Houston Astros: Four things to recall about Game 5 of the 17 World Series
Thing #2: The challenge of a duel
Innings 4-6
Keuchel comes out to start the fourth inning. He gives up a double to Forsythe with one out. Then, with two outs, Keuchel needs to retire Austin Barnes to avoid trouble. On a 3-1 pitch, it gets worse. Barnes connects for a single to bring in the fourth run of the game.
Next up is Charlie Culberson, who reaches on a single as Altuve couldn’t get the ball out of his glove. AJ Hinch, manager of the Houston Astros, then pulls Keuchel in return for Luke Gregerson. Down 4-0 with Astros fans feeling depressed. It almost felt like another hurricane is blowing over and Houston’s title hopes are slipping. Gregerson does get Chris Taylor on a strikeout that is in a questionable location. But down 4-0, this plays into the Dodgers’ hands.
Bottom of the 4th
Kershaw comes back out for the fourth inning. All-time, he has a 105-7 record whenever the Dodgers lead by four runs or more. Not good news for the Astros. But despite the aura of the man on the mound, even Kershaw isn’t a machine. He does have a reputation of not coming through in the postseason previously. But how would the Astros get to him? A walk to George Springer starts the inning. The Altuve singles to left bringing an opportunity for Houston to score with runners on base. Carlos Correa comes up and he hits a line drive for a base hit that scores Springer. Correa attempts to go second base. It’s a close play, but the umpires and replay officials agree that he was safe.
Next is Gurriel, who has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. The incident with an inexcusable gesture in reference to Yu Darvish still lingers in everyone’s mind. Should he have been suspended for a game in the World Series or more? Was it the right decision to keep him and wait until 2018 to serve it?
Gurriel had a bad game the night before with all that happens. He also had a bad throw that led to a run scoring. But with the crowd excited and Kershaw starting to feel pressure, what happened next was pure redemption. A no-doubter to left, and the game is tied at four. The crowd erupts with cheers as the near-impossible happened. The Dodgers are shocked while the Astros rejoice. It’s a brand new ballgame.
Fifth Inning
Colin McHugh makes his World Series debut. But he walks two batters to lead off the inning. Then with one out, he throws a breaking ball to Cody Bellinger, who continues to build off Game 4’s performance by hitting a three-run shot. The crowd is silent again and Bellinger reminds them to.
It’s 7-4 as Kershaw goes back out for the fifth inning with the edge in his favor. He retires the first two hitters he faces. Suddenly, he walks both Springer and Alex Bregman to bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Altuve. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts decides that Kershaw has done enough and brings in Kenta Maeda. Maeda has pitched scoreless ball up this point. But he’s facing a 5’6 soon-to-be MVP with a chance to come through here. Altuve is bothered by not tagging Forsythe earlier leading to a run. Now, he’s ready for the pitches. On 3-2, Altuve swings and connects. But it’s well foul. There goes his best chance.
Then, magic happened. Maeda decides to throw a fastball after throwing sliders. Big mistake and Altuve takes him deep to center.
7-7! Tie Game! Now it’s becoming a classic.
Sixth Inning
McHugh returns to the mound. The Dodgers have a runner on base with two outs. Seager is back up and looking to get on base. For a few seconds, he heads to first on a walk. Only, it wasn’t called ball four. It was called strike three. Seager is disgusted as Bill Miller rings him up. The strike zone would prove to be suspicious as one viewer even drew a shape of Texas.
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The sixth inning ends with no trouble as Tony Watson retires the Astros in the sixth inning. Through six innings, the score is tied at seven. Not exactly what fans had in mind for today. But what followed would suddenly have everyone in a world that no one had ever encountered before. The real fun was getting started.