, but failed to cover a 42-point impost with a 22-0 victory over Missouri State.
And Furman surprisingly lost its game with The Citadel, 27-10, as a 17.5-point favorite.
Like the Kentucky-Georgia game, rainy and windy conditions in Greenville, South Carolina depressed scoring outputs and helped the underdog side against Furman.
PLAYING THE PONIES.....There's one way to win a race and a thousand ways to lose it.
Like most sayings at the racetrack, there's truth in the words despite the exaggeration.
Horses win races on the lead, they win races by prompting the pace and they win races coming from behind.
Horses win photo finishes, they win under wraps and they win via disqualification, like this year's Kentucky Derby which saw the first on-track disqualification in the 145-year history of the event.
So there's more than one way to win a race.
But losses come more frequently and in so many brutal ways.
Take this weekend's action at Santa Anita, for example.
Friday's fifth race featured a John Sadler-trained filly that towered in ability over a field of seven two-year-old maidens.
Every southern California-based clocker -- public and private -- seemed to tout Secret Square.
She was bet to the exclusion of others, closing at odds of 1/2.
What happened?
The gates opened and Secret Square literally touched her nose to the ground.
She finished second despite the disastrous start in a valiant effort that may have encouraged her connections but did little to comfort her supporters.
That's horse racing.
There's no re-do or replay or refund.
Instead, the results stand, no matter the circumstances.
Saturday's fourth race results at Santa Anita were much darker.
A horse named Satchel Paige took a bad step on the turn and suffered a catastrophic injury to his left front foot.
He was vanned off the racetrack and later euthanized.
Horseplayers who backed Satchel Paige at odds of 6/5 watched in horror when the Phil D'Amato-trained runner pulled up in distress.
Injuries to participants in this dangerous sport are the worst part of this beautiful game.
The casualties also serve as an occupational hazard for professional horseplayers who are tasked with judging the physical soundness of thousand-pound animals.
Want one more way to lose a race?
Take a look at yesterday's opener in Arcadia.
Gamblers who took the short price (7/10) on the John Sadler-trained Meso never had a chance, thanks in large part to 19-year-old apprentice jockey Jorge Velez.
Apprentice riders, like apprentice laborers, are learning on the job.
Velez was outfoxed by crafty jock Flavien Prat, who swept the early double yesterday.
Prat put Velez in a difficult spot along the rail in a small five-horse field by forcing the young rider to check abruptly on multiple occasions.
Prat was not only riding his charge, Discreet Diva, but also did a great job of intimidating his main rival without breaking any rules.
The skittish Meso was unable to perform his best, finishing fourth in a race where he should have been no worse than second.
Horseplayers are forced to gamble on jockeys whose questionable choices often decide the outcome of a race.
Whether it's dumb luck, a tragic injury or pilot error by an inexperienced jockey, horseplayers are forced to endure the breaks of the game while trying to overcome the house takeout of 20%.
The Houston Astros host the Washington Nationals Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series under a 2-3-2 format.
FOX will televise baseball's signature event for the 20th consecutive season.
First pitch is 8:08 p.m. ET.
It's the best team in baseball against the team that's playing best.
The Astros won the most games (107) in Major League Baseball this season and dominated visiting opponents with a 60-21 home mark.
The key to the team's success?
Houston pitchers recorded the most strikeouts of all 30 MLB pitching staffs while their hitters were the most difficult to whiff.
The red-hot Nationals, winners in 16 of their last 18 games, are an easy team to categorize, too.
The regular season and postseason performances of the streaking Nats are incredibly similar.
Stumbling start, rousing finish.
Washington began the season 19-31 and fell 10 games behind division-leading Atlanta before rallying to post an MLB-best 74-38 mark the rest of the way.
Virtually the same situation here in October.
The Nats were left for dead not once, but twice, after facing a pair of two-run, eighth-inning deficits in the wild-card game against Milwaukee and deciding Game 5 of the NLDS against Los Angeles.
Granted, left-handers Josh Hader and Clayton Kershaw suffered through injuries and inconsistencies this season, however the Nats must be given high marks for their poise and persistence against a pair of southpaws with big reputations.
The Nats had a 13% chance to rally against Hader and only an 11% chance to overcome Kershaw, according to win probability rates at Baseball-Reference.
After rallying from their death bed, the Nationals played with a sense of urgency in the NLCS.
They never trailed at any point during their spectacular four-game sweep over the Cardinals.
Like most championship showdowns, the two combatants are outstanding teams with many quality contributors.
Sharp gamblers look to support teams like Houston and Washington, not fade them.
The Astros are fresh off a dramatic Game 6 win in the ALCS over the Yankees with little Jose Altuve providing the biggest hit of the series.
The Nats appear ready after using their week-long layoff to rest the seven most important arms of their solid pitching staff.
Starters Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Anibal Sanchez and Patrick Corbin have combined with relievers Tanner Rainey, Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle to pitch 85 of the Nationals' 90 postseason innings.
Sometimes the best bet is no bet.
Play ball!
UGLY UGA.....For the second straight week, the Georgia Bulldogs fell in the category of Impossible Favorite, a team laying more points than they score.
Unlike last week, however, the Bulldogs did not suffer an embarrassing loss.
Fans are interested in wins and losses; gamblers live and die on point differential.
Georgia blanked Kentucky, 21-0, but closed a 24-point choice at most betting outlets.
Never in the history of sports betting has a 24-point favorite covered a game in which they score only 21 points.
The game was contested in a heavy downpour of rain in Athens.
The Kentucky Wildcats were so inept offensively that they failed to complete a pass over the first 55 minutes of the game.
There were four other Impossible Favorites on last Saturday's card: Wisconsin, Missouri, North Dakota State and Furman.
The Badgers shockingly lost to Illinois, 24-23, as a 30-point choice.
The Tigers, as a 21-point favorite, played sloppy football in a 21-14 loss to struggling Vanderbilt.
FCS powerhouse North Dakota State continued its winning ways, but failed to cover a 42-point impost with a 22-0 victory over Missouri State.
And Furman surprisingly lost its game with The Citadel, 27-10, as a 17.5-point favorite.
Like the Kentucky-Georgia game, rainy and windy conditions in Greenville, South Carolina depressed scoring outputs and helped the underdog side against Furman.
PLAYING THE PONIES.....There's one way to win a race and a thousand ways to lose it.
Like most sayings at the racetrack, there's truth in the words despite the exaggeration.
Horses win races on the lead, they win races by prompting the pace and they win races coming from behind.
Horses win photo finishes, they win under wraps and they win via disqualification, like this year's Kentucky Derby which saw the first on-track disqualification in the 145-year history of the event.
So there's more than one way to win a race.
But losses come more frequently and in so many brutal ways.
Take this weekend's action at Santa Anita, for example.
Friday's fifth race featured a John Sadler-trained filly that towered in ability over a field of seven two-year-old maidens.
Every southern California-based clocker -- public and private -- seemed to tout Secret Square.
She was bet to the exclusion of others, closing at odds of 1/2.
What happened?
The gates opened and Secret Square literally touched her nose to the ground.
She finished second despite the disastrous start in a valiant effort that may have encouraged her connections but did little to comfort her supporters.
That's horse racing.
There's no re-do or replay or refund.
Instead, the results stand, no matter the circumstances.
Saturday's fourth race results at Santa Anita were much darker.
A horse named Satchel Paige took a bad step on the turn and suffered a catastrophic injury to his left front foot.
He was vanned off the racetrack and later euthanized.
Horseplayers who backed Satchel Paige at odds of 6/5 watched in horror when the Phil D'Amato-trained runner pulled up in distress.
Injuries to participants in this dangerous sport are the worst part of this beautiful game.
The casualties also serve as an occupational hazard for professional horseplayers who are tasked with judging the physical soundness of thousand-pound animals.
Want one more way to lose a race?
Take a look at yesterday's opener in Arcadia.
Gamblers who took the short price (7/10) on the John Sadler-trained Meso never had a chance, thanks in large part to 19-year-old apprentice jockey Jorge Velez.
Apprentice riders, like apprentice laborers, are learning on the job.
Velez was outfoxed by crafty jock Flavien Prat, who swept the early double yesterday.
Prat put Velez in a difficult spot along the rail in a small five-horse field by forcing the young rider to check abruptly on multiple occasions.
Prat was not only riding his charge, Discreet Diva, but also did a great job of intimidating his main rival without breaking any rules.
The skittish Meso was unable to perform his best, finishing fourth in a race where he should have been no worse than second.
Horseplayers are forced to gamble on jockeys whose questionable choices often decide the outcome of a race.
Whether it's dumb luck, a tragic injury or pilot error by an inexperienced jockey, horseplayers are forced to endure the breaks of the game while trying to overcome the house takeout of 20%.
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