Astros held players-only meeting after Game 2 loss
The Houston Astros head to Washington down 2-0 to the Nationals in the World Series and hope a players-only meeting after Wednesday's 12-3 loss will galvanize the team.
Justin Verlander, who took the loss in Game 2 after allowing four earned runs on seven hits, led the meeting.
"(Jose) Altuve got in there as well," Astros outfielder Josh Reddick said, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. "Those two said everything that needed to be said. There was nothing left that needed to be said."
After playing a tight contest for six innings, the Astros fell apart following Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki's go-ahead blast. Houston allowed six runs in the seventh and four more in the final two frames.
The Nationals will host the next three games after defeating the Astros' Cy Young Award front-runners in Verlander and Gerrit Cole.
Houston has been outscored 17-7 in the two contests and is hitting .257 as a team. Comparatively, Washington is batting .307.
However, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman doesn't appear to be worried.
"I remember when we lost three in a row in New York (in the 2017 American League Championship Series) and the world was coming to an end and the next thing you know we're in the World Series in 2017," Bregman said, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. "We've been here before."
Zack Greinke gets the Game 3 start for the Astros on Friday, pitching opposite Anibal Sanchez for the Nationals.