HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros did something Wednesday night that for any other team would have registered as benign. Juan Soto, the 20-year-old wunderkind who hits cleanup for the Washington Nationals, was due up. With first base open and runners on second and third, the Astros intentionally walked him. For 173 games between the regular season and the playoffs, Houston had not issued a single intentional walk. But then this was the top of the seventh inning in Game 2 of the World Series, where nothing made sense.
A guy who entered the night 1-for-23 this October crushed a go-ahead home run off one of the best pitchers of his generation.