WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s been 86 years since Washington baseball fans witnessed a World Series home win by one of their three major league teams. The wait continues. The Houston Astros have a three-games-to-two lead in the Fall Classic after beating the Nationals in Washington for the third straight night, 7-1. The Astros took the three games in DC by a combined 19-3 margin after dropping the first two games at home. It was a redemption game for Gerrit Cole, who dropped the series opener to end his 19-game winning streak. Cole was terrific in this one, limiting the Nationals to three hits while striking out nine over seven innings. Cole blanked the Nats until Juan Soto homered with one out in the seventh to trim Houston’s lead to 4-1. The Nationals banged out a trio of two-run homers while outhitting the Nationals, 10-4. Yordan Alvarez opened the scoring with a second-inning homer and finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Carlos Correa added a two-run blast in the fourth, and George Springer capped the scoring with his second homer of the series. Joe Ross was pressed into service when scheduled starter when ace Max Scherzer couldn’t lift his arm Sunday morning. Scherzer says he underwent treatment after the neck spasms started a few days earlier. Ross was reached for four runs and five hits over five innings. Game 6 is Tuesday in Houston.