‘I was feeling nervous’ admits No.2 seed 
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

Defending champion Nour El Sherbini recovered from a slow start against Canada’s Hollie Naughton to book her third round spot at the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship as the highest-profile tournament in the sport returned to the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza for the first time since the men’s World Championship in 2006.

El Sherbini reached the final of the last tournament to be held at the Pyramids – the Al Ahram Open in 2016 – and she made it back-to-back wins since returning from a knee injury, following up an opening day win over Rachael Chadwick with a 13-11, 11-7, 11-4 win in 26 minutes.

“It was very important for me to win the first game, that’s what made the difference for the whole match,” said 23-year-old El Sherbini.

“I think I was a bit nervous in the first game, it’s the first match on the glass court and it’s in front of the Pyramids, so it’s not that easy. I’m still trying to get in my mind that I’m back on tour playing, it’s the first time playing her so I didn’t really know what to expect.

“I’ve been dreaming of playing at this venue since I was seven years old and when I first had the injury I thought I wouldn’t have surgery before this tournament, so I did a lot to come and play here. I’m looking forward to this week.”

El Sherbini will play India’s Joshna Chinappa in the last 16, with Chinappa progressing at the expense of Hong Kong’s Ho Tze-Lok, who retired with a foot injury after just 12 minutes.

There were also wins for France’s World No.4 Camille Serme and New Zealand’s Joelle King at the Pyramids as they beat Millie Tomlinson and Zeina Mickawy, respectively. Serme will line up against World No.16 Yathreb Adel in the next round, while King will clash with Hong Kong’s Annie Au.

Four matches also took place at the Shooting Club 6th of October, with Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam continuing her superb run as she followed up her opening round upset of No.8 seed Amanda Sobhy with victory over World No.29 Milou van der Heijden to reach the third round of the World Championships for the first time.

The 28-year-old van der Heijden got engaged in front of the Pyramids earlier on in the day, and she tested Subramaniam, drawing level after going a game down. But the World No.48 narrowly edged the final two games to earn her spot on the glass court in front of the Pyramids, where World Junior Champion Hania El Hammamy will lie in wait.

“I feel confident after beating Amanda [Sobhy] in the first round, obviously Milou is a good player and she has been playing well, so I had to take every game and every point one at a time,” van der Heijden said.

“I tried not to think about getting that far and playing in front of the Pyramids, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m playing Hania and she is my junior rival as well, we have played a few times at junior level and now at PSA. Hopefully we can both play good squash and the better player wins, but I’m really excited.” 

2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s $340k World Championship, Great Pyramids, Giza, Egypt.

Second Round (Bottom Half):
[3] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [21] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (29m)
[15] Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [32] Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-2: 7-11, 11-13, 13-11, 13-11, 11-9 (67m)
[14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [27] Donna Lobban (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (36m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [30] Milou van der Heijden (NED) 3-1: 11-4, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9 (40m)
[6] Joelle King (NZL) bt [19] Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-1: 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 (41m)
[10] Annie Au (HKG) bt [22] Nadine Shahin (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (48m)
[12] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt Ho Tze-Lok (HKG) 3-0 Scores: 11-5, 11-4 retired (12m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [28] Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 11-4 (26m)

Third Round (Top Half) October 27:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [11] Alison Waters (ENG)
[13] Salma Hany (EGY) v [5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [9] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[26] Tinne Gilis (BEL) v [4] Nouran Gohar (EGY)

Third Round (Bottom Half) October 28:
[3] Camille Serme (FRA) v [15] Yathreb Adel (EGY)
[14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
[6] Joelle King (NZL) v [10] Annie Au (HKG)
[12] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 

Pictures courtesy of PSA

LOVES PARK, Ill. — Coming from the back of the pack, Casey Johnson beat a host of top Midwest late model drivers and the rain as he scored the victory in the 54th annual National Short Track Championships presented by Crazy Times Pub & Grub at Rockford Speedway Saturday afternoon.

Scheduled for 250 laps around the high-banked, quarter-mile, paved oval, the race was called official after 150 laps because of rain with Johnson, who won the event in 2016, being declared the winner.

Johnson, who took the lead from Steve Apel on about lap 138, defeated Brad Mueller, Austin Nason, Apel, Jake Gille and fast qualifier Michael Bilderback.  James Swan, 2015 race winner Jon Reynolds Jr., Josh Wallace and Tim Lampman rounded out the top 10.

This year’s ARCA Midwest Tour champion, Johnson, the 29-year-old racer from Edgerton, Wis., drove his Hougan Farms/UAW Region 4/Valley Gasket Inc./Montgomery Ward/Wegner Automotive-sponsored Pathfinder Chassis Chevrolet SS to the victory after starting last in the 22-car field.

The race, originally slated for Sept. 29, was rained out with Johnson and his No. 5 entry not having the best practice and qualifying runs in September thus Johnson’s back-of-the-pack starting spot.

Eight yellow flag cautions, including two competition yellows, slowed the action that saw Rich Bickle Jr. lead the first half dozen laps or so.  Alex Prunty, winner of the last two NSTC events, moved into the lead on lap six with Apel, Bickle, Ty Majeski and Bilderback giving chase.

The first competition yellow came out with 75 laps completed with everyone going to the pits with the exception of Majeski, Mueller and Johnson.  A dice roll of six inverted the top cars with Apel the race’s new leader.

The race had just restarted when Prunty and Bickle got together and crashed off of turn four.  Prunty’s hope for three-straight ended with him completing 88 laps.  Bickle, another former two-time winner, came back on the track after extensive repairs and completed 133 laps.

Apel was the leader with Majeski running a close second.  Majeski got into the back of Apel with 92 laps complete, sending the leader spinning.  Majeski tapped out and admitted fault in the incident, with Apel going back to the lead position and Majeski to the tail of the field.  Majeski, who won both the recent Oktoberfest 200 and Falloween 150 in Wisconsin, was trying to work his way back to the front until carburetor/engine woes forced him out after completing 124 laps.

As the race wore on a few rain drops became noticeable with Apel still showing the way.  Johnson caught up to Apel and moved into the lead with Apel losing several positions.  Another competition yellow was thrown with 150 laps complete but the rain increased, soaking the track and forcing officials to call the race complete.

“During the first 75 laps or so, I was biding my time and getting a little track position,” Johnson said after the race as the rain continued to fall.  “We played a little strategy there by staying out (during the first competition yellow).  I knew I had a really good car.  We practiced well this morning.  We made some adjustments on the car since the rainout.  It (the car) was really stout.  I knew we were racing to lap 125 (halfway) so I went there at the end.

“This is my favorite race of the year.  It’s awesome.  This track is a different breed of racing.  You really have to get up on the wheel.  It’s a little rough sometimes.”

Ron Vandermeir Jr. won the 50-lap Mid American Stock Car Series headliner with the victory giving him the series title, which he also won last year.  Coming from the outside front row of the 22-car field, Vandermeir, a third-generation driver, and his Chevrolet led from flag to flag in the race that was slowed only once by a caution flag with 46 laps complete.

Cody Clubb ran second most of the way with veteran Bobby Gutknecht getting by Clubb on the restart.  At the checkered flag, it was Vandermeir over Gutknecht and Clubb with Jeff Wakeman, Jason Thoma and Mark Pluer rounding out the top six.  Fastest qualifier Jeff Holtz finished eighth.

Nick Schmidt won the 25-lap main event for the four-cylinder Bandits division.  Schmidt scored the win ahead of Tyler Deschaine, Bart Brockman, Scott Ingram, Shawn Bowar and John Triggs.

The finish:

Casey Johnson, Brad Mueller, Austin Nason, Steve Apel, Jake Gille, Michael Bilderback, James Swan, Jon Reynolds Jr., Josh Wallace, Tim Lampman, Josh Nelms, Matt Berger, Dennis Prunty, Clay Curts, Rob Braun, Jim Olson, Rich Bickle Jr., Ty Majeski, Jake Vanoskey, Danny Church, Alex Prunty, Max Kahler.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The second day of the California Hot Rod Reunion presented by Automobile Club of Southern California did not disappoint as fans came from far and wide to enjoy the high-speed competition and entertainment at Auto Club Famoso Raceway on Saturday.

California Hot Rod Reunion honorees were on hand to sign autographs and interact with fans throughout the day. Many NHRA Mello Yello Series drivers came out as well to enjoy the sights and sounds of this one-of-a-kind event.

In Nostalgia Top Fuel, Mendy Fry kept her No. 1 spot with her Friday pass of 5.595-seconds at 237.42 mph. Fry, the 2019 NHRA Heritage Series Top Fuel World Champion, will face Dan Horan Jr. in the first round of eliminations on Sunday morning.

In Nostalgia Funny Car, the third and final qualifying pass set the 16-car field in the early afternoon before running the first round of eliminations on Saturday evening. Ryan Hodgson started eliminations at the top of the ladder thanks to his run of 5.622 at 250.41 made in the final qualifying session. Hodgson defeated Kris Krabill in the first round of eliminations.

Several NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series championships were secured throughout the day including Henry Roberson in Hot Rod, Bill Norton in D Gas and Steve Faller in 7.0 Pro.

The day concluded with the ever-popular Cacklefest featuring restored or recreated nitro-burning machines firing up with the help of a push start, reminiscent of the early days of drag racing.

Eliminations at the California Hot Rod Reunion presented by Automobile Club of Southern California continue Sunday at 8:00 a.m.

Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl against Australia

Sri Lanka's captain Lasith Malinga won the toss and sent Australia in to bat in the first T20I at Adelaide Oval.

Malinga's decision meant David Warner would walk out to open for his first home international since the end of the Newlands ban alongside the captain Aaron Finch. Steven Smith is set to bat at No. 3 and Glenn Maxwell at No. 4.

Australia left out Ben McDermott and Billy Stanlake from their team after Andrew Tye was ruled out out of the series with an elbow injury, meaning Alex Carey will bat at No. 6 and the spin bowling allrounder Ashton Agar as high as No. 7.

As well as welcoming back Malinga, Sri Lanka elected to leave out Niroshan Dickwella, with Kusal Perera taking the gloves for the visitors.

Australia 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Steve Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Ashton Turner, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Adam Zampa

Sri Lanka 1 Dhanushka Gunathilika, 2 Kusal Mendis, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksha, 4 Kusal Perera (wk), 5 Oshada Fernando, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Wanidu Hasaranga, 8 Lakshan Sandakan, 9 Lasith Malinga (capt) 10 Nuwan Pradeep, 11 Kasun Rajitha

HOUSTON -- Russell Westbrook's first win with the Houston Rockets will be memorable for another reason: He climbed a rung on the all-time triple-doubles list.

Westbrook recorded the 139th triple-double of his career with his 28-point, 10-rebound, 13-assist performance in Saturday's 126-123 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, moving past Magic Johnson for the second most in NBA history behind Oscar Robertson.

"I know nowadays, getting a triple-double seems normal, but I take a pride, a lot of energy, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of things I do off the floor to prepare myself to be able to compete every single night and play at a high level," Westbrook said. "For me, that's a great accomplishment, especially growing up and never even thinking I'd be playing in the NBA. Now being there and being in the history books is just a blessing to me and something that I don't take for granted one bit."

Johnson reached out on Twitter to congratulate Westbook on his achievement.

Congratulations to Russell Westbrook for passing me and having the 2nd-most triple-doubles in NBA history! https://t.co/y3KgYXsjJB

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) October 27, 2019

Robertson, a Hall of Famer who was the only player to average a triple-double for a season before Westbrook accomplished the feat the last three years, tallied 181 career triple-doubles.

Westbrook's teams are now 111-28 in his triple-double games, which should silence any criticism that he prioritizes his individual production over team success. He played an essential role in the Rockets' win Saturday night, when co-star James Harden had another cold shooting night, need 29 shots to get his 29 points, missing all but two of his 18 3-point attempts.

Westbrook took over the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which started with the Rockets a New Orleans team missing No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson and star veteran guard Jrue Holiday because of knee injuries. Houston took the lead for good on a quarter-opening 8-0 run that was ignited by a Westbrook drive for an and-1 layup and also included him driving and kicking to PJ Tucker for a 3-pointer and flying in for an emphatic, two-handed dunk on a breakaway after stripping the ball from Brandon Ingram.

"It's a different dynamic that we've seen that he's been doing for a very, very long time," said Harden, who pushed the Rockets' front office to trade for his longtime friend and former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate when Westbrook became available over the summer. "I'm just happy to have him on this side now. He took over that game in the fourth quarter."

The Toyota Center crowd erupted when he rebounded a miss by Ingram with 1:40 remaining to clinch the historic triple-double. Rockets fans chanted Westbrook's nickname -- "Brodie! Brodie!" - when he hit a pair of clutch free throw with 6.1 seconds remaining.

The Houston fan base considered Harden a villain when he won the MVP over Harden in 2016-17, when Westbrook broke Robertson's 55-year-old record for most triple-doubles in a season with 42. Those fans are now enjoying Westbrook's uniquely electrifying game, as he has averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists through the Rockets' first two games.

"Russ has been carrying us, man," Houston guard Austin Rivers said. "He's been unbelievable. His energy, I've never seen anything like it. The energy he plays with is unmatched. He goes out there and gets rebound over 7-footers, pushes it every possession. It's inspiring, to be honest with you. It makes you pick up your energy."

Westbrook, a Los Angeles native, acknowledged that passing Lakers legend Johnson was particularly meaningful to him

"I never get a chance to think about what I've done," said Westbrook, who also holds the record for most consecutive triple-doubles with a streak of 10 in a row last season, one more than Wilt Chamberlain's run in 1968. "Tonight will be one of those times that I'll take a second and think about it and be grateful to be able to go out and compete and do something like that."

NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks were being blown out by double digits in their home opener, New York fans had viciously booed Dennis Smith Jr. and yet with three minutes remaining in what would be an ugly Knicks loss, the Madison Square Garden crowd was on its feet hollering with excitement.

No, they were not cheering for their own players. They were chanting for two-way Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall. "We want Tacko!" Fans chanted, clapping for emphasis. "We want Tacko!"

It was garbage time and the game's outcome was all but decided when Fall checked in with just under four minutes left in the game. Each time Fall touched the ball, fans went wild. When he would back down a defender in the paint, the crowd cheered like it was Game 7 of the Finals.

"I don't know if anybody not drafted in the top two or three has ever felt the kind of stuff he feels when he touches the ball," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said after the game.

The Celtics trounced the Knicks 118-95 and Fall finished with four points (both dunks) and three rebounds in 3 minutes and 38 seconds of playing time. Saturday marked the first time in the regular season that Fall had been available to play for the Celtics.

"I just tried to keep my cool and finish up the game," Fall said. "I just tried to do my job."

Fall was 2-of-4 from the field on Saturday night. His two misses were both hook shots -- something that he has been working on in practice with assistant coach Jay Larranaga.

"We work on hook shots, we work on jump shots, we even work on my threes, which is crazy," Fall said. "At first I was like, 'Threes?' But now I am starting to embrace it."

"Does this mean I should put your name in now for the 3-point contest?" a Celtics staff member joked.

"Do it!" Fall said, laughing. "I told Jay by January I might be at 50 percent 3-point shooting."

Fall is largely a fan favorite because of his size. He stands at 7-foot-5 and has repeatedly made headlines because of it. His hands are enormous, and engulf nearly anybody who goes for an introductory handshake.

Fall is so tall that he bonked his head on a ceiling, causing him to be placed in the league's concussion protocol. A video of Fall receiving an enormous coat from clothing brand Canada Goose received over 1,500 likes on Twitter. Canada Goose said that it is the largest coat they've ever made.

While Fall's size is gawk-worthy, Stevens said he hopes that fans "appreciate him for how good of a kid he is and how hard he is working to make the NBA."

"Everybody is yelling because of his size," Stevens said. "I get it. Every time he walks in the room, I say, 'Man, he's tall' under my breath. But at the same time, I hope people appreciate him for who he is and how hard he is working."

Fall, who played college basketball at the University of Central Florida, went undrafted and later signed with the Celtics. It isn't just his height that is unique. He maintained a 4.0 average and in 2015, he told Bleacher Report that if he had a choice between becoming LeBron James or Apple founder Steve Jobs, "I would be Steve Jobs." Prior to the game, Fall conducted interviews in English and French. Still, Fall speaks softly and in short sentences.

"Tacko is a unique guy - he is (almost) 7-foot-6 and you don't see that very often," Marcus Smart said. "Tacko, he's a little bit shy. So, when they were screaming "Tacko!" we all joined in. I am a big fan of Tacko."

MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo sat in a daze, with his size-16 right foot planted in a big, blue ice bucket at his locker, as his older brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo rolled his chair on the right side of him to console him in their native language following the Milwaukee Bucks' home-opening loss on Saturday.

It was a tough pill to swallow. Giannis Antetokounmpo became the first reigning MVP to ever foul out of his first game Thursday night at Houston. But that was in a win. He repeated the disqualification act for a second consecutive game Saturday, in addition to the Bucks blowing a 21-point, second-half edge. The Miami Heat, who were playing without veterans Jimmy Butler, Dion Waiters and James Johnson, escaped Fiserv Forum with a 131-126 victory.

"It's not frustrating. First game we won," Antetokounmpo said of the consecutive foul outs. "I think the frustrating part is not being out there to help my team, not necessarily I don't know if we would've won the game but just being out there and try to help your team to maybe block a shot, rebound or maybe make a pass or something.

"That's the frustrating part about it," he continued. "Obviously, I've got to keep learning from it and get better."

Milwaukee's 14 made 3-pointers at halftime tied for the most in any half of franchise history. But the momentum shifted in the second half, particularly in the third quarter, as the Bucks finished 3-for-24 from beyond the arc -- including 0-for-4 in overtime -- to shoot 31.5%.

Antetokounmpo finished with a near triple-double (29 points, 17 boards and 9 assists), including a buzzer-beating tip-in to end regulation knotted at 121-121 off Khris Middleton's missed jumper. The Bucks even being in position for Antetokounmpo to save the game was precarious, as the Heat led 117-108 with 3 minutes, 33 seconds left, and 120-116 with 9.3 seconds left.

The Los Angeles Angels will hire former Mets manager Mickey Callaway as their new pitching coach, a source confirmed to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez on Saturday.

USA Today first reported Callaway would join the staff of new Angels manager Joe Maddon.

Callaway, 44, will succeed Doug White, whom the Angels fired on Oct. 1 after one season in which the pitching staff posted a 5.12 ERA.

The Mets fired Callaway earlier this month after he led the team to a 163-161 record over two seasons. As the pressure increased on Callaway this season with the team under .500, the manager cursed at a reporter following a postgame news conference in June, during which the manager repeatedly was asked about a bullpen decision. He later apologized.

Before joining the Mets, Callaway served as pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians for five years and won the American League pennant in 2016.

In his playing days, he pitched in 40 major league games over five seasons, including 23 games with the Angels. He received a World Series ring in 2002, though he did not pitch in the postseason.

WASHINGTON -- On August 7, pitching for Triple-A Round Rock, Jose Urquidy allowed 14 hits, 11 runs and three home runs in 4 ⅔ innings in a game at El Paso. So it makes perfect sense that the rookie right-hander saved the Astros from the brink of elimination in Game 4 of the World Series, tossing five scoreless innings in a 8-1 victory that evened up the World Series at two wins apiece and sets the stage for a colossal Game 5 rematch between Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer.

It makes perfect sense because this is baseball. This is unpredictable October baseball. This is October baseball at its surprising best.

Urquidy allowed just two hits and no walks in his five innings and became just the fourth rookie in the past 30 years to throw a scoreless start in the World Series. He joined Fernando Valenzuela as the only pitcher from Mexico to start and win a World Series game. He became just the second pitcher since 1969 to have his first postseason start be a scoreless outing in the World Series, matching Jon Lester of the Red Sox in 2007. Not bad for a guy who had just 41 career innings in the regular season -- the third-fewest ever for a World Series starter (behind Steven Matz of the 2015 Mets and Marty Bystrom of the 1980 Phillies).

And no doubt it was the best World Series outing ever for a guy who gave up 11 runs at El Paso a couple months earlier. Urquidy had made his major league debut in July at Coors Field. Four starts later he was sent back down to Triple-A.

"When we sent him back down, it was really just sort of a gap in time where we needed to work on a few things," manager A.J. Hinch said before the game. "The strike-throwing, we needed him to continue to evolve with that. He got beat up a little bit, and had one blowup game in Triple-A that was unlike him. He had a lot of homers and a lot of hits. And maybe took our advice to be in the strike zone a little bit too much."

When Urquidy came back in September he allowed three runs in 18 innings. He pitched well in two relief outings in the earlier, including in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees. "I think he's learned a lot being around our pitching staff, our pitching program," Hinch said. "It's like one of those things, he pitches up to the level when he comes to the big leagues and he can be creative and he can throw different pitches."

He certainly pitched at his highest level in this game. Urquidy attacks hitters with mid-90s fastball up in the zone. On 3-2 counts, he blew a 96 mph fastball past Juan Soto in the fourth inning and a 95 mph heater past Ryan Zimmerman in the fifth. He throws a slider. Urquidy's changeup is a thing of beauty, however, a pitch that allowed him to post a big reverse platoon split in the regular season, holding left-handed batters to a meager .179/.210/.321 batting line. He threw 10 changeups to the Nationals, and they went 0-for-4 against it.

"That front-to-back game that you can play with the changeup is really critical," Hinch said. "He's got a good arm. His velocity has been on the higher side while he's been with us recently. And that ability to slow the game down with an off-speed pitch, we see it effective across the board in the playoffs. ... He can control it for a strike, he can get some chases out of it. Guys don't generally center it up."

The Nationals certainly didn't do it on Saturday night.

• The most obvious second-guessed move of this World Series -- even more than the decision to let Anibal Sanchez hit in Game 3 while down 2-1 - was Nationals manager Dave Martinez bringing in Fernando Rodney with two runners on and out in the seventh to face Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman. The score was still just 4-1 (and the Astros had already used and pinch-hit for Will Harris, their best reliever this postseason), so why not use Sean Doolittle there to try and escape the jam? Doolittle and Daniel Hudson hadn't pitched in Game 3, so they were well rested.

At that moment, you have keep the game close rather than worry about who is going to pitch the ninth inning. Brantley singled and Bregman unloaded with a grand slam. Game over. The Nats have basically six good pitchers. Martinez needs to maximize them in key situations. But, hey, at least Doolittle and Hudson will be on plenty of rest for Game 5.

• Bregman pimped his Game 5 home run even more than his Game 2 home run. It took him 9.43 seconds to get to first base and 28.71 seconds to round the bases -- topping his 28.47-second trot from Game 2, which had been the longest of the postseason. It was the 20th grand slam in World Series history. Of course you want to see the first 19:

The first 19 grand slams in World Series history: pic.twitter.com/eqMNKtT2Wj

— David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) October 27, 2019

• The Astros hit Nats starter Patrick Corbin hard all game, with all seven hits of their hits through four innings registering above 90 mph in exit velocity and three above 100, including Robinson Chirinos' 104 mph, two-run home run in the fourth off a changeup left over the middle of the plate. They also had two hard-hit outs, with Anthony Rendon turning a double play on Chirinos to help Corbin escape a bases-loaded jam in the first and then Rendon made an outstanding play to rob Jose Altuve of a double in the third. Victor Robles also robbed Brantley of a hit with a diving catch off 103-mph screamer in the fifth.

It could have been even worse for Corbin. In all, he allowed 13 balls in play of 90 plus mph, his third-highest total of the season (he had two games with 14). This is the offense that under one metric -- weighted runs created plus -- was the second-best offense of all time, behind only the 1927 Yankees.

• After Hinch had the quick hook with Urquidy after 65 pitches, he turned in the sixth to Josh James, who is often hit or miss. It was an interesting hook and certainly understandable from an analytical view. The top of the order was coming up for the third time. Urquidy hadn't thrown that many pitches since September 27. James walked two batters around a strikeout, but with the score still 4-0, that meant Hinch had to bring in Harris.

Upon coming in, Harris gave up an infield hit to Rendon that loaded the bases, but then got the two biggest outs of the game up to that point: Juan Soto swung at a first-pitch big looping curveball and grounded out weakly to first base and then he struck out Howie Kendrick on five straight cutters. Harris has been a lockdown reliever all postseason. He threw seven pitches after throwing 25 in Game 3, so he should be fine for an inning or so in Game 5 as needed.

• Cole versus Scherzer. World Series tied up. Yes, that will work just fine.