Astros Topple Dodgers in Wild World Series Game 2
After a low scoring Game 1 that ended in less than two and a half hours, Game 2 of the World Series was one of the most exciting baseball games in recent memory.
The game started off as a pitchers duel. Justin Verlander went 6 innings and allowed only two hits for Houston. Unfortunately for Verlander, both hits were home runs; a solo shot by Joc Pederson in the 5th, and a 2 run blast by Cory Seager in the 6th. Los Angeles' Rich Hill allowed one run in 4 innings, an RBI single to Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.
With the Dodgers leading 3-1 in the 8th inning, manager Dave Roberts turned to All Star closer Kenley Jansen with a man on base and no outs. Houston shortstop Carlos Correa singled home a run to make it a one run game.
The ninth inning is where this game started to turn from ordinary game to instant classic. Down a run, Marwin Gonzalez tied the game for Houston with a solo home run in the top of the inning. The Dodgers failed to score a run in the bottom of the ninth, and the game went to extras. In the top of the tenth, Jose Altuve and Correa hit back-to-back home runs to give the Astros a two-run lead.
Just as Houston fans started to feel that the franchise's first ever World Series victory was in reach, the Dodgers made a come back. Yasiel Puig led off the bottom of the tenth with a solo home run, cutting the Astros lead to 1. After striking out 2 batters in a row, Astros relief pitcher Ken Giles walked Logan Forsythe, who scored on a single by Kiké Hernandez to tie the game.
In the top in the eleventh, Houston's George Springer, who entered this game with 3 hits in his previous 8 games, delivered a two-run shot to put the Astros up by 2 once again. The Dodgers threatened in the bottom of the inning, with Charlie Culberson hitting a two out solo home run. However, the game ended when the next batter, Puig, struck out swinging.
The game broke the record for home runs in a World Series game with 8. Coming into last nights game, there were 17 extra-inning home runs in the history of the World Series. Last night there were 5. Entering the game, the Dodgers were 98-0 on the season when leading after 8 innings.
The World Series now heads to Houston with the series knotted up at a game a piece. If the rest of the series plays out at all like last nights game, it's bound to be one of the greatest Fall Classics there has ever been.