Nationals force Game 7 in World Series

HOUSTON (AP) – It remains road-sweet-road in the World Series after the Washington Nationals forced a Game 7 against the Astros in Houston.

Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg carried the Nationals to a 7-2 win over the Astros to stretch the Fall Classic to the limit. Rendon went 3-for-5 with five RBIs to back Strasburg, who limited Houston to a pair of runs and seven hits while striking out seven over 8 1/3 innings.

The Nationals made it six straight wins by the road team in the series.

Rendon opened the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the first, but Alex Bregman’s solo blast put the Astros ahead, 2-1 later in the inning. Adam Eaton and Juan Soto belted solo shots in the fifth to put the Nationals ahead to stay before Rendon padded the lead with a two-run homer in the seventh and a two-run double in the ninth.

That was more than enough support for Strasburg, who improved to 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in this postseason.

Justin Verlander’s World Series struggles continued after he carried a 2-1 lead into the top of the fifth. The home runs by Eaton and Soto left him 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA in seven career World Series starts.

Game 7 is Wednesday night in Houston. Max Scherzer has been given the green light to start for the Nationals after receiving a cortisone shot in his neck to alleviate an irritated nerve. Scherzer was scratched from Game 5, but manager Dave Martinez deemed him fit to start after Scherzer threw to a catcher in the outfield on Tuesday.

Zack Greinke  is scheduled to pitch for the Astros, who have been outscored 24-9 at home in the series.

Visiting teams have won three straight Game 7s in the Series since the Cardinals defeated Texas at home in 2011.