The Astros defeated the Nationals by a score of 7-1 in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday night (box score) and in doing so took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Astros got a pair of home runs off the surprise Washington starter, while the Nationals' offense once again struggled to produce at home. In Game 6 on Tuesday night, the Astros will have an opportunity to win the World Series for the second time in the last three years. 

Now here are some key takeaways from Game 5:

1. This was supposed to be Scherzer's start

The tenor of Game 5 changed completely before it even started. Nats ace Max Scherzer was scheduled to take the mound for the hosts, but neck spasms prevented him from doing so. That pressed Joe Ross into duty, and that figured to give the Astros a big edge, what with Gerrit Cole's going for them. The Nats will hope Scherzer is able to recover in time to pitch in Game 7, should the series go the distance. Our R.J. Anderson wrote more on the surprise development from Nationals Park. 

2. Ross didn't get it done

Look, let's not be too hard on Ross. He woke up not expecting to start on Sunday and probably not expecting to pitch at all. He took the mound on just one day of rest (Ross worked two scoreless innings of relief in Game 3), and it was his first start in almost a month. He was also facing one of the toughest lineups in all of baseball. Suffice it to say, those aren't ideal conditions for success. Those qualifiers laid out and noted, Ross struggled by any standard: 

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Joe Ross
MIL • RP • #41
vs. HOU, 2019 World Series Game 5
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The real fault lies with the Washington offense lately, but when your starting pitcher registers a 7.20 ERA for the game and records more home runs allowed than strikeouts, he's put you in a bad spot. So it was with Ross in Game 5.  

3. Hinch's decision to play Alvarez paid off

Houston rookie slugger Yordan Alvarez didn't start Games 3 and 4 in Washington because he's a DH, and there's no DH in NL ballparks. For Game 5, however, Astros manager A.J. Hinch installed Alvarez in left field despite his postseason struggles and despite his being, in Hinch's words, "limited in some ways in his range and in his experience." Hinch, though, decided his bat was worth the risk, especially with Cole and all his strikeouts on the mound. In the second inning, Alvarez justified his manager's faith in a big way: 

That blast put Houston up 2-0. It's also Alvarez's first home run since Sept. 21, and it makes the youngest Cuban-born player ever to homer in a World Series game. He later added a pair of singles and in the seventh was lifted for a pinch-runner after a 3 for 3 night. 

The 22-year-old Alvarez is also the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year honors thanks to his 27 homers, 26 doubles, and 52 walks in 87 regular season games. So, yeah, good call, Hinch. 

4. Cole came through

Cole was hardly himself in Game 1 of the World Series, as he permitted the Nationals five runs on eight hits in seven innings of work. In Game 5, however, only the innings remained the same: 

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Gerrit Cole
NYY • SP • #45
vs. WAS, 2019 World Series Game 5
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That's the kind of outing from Cole to which we've become accustomed, which is why he's going to make, oh, $250 million or so this coming winter when he becomes a free agent. Cole's nine strikeouts bring us to this impressive nugget: 

And let it also be noted that Cole hit 100 mph with his 101st pitch of Game 5. 

5. Correa is building an impressive body of work

While Astros shortstop Carlos Correa in hadn't done much in the first four games of the series, he still came into Sunday with 10 career postseason home runs in 47 games. Well, make it 11 in 48: 

That fourth-inning homer off a Ross slider doubled the Astros' lead and also moved Correa up some postseason leaderboards. He becomes just the third shortstop ever -- joining Hall of Famers Pee Wee Reese and Honus Wagner -- to have at least three multi-RBI World Series games. There's also this: 

6. And Springer has been even better

Outfielder George Springer provided the dagger with the Astros' third two-run homer of the game, this one off Daniel Hudson in the ninth: 

Remarkably, that's Springer's 15th postseason home run in just 48 games, and it's his seventh career World Series home run in just 12 games. That's the most World Series home runs by a leadoff hitter in MLB history, by the way. 

7. Soto is hitting, but the Nats as a whole aren't

First, the positive from the Washington standpoint. Young phenom Juan Soto came into Game 5 with a slash line of .286/.444/.643, and then he went out and notched a single and home run on Sunday night. With that seventh inning homer off Cole, Soto became the third youngest player -- behind Andruw Jones in Mickey Mantle -- to hit multiple World Series home runs. 

The unfortunate reality for the Nats is that they were pretty punchless over the course of their three home games. Over those three games, the Nationals -- one of the best offenses in baseball during the regular season -- managed a total of just three runs. Yes, that's one run per game, and that's not how you win against the likes of the Astros. Of particular note is shortstop Trea Turner, who came into Game 5 "hitting" .167/.250/.167 for the World Series and then went 0 for 4. More than anything else, the disappearance of the Washington offense has put them on the brink of elimination.

8. The home team has yet to win a game in the 2019 World Series

As of Sunday night's results, the road team in the 2019 World Series is now 5-0. This is just the third time ever that the road team has swept the first five games of the World Series -- previously it happened in 1996 and 1906. No single team has ever won four road games in the World Series, but right now that's the Nationals' only path to victory. For those curious, the home team in 1906 finally broke through in Game 7, and in 1996 the home team won Game 6. 

9. The Nats have blown a golden opportunity

The Nats of course won Games 1 and 2 in Houston and as such brought a 2-0 lead back home. At that juncture, teams in the Nats' position -- i.e., up 2-0 and headed home for Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) in a best-of-seven postseason series -- went on to win the series in question 88.5 percent of the time. Stated another, 26 teams not counting the Nationals have been in that position, and 23 have gone on to take the series. Remember when we were thinking sweep? That obviously didn't happen, and now it's not even certain that the Nationals can force a Game 7. 

10. The Astros are in charge

As you would expect, the Astros are now heavy favorites to win the 2019 World Series. After all, they're headed home, and they need one more win, while the Nationals need two. Teams in that exact situation have gone on to win best-of-seven postseason series 77.6 percent of the time. So history suggests the Astros have a little better than a three in four chance to take the belt and the title.

And what of the chances of a Game 7? Teams in the Astros' position -- i.e., up 3-2 in a best of seven and playing Game 6 at home -- have gone 27-22 in Game 6.