Joey Hess
Staff Writer

The Houston Astros won their first World Series Championship in franchise history after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in game 7 on November 1st.

It was only fitting that arguably one of the best World Series in the history of baseball ended in 7 games, and two of them resulted in thrilling extra inning victories for the Astros.

Game one featured two of the best starting pitchers in baseball. Clayton Kershaw faced off against Dallas Keuchel in an absolute pitcher’s duel. Kershaw went seven innings and only allowed one run on three hits with 11 strikeouts, and Keuchel went six and two-thirds innings and allowed three runs on six hits. The Dodgers struck early after lead-off batter Chris Taylor launched a home run into left field to start off the bottom of the first. Three innings later, in the top of the fourth, Alex Bregman tied the game up with a home run of his own. Kershaw and Keuchel continued to battle through the middle innings until Justin Turner hit a two run homerun in the bottom of the sixth to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead which ended up being enough to secure the victory in their first world series game in 29 years.

Game two produced the most home runs hit in a World Series game in MLB history. The Astros and Dodgers combined for eight home runs as the Astros hung on to a 7-6 victory in 11 innings.  Bregman started off the scoring with an RBI single in the third inning. After that, the home runs piled on. A solo home run by Joc Pederson tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, followed by a two run home run in the bottom of the sixth by Corey Seager to put LA ahead 3-1.

After an RBI single by Carlos Correa brought Houston within one in the eighth, Marwin Gonzalez sent the game into extra innings with another home run in the top of the ninth. Back-to-back homers by Jose Altuve and Correa gave the Astros a 5-3 lead in the 10th, but LA turned around in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game on yet another home run by Yasiel Puig and an RBI by Enrique Hernandez. George Springer, who’s name would not be forgotten by the end of the series, gave the Astros a 7-5 lead in the 11th on the seventh home run of the night. The Dodgers were threatening in the bottom of the 11th after Charlie Culberson homered to center to pull LA within one as Puig returned to the plate. Despite his previous success in the game, Puig could not get the job done as he ended up striking out to give the Astros the win and a 1-1 series tie.

Games three and four were rather mundane compared to the rest of the series. The Astros jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning of game three on a home run by Yuli Gurriel, a couple of RBI singles by Gonzales and Brian McCann, and a sacrifice fly by Bregman. Seager grounded into a double play and drove in Pederson to pull the Dodgers within three, but this was not enough to spark a big inning. An RBI single by Evan Gattis extended the Astro’s lead to four again. The sixth inning brought promise to LA after Puig drove in a run on a ground out and Turner scored on a wild pitch to make the game 5-3. Despite the late push, it was not enough to make a comeback as the Dodgers conceited another game to the Astros.

With the momentum in their favor, the Astros fully expected to extend their series lead to 3-1 heading into game four. A pair of home runs by Springer and Bregman were the only two runs for the Astros. In addition to an RBI single in the seventh, the Dodgers piled on five runs in the top of the ninth to cap off the 6-2 victory on a three-run homer by Pederson along with an RBI double by Cody Bellinger and sacrifice fly by Austin Barnes.

When baseball fans look back at this World Series, game five will surely be discussed as the most memorable without a doubt. With a total of 25 runs scored and 10 innings played, the Astros rallied past the Dodgers to give them a 3-2 series lead heading back to LA.

The Dodgers were quick to jump out on top 3-0 in the top of the first inning courtesy of a two RBI single by Logan Forsythe. Later in the inning, Hernandez scored on a throwing error by Gurriel. The Dodgers extended their lead to four after Barnes drove in Forsythe in the top half of the fourth. Houston would quickly tie the game back up in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double by Correa, followed by a three run home run by Gurriel. I

n a series that was dominated by home runs on both sides, LA re-gained the lead on another three run home run by Bellinger to make it 7-4. Trailing by three, American League MVP hopeful Jose Altuve stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth with two men on base and blasted a home run to tie the game up at seven. Two innings later, Bellinger tacks on another run for the Dodgers to put them ahead by one late in the game. However, the runs did not stop there. In the bottom half of the inning, Springer steps back up to the plate and blasts yet another home run to tie the game at eight.

After an RBI double from Altuve, Carlos Correa follows with yet another home run to put the Astros ahead 11-8. An RBI single cut the Astro’s lead to two heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. A home run by Brian McCann gave the Astros a 12-9 lead heading into the top of the ninth. Down three runs and only three outs remaining, there was not much hope left for Los Algeles; but a two run shot by Yasiel Puig followed by an RBI single forced extra innings for the second time in the series. The Dodgers went down quickly in the 10th inning which brought the 12-12 tie into the last frame. In a game that seemed like it was never going to end, Alex Bregman drove in the winning run just after midnight to give Houston the 13-12 in one of the best World Series games in the history of Major League Baseball.  

Justin Verlander went six innings in a rather uneventful game 6. Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill only threw four and two-thirds innings, but the bullpen was able to get the job done to force a game seven. Springer continued his hot streak when he homered in the top of the third to put the Astros up 1-0. It was not until the sixth inning until the Dodgers struck back on a RBI double by Taylor, and a sacrifice fly by Seager. A seventh inning home run by Pederson extended the Dodgers lead to 3-1. They were able to carry that lead into the ninth inning and get the win to force a game seven.

Yu Darvish took to the mound for the second time in the series in game seven and he was once again, below average. The Dodgers defense struggled early after Alex Bregman reached base safely on a throwing error by Bellinger that forced George Springer to score. The trouble continued later in the inning when Altuve knocked in Bregman on an RBI ground-out to first base. Darvish continued to struggle in the second inning.

Brian McCann reached base safely and eventually scored on a ground out by Astros pitcher Lance McCullers. Later in the inning, George Springer smashed his fifth home run of the series which put the Astros ahead 5-0 after just two innings. Darvish only lasted one and two thirds innings for the second time this series. Darvish’s two World Series starts were two of the shortest outings in his entire career. Four innings later, there was a glimpse of hope for the Dodgers after veteran Andre Ethier drove in Pederson on a ground ball to right field. Ethier’s RBI single would be the final run scored in the game. The Astros took the 5-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth where Corey Seager grounded out to Jose Altuve to end the game and give the Houston Astros their first world series victory in franchise history.