Sports Three takeaways from Astros' Game 3 World Series win over Nationals

The Astros overcame a lowly 0-2 start to take Game 3 of the World Series on Friday.

Houston beat Washington 4-1 on the road to get back into contention for its second championship in three seasons.

The Astros were led by José Altuve, who finished 2 of 5 at the plate with two runs scored. Meanwhile, Asdrúbal Cabrera and Adam Eaton led the Nationals' losing efforts as they both finished 2 of 4 on the night.

Josh James was awarded the win after 1/3 inning of work while Roberto Osuna got his second save. Aníbal Sánchez was stuck with the loss.

Three takeaways from Nationals' Game 2 World Series win over the Astros

The Nationals head home to D.C. up 2-0 in the World Series after their 12-3 win over the Astros in Game 2.The Nationals used a six-run seventh inning to pull away from the Astros and take Game 2 of the World Series 12-3.

Yu Darvish was hit early and often and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series . USA TODAY Sports.

World series 2017: three takeaways from astros ' series -clinching game 7 win over dodgers. The Astros claimed their first World Series title in franchise

Houston's victory broke Washington's eight-game winning streak in the postseason. The Astros spoiled the Nationals' chances at becoming the first team to win nine consecutive games in the playoffs.

Game 4 will be at Nationals Park on Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET.

Three takeaways from Astros' Game 3 World Series win over Nationals

Oh, how the tables turned

It's the Fall Classic — anything can happen, even if that means a 180 on one of the most vital stat lines.

The Astros obviously entered the game struggling. They especially struggled with runners in scoring position. Houston was 3 for 17 with RISP through the first two games of the World Series. Maybe it was a change of scenery, maybe it was the 0-3 start they were staring at, but something clicked for the Astros on Friday. They were 4 for 10 with RISP at Nationals Park.

Nationals' ice-cold offense can't find big hit as World Series lead disappears

The Nationals offense has suddenly gone silent. After scoring 17 runs in the first two games, they have only scored two runs in their last two losses.After scoring 17 runs in the first two games of the World Series, the Nationals have only been able to score a meager two runs in their last two losses to the Houston Astros in Games 3 and 4 at Nationals Park.

The Astros stormed from behind Wednesday in Game 2 of the World Series to beat the Dodgers 7-6 in Los Angeles.Down 3 -1 in the sixth inning, the Astros

World series 2017: three takeaways from astros ' wild game 5 win over dodgers

In turn, the Nationals — who had been OK, pretty good, in fact, with RISP — were the ones left on the losing end of the battle. Washington was 7 of 21 with RISP in the first two games, but the table certainly turned and the Nationals came up empty. They were 0 for 10 on the night.

The Astros needed a big moment that came in a lot of smaller ones

Houston was trying to avoid the dreaded 0-3 deficit that just one team of the last 18 to be down as many games have bounced back from in the World Series. In order to come away with a win on the road, the Astros needed a big moment.

Their bats had been, well, mostly horrible leading up to Game 3. Altuve was batting .358 with five home runs in the postseason. He had three hits in Game 2. Michael Brantley has also been producing, somewhat, hitting .280 in the playoffs, however after this duo things get grim. The rest of the line — including Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, Yordan Álvarez and George Springer — have all struggled to get hits.

Three takeaways from Astros' World Series Game 5 win over Nationals

The Astros haven now won three straight to take a 3-2 series lead over the Nationals as the teams head back to Houston for Game 6.Many thought Houston was dead in the water after Washington stole the first two games on the road to take a 2-0 series lead. But the veteran-laden team never folded and stormed back to win all three games in D.C.

World series 2017: three takeaways from astros ' series -clinching game 7 win over dodgers

And the Yankees did win this game by seven runs, but in a one-run game , that mistake is inexcusable. Coming into Game 1 Tanaka had a 2.00 ERA (four runs in 18 innings) in three career playoff starts vs. the Astros . He had given up just two runs over his previous 13 innings against them.

While the Astros didn't have a breakout moment, they put together a good enough effort to outlast the streaking hot Nationals.

The layoff seems to have affected Aníbal Sánchez

Sánchez had his first appearance in two weeks after starting on the mound for the Nationals on Friday.

Washington was hopeful he would come out of the layoff quickly returning to form. In two starts this month, Sánchez gave up only one run on five hits with 14 strikeouts and three walks in 12 2/3 total innings.

The rested, possibly too rested pitcher, was up against Zack Greinke, who made two starts since Sánchez's last outing, this time around. It seemed like it would take a few innings for the Sánchez to get warmed up but things didn't get off to a great start. He allowed runs in the second and third and things went downhill from there.

Sánchez gave up four total runs off 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. He struck out four and walked one. Sánchez was replaced in favor of Fernando Rodney after the Astros took a 4-1 lead.

Related slideshow: 2019 MLB Postseason (provided by imagn)