World Series 2017: Astros on the Winning End of Wild Game 2

The Houston Astros refused to quit in Game 2 of the World Series, repeatedly rallying and scoring six runs from the eighth inning forward in a wild, 7-6 extra-innings victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that evened the World Series at one game apiece.

The heroes were plentiful for the Astros, with Marwin Gonzalez homering to tie the game in the 9th, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hitting solo home runs in the 10th to put Houston ahead briefly, and George Springer hitting a two-run homer in the 11th that put them on top to stay.

The Dodgers counterpunched with a dramatic 10th inning in which Yasiel Puig homered and Kike Hernandez briefly tied things with a single, and in the bottom of the 11th they got a surprising home run from Charlie Culberson, but that was all they could muster in a game that stretched on for more than four hours.

In an on-field interview, Correa talked about the confidence the Astros have in their lineup.

“We’re never out of it,” he said. “We have a lineup that’s really scary when it’s on.”

Springer, who appeared almost out of breath, summed things up more succinctly, describing his emotions in the game as “Up, down, up, down, up.”

The win came largely as a result of the Dodgers’ aggressiveness with their pitching staff. With Rich Hill mostly rolling through four innings, allowing one run while striking out seven, Manager Dave Roberts chose to take him out rather than let him go through Houston’s order a third time. What followed was a parade of eight relievers. The first four took care of business, but Kenley Jansen could not handle a six-out save, giving up a two-run lead, and Josh Fields and Brandon McCarthy each allowed two runs once the game went to extra innings.

Justin Verlander started for Houston, and pitched well in six innings, but he left with his team down and it was the Astros’ bullpen that helped them hold on long enough to let their offense win the game.

The series will now shift to Houston, with Game 3 scheduled for Friday. Yu Darvish is expected to start for the Dodgers with Lance McCullers Jr. on the mound for the Astros.

Chris Devenski was back out for a second inning of work and he started things off by getting Corey Seager to line out to center. That brought up Justin Turner, and the postseason hero for the Dodgers hit a liner that looked like it might sneak through the infield before Alex Bregman ranged to his left and was able to snare it for the second out. That brought up Charlie Culberson, and the last man on the Dodgers’ bench hit a two-out solo homer to center to narrow Houston’s lead to one run, but that was as close as Los Angeles would get, as Yasiel Puig struck out to end the game.

Brandon McCarthy was not on the N.L.C.S. roster for the Dodgers, but he was added as an extra arm for the World Series. Because the team was officially out of relievers, he was on the mound to try to keep Los Angeles in the game in the 11th. Cameron Maybin led off the inning with a single and stole second before George Springer, who had been ice cold coming into the game, hit a monster blast to right-center that once again put the Astros on top. McCarthy ended the damage there, getting three quick outs, but the Dodgers now have three outs to stay alive in what has become a wild game.

The Astros went ahead 5-3 in the top of the 10th, and sent their closer, Ken Giles, out for a second inning in hopes of finishing off the victory. The Dodgers had other plans. Yasiel Puig led off the inning with a home run, and after Giles struck out two batters, Los Angeles tied things up on a walk to Logan Forsythe and a single by Kike Hernandez. Chris Devenski relieved Giles, and with the winning run at second base, he got Chris Taylor to fly out to center to end the inning.

Waldstein: I have been at some great World Series games, and this one now joins the list. Leads have been erased, home runs all over the place, blown saves, classic bat flips, and to top it all off, the second base umpire, Laz Diaz, gets hit in the upper leg with a pickoff attempt. Had it not hit him, Kike Hernandez certainly would have been on third base, and that might have changed how Dvensky would have pitched to Taylor.

When Forsythe slid home for the tying run, the upper decks of Dodger Stadium were swaying slightly. I remember that from Shea Stadium in 1999 and 2000. A bit unsettling.

Houston badly needed its best hitters to start delivering, and Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa did that in a big way by starting the 10th inning with back-to-back home runs to give the Astros a 5-3 lead.

The Dodgers ran out of top-shelf relievers, thanks to the aggressiveness of Dave Roberts in trying to protect a narrow lead earlier in the game, so Josh Fields came in for the 10th. Roberts’s aggressiveness had paid off throughout the postseason, but it backfired in Game 2, with Fields giving up the two home runs, and a double to Yulieski Gurriel, before being replaced by Tony Cingrani. Cingrani made quick work of the Astros, allowing just an intentional walk. Houston is now three outs away from victory.

Waldstein: That was Altuve’s sixth postseason home run. Not too shabby. And Carlos Correa follows it up with another blast, the third by the Astros in the last two innings. Correa with an epic bat flip, too. This game, and the series, has pivoted in a hurry, and Dodger Stadium is very quiet.

Houston turned to their closer in the ninth and Ken Giles started things off by striking out Corey Seager. He retired Justin Turner on a grounder to short and narrowly escaped a walk-off home run when Cody Bellinger’s deep blast to right was caught at the warning track by Josh Reddick. This game is headed to extra innings.

Kenley Jansen only had one six-out save in his career coming into today’s game, and he will leave with only one after he allowed a game-tying solo homer to Marwin Gonzalez to start the ninth inning.

After the home run, Jansen got a quick out from Josh Reddick, who popped out to second, and retired pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran on a fly ball to center, but he allowed a two-out double to George Springer. With the go-ahead run on base, Jansen was able to stop the bleeding by retiring Alex Bregman on a grounder to short.

With the Dodgers already having used five relievers, including their three best, they could run into manpower issues if this tie game stretches on for a while.

Waldstein: It was only Jansen’s second blown save of the year. His first was July 23 in Atlanta when he gave up a game-tying, three-run home run to Matt Adams. But the Dodgers came back to win that game, 5-4, and are 98-0 when leading after 8 innings this year, including the postseason.

It was a quick inning for the Dodgers offense. Chase Utley flied out to left, pinch-hitter Kike Hernandez grounded out to short, and Chris Taylor flied out to left to end the inning.

The Dodgers are three outs away from a 2-0 lead in the series with their dominant closer, Kenley Jansen, trying to finish a six-out save.

Waldstein: Food for thought for the Astros heading to the ninth: Almost 80 percent of the teams that go up 2-0 have gone on to win in a best-of-seven World Series. There have been 54 teams taking a 2-0 lead and 43 of them have won it all (79.6 percent). Worse for Houston, the last 10 teams to take a 2-0 lead have won it all.

It has also happened 16 of the last 17 times a team won the first two games. The lone exception in that period was the 1996 Atlanta Braves, who were beaten, 4-2, by the Yankees after winning the first two in the Bronx.

Dave Roberts continued to be aggressive with pitching changes, but for the first time in the series he did not quite have the magic touch as the Astros narrowed the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2.

After Alex Bregman led off the inning with a ground-rule double off Brandon Morrow, Roberts turned to his closer, Kenley Jansen, hoping for a six-out save. Jansen was able to get a ground-out from Jose Altuve, but Bregman advanced to third on that play and then scored on a single by Carlos Correa. Jansen recovered to get a pop-out from Yulieski Gurriel and then ended the inning by striking out Brian McCann. Unless the Dodgers can extend the lead in the bottom of the 8th, Jansen will have just one run to work with in the ninth.

Waldstein: The Astros finally break through against the Dodgers bullpen, which had not surrendered a run in 28 consecutive innings in the postseason.

Jansen, who is being asked to get a 6-out save, was 41 for 42 in save opportunities in the regular season. He had one five-out save this year and earned a win in a two-inning performance in extra innings. He has a five-out save and a four-out save this postseason.

With Will Harris on in relief for Houston, Cody Bellinger led off the inning and reached on a throwing error. He advanced to second on a curveball in the dirt that was ruled a wild pitch and went to third on a groundout by Yasiel Puig. But with the infield in to try to prevent a run, Joc Pederson struck out on five pitches. The infield returned to their normal positioning with two outs and Harris struck out Austin Barnes to end the inning.

Waldstein: This game is not over, but here’s a brief look at the Game 3 matchup between Yu Darvish and Lance McCullers, Jr.

Darvish is 4-1 lifetime at Minute Maid Park with a 2.16 earned run average, so the Dodgers have to be excited about that. McCullers only has one start against the Dodgers and took a no decision. But by pitching in Game 3, he could be used in relief as early as Game 6, if necessary, on three-days rest, which is what he did against the Yankees in the A.L.C.S.

Ross Stripling was the fourth Dodgers pitcher of the game and he lasted just four pitches, each of which was a ball. The walk to the struggling Marwin Gonzalez resulted in yet another pitching change, with Brandon Morrow coming in to face Josh Reddick, and the right-hander came through in a big way by getting Reddick to ground into a double play. He allowed a single to Evan Gattis, who was pinch-hitting for Justin Verlander, but finished off the inning by inducing a grounder to short from George Springer.

With Verlander now out of the game, his final line was six innings, two hits and three earned runs. He struck out five and walked two.

Justin Verlander needed just four pitches to retire Chase Utley and pinch-hitter Andre Ethier on a pair of fly-outs to center to start the inning, but that is when the trouble started. He walked Chris Taylor — his second walk of the game, both of which were drawn by Taylor — and got ahead, 0-2, on Corey Seager, but a 97 mile-per-hour fastball was right down the middle and Seager wasted no time hitting it out of the park to give his team the lead. Justin Turner popped out to end the inning, but the mighty Dodgers bullpen now has a lead to work with, which could be a big problem for Houston.

Waldstein: Did that seem like a familiar script? A two-out walk to Chris Taylor and then a two-run homer to left by the next batter? In Game 1 it was Justin Turner with the smash. In Game 2 it was Corey Seager, who went opposite field with a pitch that Verlander left up in the zone. And Seager knew it was gone — or at least had a good chance — right away because he was screaming as the ball left the bat.

Justin Verlander had been absolutely dominating batters, and looked well on his way to getting through five innings without allowing a hit, but with two outs, Joc Pederson worked a 2-1 count and then hit a solo home run to right-center. Verlander was able to get out of the inning quickly by retiring Austin Barnes on a fly to left, but with the Dodgers already having gone to their bullpen, the tie game could be a problem for them if it were to stretch into extra innings.

Waldstein: The crowd comes to life at Dodger Stadium. Pederson goes deep for the Dodgers’ first hit off Verlander. Pederson hit a hanging slider, it looked like. Funny, because part of the reason he was in there against Verlander is because he is a good fastball hitter.

It’s also still funny to be to see a Dodger wearing No. 31 who is not Mike Piazza.

Rich Hill had only thrown 60 pitches, and allowed just one run, but he was removed to start the fifth inning because Dave Roberts does not like his pitchers to go through the same lineup three times unless they have to. The bullpen was fresh, so Kenta Maeda came in and continued his stellar postseason pitching. He made each of his outfielders work, retiring George Springer on a fly ball to center, Alex Bregman on a fly to left, and Jose Altuve on a fly to foul territory in right.

Hill’s final pitching line for the day was four innings, three hits and one earned run. He struck out seven and walked three.

Waldstein: Maeda has mostly been used for one inning in relief this postseason. That’s 18 straight batters set down for Maeda in the postseason. He hasn’t allowed a base runner.

The Dodgers got their first base runner of the day when Justin Verlander walked Chris Taylor to start the inning, but the Dodgers were not able to do anything with it. Taylor was quickly erased from the bases when Corey Seager grounded to Carlos Correa, who was playing on the left side of second base because of the shift, then Justin Turner grounded into a double play to end the inning.

It was a quiet inning, with two walks (one of which was intentional) but there was some entertainment along the way. Rich Hill started things off by walking Yulieski Gurriel. He got ahead 0-2 on Brian McCann, but a passed ball sent Gurriel to second before McCann was retired on a fly to right. The crowd got amped up when it appeared Gurriel might try to advance to third against Yasiel Puig, but he wisely did not challenge the right fielder’s powerful arm, much to the crowd’s delight. With a runner in scoring position, Marwin Gonzalez continued to struggle, striking out looking on a fastball that was right down the middle. Josh Reddick was walked intentionally to get to Justin Verlander, and Hill finished off his Houston counterpart with a three-pitch strikeout.

Waldstein: The Dodgers have won the last four postseason starts Hill has made for them. Hill is from Milton, Mass. and is a huge Patriots fan. I spoke to him on Monday and he was quite pleased they had beaten the Falcons and looked to be playing well again. Hill went to Michigan and was a freshman when Tom Brady was a senior. They both lived in South Quad, the big jock dorm, but Hill said they only really had one passing interaction.

Staked to a lead, Justin Verlander got through Austin Barnes quickly when the catcher flew out to left on the second pitch he saw, and got a little luck when Jose Altuve was able to snag a hard line drive from Chase Utley that appeared to be headed into right field. That brought Rich Hill to the plate, and the pitcher executed a nice swinging bunt, but was retired on a bang-bang play at first to end the inning.

Waldstein: Tiger Woods is at the game. He was shown on the video screen and gave a very awkward smile and wave. I spent half an inning watching Dieter Ruehle, the Dodgers famed organist. But he does much more than play the organ. He also does all those sounds effects, like the cavalry charge trumpet, the clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, noise and the tempo-quickening drum beat. It’s kind of mesmerizing.

The Astros are up 1-0 thanks to some small ball and a little luck. Josh Reddick led off the inning against Rich Hill with a single that looked an awful lot like an error by Chase Utley. Justin Verlander bunted him over to second, and George Springer’s single sent him to third. With runners at the corners, Alex Bregman hit a ball to center that a diving Chris Taylor could not quite snag, letting Reddick score easily. Hill got a second out by catching Jose Altuve looking at a fastball for strike three, and then struck out Carlos Correa on three pitches to limit the damage, but the struggling Houston offense looked the best it has so far in the series.

Waldstein: For the first time in nine postseason games, the Astros have scored in the first three innings. Bregman’s single caromed off the brim of Taylor’s cap, reminiscent of the play where Yoenis Cespedes booted the ball in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, resulting in an inside-the-park home run by Alcides Escobar of the Royals. But this time, it went directly to Joc Pederson, limiting the damage.

It was more of the same for the Dodgers’ hitters in the second, as Justin Verlander continued to dominate. The big right-hander struck out Cody Bellinger on four pitches, got Yasiel Puig to pop out to first, and finished off the inning by fooling Joc Pederson with a called strike three on a curveball that was slightly up in the zone. Verlander has struck out four of the six batters he’s faced and has needed just 24 pitches.

Rich Hill’s command problems against the first two batters of the game are a distant memory. He retired Yulieski Gurriel on just one pitch, getting the first baseman to fly out to left, and then threw an 87 mile-per-hour fastball past Brian McCann for strike three. He nearly caught Marwin Gonzalez looking for a called third strike to end the inning, but settled for a swinging strike on the next pitch.

Chris Taylor, who led off Game 1 with a home run, fouled Justin Verlander’s first pitch off his own foot and then struck out on a 96 mile-per-hour fastball cut over the outside edge of the plate. Corey Seager struck out on four pitches, flailing helplessly at an outside fastball, and Justin Turner flew out to center to end the inning. Verlander looked absolutely dominant.

Waldstein: Verlander, the M.V.P. of the A.L.C.S., comes out as you would expect in the first inning. He was aggressive, going right after the Dodgers hitters and striking out the first two, including Corey Seager on a 98 mile-per-hour heater. Verlander is looking to go 5-0 in the postseason and 10-0 since joining the Astros.

Not a ton of pressure on Verlander. It’s only the Astros’ season at stake here.

The first pitch of Game 2 came at 8:17 p.m. Eastern, when Rich Hill threw a an 89 mile-per-hour fastball to George Springer for a ball. It took a while for Hill to find his command, as he walked Springer on six pitches and then fell behind 3-1 to Alex Bregman. But he eventually retired Bregman on a foul pop, struck out Jose Altuve on three pitches, and then got Carlos Correa to fly out to right to end the inning.

Dodgers fans were already pumped up before the game starts as former broadcaster Vin Scully came out with a microphone to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

“I can imagine Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella up in Heaven laughing their heads off saying, ‘Look who’s throwing out the first ball at the World Series.’”

Scully, doing a full stand-up routine, said he has been practicing all week by throwing to his wife, who said he has good stuff. He then calls out Steve Yeager to catch the pitch as the fans chant, “Scully, Scully.” But then as he was about to throw, Scully said he injured his rotator cuff and has to go to the bullpen. He calls on lefty Fernando Valenzuela, who throws to Yeager.

■ After last night’s 2 hour 28 minute masterpiece, this game could be another pitcher’s duel, with Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.36 E.R.A.) of the Astros facing Rich Hill (12-8, 3.32) of the Dodgers. Verlander beat the Dodgers in his lone start against them this season, striking out nine batters in eight innings on Aug. 20 while he was still with the Detroit Tigers. Hill did not face the Astros in 2017, but in 2016 he went 1-1 against them, allowing three earned runs in 12 innings.

2 hits is all Verlander gave up. Had they lost, it would have been the first time since the early 1960s a pitcher lost giving up only two hits in a WS.

Verlander did fine. Not sure of the pitch selection on the 1-2 count giving up that second home run. But he will do even better back in Houston.

Astros have been outstanding in post season at home. That’s why last night was so important.

I’m hoping for a 7-game series. No real ‘home team’ - just want to see more great baseball. But would like Houston to win it given the tough year the town has had.

Dang, New York is such a tough place to manage - the fans will cheer you one minute and try to string you up the next. Never mind that the Yankees were the second best team statistically this year which was supposed to be a rebuilding year. You either win it all or you’re gone.

If I was to guess, I’d say someone with deep experience...who knows maybe Dusty Baker, he has a very thick skin. Or maybe they poach someone like Francona.

As for Girardi...he should look at San Diego, they have tons of young talent just coming up and they are the easiest-going fans and press you will ever run into. He could have some fun there.

I like seeing Mary Hart behind home plate. I always thought she was a sweetheart. love those seats. Can’t think of a better place to watch baseball than in balmy Dodger Stadium.

The balls were sailing out of the park last night.

MLB really saw an opportunity with the NFL’s anti-Americanism to reassert itself as America’s game.

The National Anthem opening night by the gospel singer, all players standing at attention with caps over hearts. Then the 7th inning stretch featuring “God Bless America.”

MLB realizes what NFL does not: sports fans are patriotic, America first folks.

The lesbian studies and BLM activists always hated sports and still do. They got beat up by the jocks in high school. Don’t worry about folks that aren’t buying your product and never will.

People boycotting the NFL have also been wanting to see sports.

Baseball doing a great job and the games have been top notch.

Headquarters in NY = terrible idea.

Having ‘diversity’ officers or training = terrible idea.

Ignoring your customers = terrible idea.

My claim to fame is attending the first Game Fernando LOST at Dodger Stadium back in 1981.

I still blame myself. #;^)

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