Aggressive baserunning helps Astros score first

WASHINGTON -- Astros manager AJ Hinch said on Thursday that he would like to see his team get an early lead in World Series Game 3, and his club delivered on Friday night at Nationals Park on the way to Houston earning its first win of the series, 4-1.

It was unclear if Josh Reddick was going to get the start on Friday as the team had the option to start Yordan Alvarez, which would’ve pushed Reddick out of the lineup. But Hinch’s decision to start Reddick over Alvarez ultimately paid off.

After Yuli Gurriel lined out to start the second inning, Carlos Correa scorched a double off Nats starter Aníbal Sánchez to give the Astros their first runner in scoring position. Houston then got the break it was looking for as a Reddick bloop single, which had a 62 mph exit velocity, dropped in front of Juan Soto in left field.

The nature of the hit and an expert read of a possibility of a play at the plate -- Soto’s throw would end up sailing over catcher Kurt Suzuki, so no tag was even attempted -- allowed Correa to score to give the Astros the early one-run lead.

Houston has struggled to hit with runners in scoring position in the World Series. The Astros, who had one of the most potent offenses during the regular season, have continued to get runners on base, but they entered Friday’s game going just 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros continued to threaten in the frame, but with runners on second and third, George Springer grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.