The 2019 World Series will begin on Tuesday, with the Houston Astros hosting the Washington Nationals at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The Astros, playing in their second World Series in three years, reached this point after defeating the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Nationals, making their Fall Classic debut, swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.

Now, before we address three important questions for Game 1, here are your essentials:  

When: Tuesday, Oct. 22 | Time:  8:08 p.m. ET
Venue: Minute Maid Park (Houston, Texas)
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)  
Odds: HOU: -190 | WAS: +175 | O/U: 6.5
Starting pitchers: Max Scherzer (WAS) vs. Gerrit Cole (HOU)

1. Can Cole continue dominant postseason?

There's a case to be made that this series will feature the most dominant postseason pitcher on each side of the bracket, in Stephen Strasburg and Gerrit Cole.

Cole, for his part, has probably had the best postseason of any pitcher.

Entering the World Series, Cole has made three starts this October. He's averaged more than seven innings per appearance while permitting one run on 10 hits and eight walks. Cole has 32 strikeouts as well, resulting in a 38 percent K rate. For reference, Strasburg leads October pitchers with 15-plus frames with a 39 percent strikeout percentage.

Another high-quality start or two would send Cole into the winter -- and into free agency -- with one of the most dominant months in recent postseason memory. 

2. Can the Nationals keep rolling after layoff?

No team still playing baseball is hotter than the Nationals, who have won six consecutive games. That includes NLDS Games 4 and 5 against the Dodgers, and then NLCS Games 1 through 4 against the Cardinals. 

The Nationals played so well during the NLCS that at no point during the series did they trail. Not for a pitch, an at-bat, an inning, any of it. The Nationals have since had a week off, and that's bound to inspire speculation about whether they'll come out rusty or just well-rested. 

Our guess is that the layoff helped the Nationals pitching staff. Remember, Davey Martinez has leaned on six pitchers -- Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, Anibal Sanchez, Daniel Hudson and Sean Doolittle -- throughout the playoffs, even asking his starters to pitch relief on their throw days. Giving their arms a chance to bounce back would seem like a good thing -- even if, realistically, it doesn't ensure good results.

3. How important is winning Game 1?

Obviously winning Game 1 bodes well for the victor -- after all, it means they need just three more victories to secure the title, whereas their opponent still requires four -- but how big is the swing between winning and losing Game 1? 

To answer, we consulted the data provided by the website WhoWins.com. Teams to go up 1-0 in a best-of-seven series in MLB history have then won the series nearly 64 percent of the time. Home teams -- ahem, Houston -- who have won Game 1 have won 67 percent of those series. Visiting teams, meanwhile, have won 59 percent. 

That is to say the winner of Game 1 will have history on their side. Again, that's to be expected, but it's nice when empirical data aligns with common sense.