World Series: The Astros stayed alive with Game 3 win but their offense needs a big inning in the worst way

Through three games, the Astros have yet to score more than two runs in an inning

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Astros' win in Game 3 of the 2019 World Series provided many reasons for the Astros to be happy. At the top of the list is they still have a chance to win it all. Had they lost, it was over. They also seemed to break through on the situational hitting front, going 4 for 10 with runners in scoring position. They had previously been brutal in that regard in the ALCS and Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. 

Didn't it feel like they should have done more, though? 

Four times they scored exactly one run in an inning. This was with 11 hits, which included three doubles and a home run, and three walks. That's an awful lot of traffic to never put up a crooked number. 

Ah yes, the crooked number. It's a fun phrase. "Let's put a crooked number on 'em!" That means anything but a zero or one. The Astros failed to do that in Game 3 and left a whopping 10 runners on base. While all that traffic is good and it ended up being good enough to win, the pitching staff holding the Nationals in check was the top reason for the win. 

The Nats have certainly put up some crooked numbers. They won Game 1 thanks to a three-run outburst in the fifth inning against Astros ace Gerrit Cole. They took control of the series with a six-run seventh and added on three more in the eighth in Game 2. The Astros scored two runs in the first inning in both of their home games, but have otherwise managed just a zero or one in the other 25 innings this series. 

Through three games, the Astros have left 30 runners on base. Obviously, we have to tip our cap to the pitching staff of the Nationals, but the Astros are really lucky they aren't down 3-0 with such a number. 

They've been saying all the right things in the clubhouse. Players like Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman talked about how many of them are having good at-bats and how they just need to keep grinding. They are talking about how good the Nationals are. Now the mindset needs to translate into results. As Bregman said to me last night, they "stopped the bleeding." Now they need to take the next step. 

If they do want to win this thing, it would behoove them to starting putting some crooked numbers on the board.