Gerritt Cole led the majors in strikeouts, topped the AL in ERA and finished second in the big leagues to teammate Justin Verlander in wins. The Houston Astros power pitching rotation will go up against perhaps their greatest equal in baseball when Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals come to town for game 1 of the 2019 World Series.

Fusing his talent with the Astros’ fortified analytics approach, Cole has found what works best for him. Among the results with his four-seamer, curve and slider: Nearly 17 percent of his pitches result in a swing-and-miss, the highest rate of anyone since such data has been tracked in the last 18 years.

NL MVP candidate Anthony Rendon is among the few hitters who’ve managed some success against Cole, going 5 for 13 overall. He led the majors in RBIs this year and ranked third in the NL with a 1.010 OPS. He’s kept it going during the postseason, batting .375 with 5 extra-base hits and 7 RBIs.

Alex Bregman was third in the AL with a 1.015 OPS before hitting .257 with a homer, 3 doubles, 4 RBIs and 10 runs during the playoffs. He was mostly held in check by the Yankees, who walked him seven times. Both guys can pick it on defense, too.

This is the first World Series appearance in the 51-season history of Nationals franchise that began as Montreal Expos in 1969 and moved to Washington before the 2005 campaign. The last time the nation’s capital had a pennant winner was 1933 Senators. The only championship came in 1924. 

The Astros are making their third trip to World Series and seeking the second title after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road in Game 7 two years ago.