Washington • The Houston Astros handed the ball to Gerrit Cole, and he gave them a firm grip on the World Series.
Cole looked exactly like the stud who dominated baseball most of this season, bouncing back from a Game 1 clunker to pitch the Astros to a 7-1 win Sunday night and a 3-2 lead.
Slumping rookie Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa each hit an early two-run homer off emergency starter Joe Ross. George Springer added another postseason drive, and Houston won its third straight at Nationals Park.
What a turnaround, too — outscored 17-7 overall at Minute Maid Park, Houston hammered Washington 19-3 at Nationals Park.