The artwork on the front page of the Chronicle’s sports section on June 1, 2005 of a large tombstone reading “RIP Astros’ season” still comes up in conversation a few times a year. • The Astros were 19-32 when the tombstone ran in the newspaper and the team had not lived up to expectations so far in that 2005 season. • But no one remembers the tombstone because the Astros were losing. They remember it because the Astros turned things around. • They’d end up going 70-41 the rest of the way, earning the wild card and playing in the franchise’s first World Series. • This year as the Astros are playing in their third World Series and going for their second championship, they happen to be facing a team that had a similar road as that ’05 team did.

The Nationals didn’t have a tombstone printed anywhere this season, but similar to the Astros in 2005, they were counted out a long time ago, but managed to turn around their season.

The Nationals started the season 19-31 and went 74-38 the rest of the way, earning a wild card and reaching their first World Series.

At the time, manager Dave Martinez said he hadn’t given up hope of achieving the team’s lofty goal of making it to the World Series.

“I imagined it in spring training,” he said after the Nationals earned a postseason spot in September. “I said this team is going to bounce back and turn it around. thought we hit the bottom then, but this team — we get everybody back, we get healthy, we’re going to be OK. So let’s just keep fighting, and here we are.”

In 2004, the Astros put together a stellar season, finishing 92-70 and making to to Game 7 of the NLCS before falling to St. Louis.

The expectations for 2005 were high. They had a lot of their team back, including pitchers Roger Clemens (the 2004 Cy Young winner), Andy Pettite and Roy Oswalt. There were also the Killer Bs — Craig Biggio, Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell.

Jeff Kent went to the Dodgers and Carlos Beltran went to the Mets during free agency, but overall, the Astros had most of their best players back.

So the bad start was unexpected and frustrating

At the end of May, the Astros were 14 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central.

According to the story that ran with the infamous tombstone, only one team trailed by more games on June 1 and reached the playoffs. The 2001 Athletics were 15 games back in the AL West on June 1 and reached the playoffs that year. The 2003 World Series champion Marlins were fifth in the five-team NL East on June 1, 12 games back. Both those teams earned wild-card berths. The A’s were 25-26 and the Marlins 22-29 after 51 games.

No other team reached the postseason after trailing by more than double digits in their divisions June 1, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

So the Astros had an uphill battle.

No one on the team was publicly giving up by any means, but it was grim. Berkman was just coming back from an ACL tear and Bagwell was headed off to have shoulder surgery.

“My job right now is to try to win the pennant,” then-manager Phil Garner told the Chronicle. “So until things change, that’s what we have to do. What we have to do is keep our pitching pretty much the way it’s been. We have one-third of the season gone.

“We can be equally as devastating for another third of the season and then play decent ball another third and be where we need to be. When you have good pitching, you can get hot. But all the talk in the world won’t get it done. We have to get it done. Truly, we have to start getting our offense clicking.”

The Astros did indeed get it clicking.

Their comeback that season was impressive and thrilling to watch. They ended up getting swept by the White Sox in the World Series, but the journey was a special one and is one still treasured by the franchise and the city.

The Nationals had big expectations when the season started this year.

Despite losing Bryce Harper to the Phillies in free agency, they believed that behind stout pitching and with a soild lineup, they’d make a run.

On May 24, they were 19-31. Things weren’t looking great.

But they fought through it.

Things started improving and by the end of June, they were in the mix.

“Often bumpy roads lead to beautiful places,” Martinez told the fans in the stadium when the Nationals beat the Cardinals to advance to the World Series, “and this is a beautiful place.”

The Nationals’ have been one of the most likeable and exciting teams to watch throughout the postseason.

They have pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in a baseball season, ever. And anyone who has followed the Astros for the past couple of decades knows exactly what’s that like.

“I truly believe that these guys are fired up to be here,” Martinez said. We played a lot of unbelievable games this year. We’ve come a long way.”

jenny.creech@chron.com

twitter.com/jennydialcreech