Greinke poised to outduel Scherzer in World Series Game 7

The Nationals and Astros will face off at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday night in a winner-take-all Game 7 of the World Series. Max Scherzer, scratched from Sunday’s Game 5 due to a neck injury, takes the hill for the Nats against struggling ‘Stros starter Zack Greinke.

World Series Game 7 odds

Strasburg came up big in Game 6

It took a herculean Game 6 effort from Washington’s ace-in-the-hole, Stephen Strasburg, just to get to this point. He pitched 8 1/3 innings while allowing just two runs on five hits and a pair of walks before turning things over to Sean Doolittle, who recorded the final two outs without much drama. Their victory boosted the road team’s record in this series to 6-0.

“I don’t think there’s a person in the building that would have assumed that all road teams were going to win,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch told reporters after Game 6. “We’ve just got to make sure that last one is not the same.”

Scherzer is ready to go

Scherzer will be tasked with following up Strasburg’s dominant performance on the heels of a neck injury so debilitating that he couldn’t get out of bed and get dressed on his own. However, he was seen warming up in the Nationals bullpen on Tuesday night and has declared himself ready to go for Game 7.

“The cortisone shot worked. That relieved the pressure on the nerve…” Scherzer told ESPN. “Our chiropractor, he does amazing work. He was able to go in there and make adjustments. We did two treatments of it and really freed up the neck.”

"Mad Max" will probably not be able to go much further than the five innings he went in Game 1. His effort there was anything but dominant – he allowed two runs on five hits and three walks (112 pitches).

Greinke has yet to win this October

Greinke got a fairly quick hook from Hinch in Game 3 of the World Series, going just 4 2/3 innings while allowing just one earned run. However, he surrendered seven hits and three walks in that span. Greinke is now 0-2 with a 5.30 ERA in four starts this postseason.

Both managers will probably have to get creative with their bullpens in this one. The “X-factor” could be Washington’s Patrick Corbin, a starter-turned-reliever who’s been great in some appearances and terrible in others. The outcome looks like a coin-flip, but the likelihood of both teams needing to go deep into their respective bullpens heightens the chances of the Over cashing in Game 7.

Prediction: Astros win, 5-4

MLB Free Play: Over

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The opening pitch is just hours away! Wager on Game 7 of the World Series now at BetAmerica.