HOUSTON -- There is no way to spin this other than to point out the obvious: The Houston Astros are in deep quicksand. The Washington Nationals went into Houston, beat Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander and became the first team to win the first two games of the World Series on the road since the 1999 Yankees.
That paints a bleak picture for the Astros, even a 107-win Astros team, even a 107-win Astros team that remains supremely confident that it can win four of the next five games. History suggests something even more bleak than a two-game losing streak might suggest, however.