Houston, we have lift off.
The Astros scored four runs off Yu Darvish in the second inning and went on to defeat the Dodgers, 5-3, in Game 3, to take a 2-1 lead over Los Angeles in the World Series.
Deep in the hart of Texas, Darvish wilted under the bright lights of the Fall Classic as he was dismantled by the Astros in the second inning.
Yuli Gurriel led off the inning with a home run blast that tore through the roof, igniting the hungry Houston crowd.
The next four Astros all reached base before MVP candidate Jose Altuve dealt a blow as fatal as the fang of the most venomous viper, with a two-out double off the column in left-center, giving Houston a 4-0 lead as Darvish left the game.
"Four runs in any game is big. Four runs in the World Series is huge," said Houston manager, A.J. Hinch. "To get that kind of momentum started, get the crowd into it, have a lead puts a ton of pressure on the other dugout."
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Darvish was unable to escape the second inning, allowing four runs on six hits with one walk and zero strikeouts in 1 and 2/3 of an inning, the shortest start of his MLB career.
Over that span, the Japanese right-hander threw 49 pitches, and only one of them was a swing and miss by an Astros' hitter. It was the first time in Darvish's career he did not record a strikeout.
"I think there was one swing-and-miss when he was out there," said Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts. "The fastball command wasn't there, and the slider was backing up. So he just really didn't have the feel and couldn't get any type of rhythm going."
Gurriel's homer was his 17th hit of the postseason, setting a new MLB record by a Cuban-born player, surpassing the former mark of 16 by Bert Campaneris.
After he was handed a 4-0 lead, Astros' starter Lance McCullers Jr. promptly walked the first three batters he saw in the third inning, before getting double play off the bat of Corey Seager that scored the first run of the game for the Dodgers.
"I was not really able to locate pretty much anything. So in the third inning I just wasn't making my pitches," McCullers said. "After a big four inning from the guys, you don't want to change your approach for the team because that's the easiest way to get in trouble. That was a big inning for us."
It was definitely not the Dodgers night as a swinging bunt off the bat of Evan Gattis in the bottom of the fifth turned into an errant throw into right field and the Astros extended the lead to 5-1.
With their spirits down, but not broken, the Dodgers scratched two more runs across in the top of the 6th after a leadoff walk to Seager was followed by a double down the left field line for Justin Turner.
Puig brought home Seager with an RBI fielder's choice, and Turner scored on a wild pitch, to cut the Astros lead to 5-3.
McCullers Jr. left the game midway through the inning, allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 5 and 1/3 innings.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers were unable to get any closer as Houston relief pitcher Brad Peacock showed off his feathers, throwing 3 and 2/3 hitless innings of relief to earn the save--the first of his career.
"I just had a save in the World Series," an ectsatic Peacock said after the game. "It's unbelievable, man. I'm never going to forget this, ever. It's been a lot of fun this year."
The lone bright spot of the game for Los Angeles was the pitching heroics of Kenta Maeda in relief. Maeda threw 2.2 scoreless innings in replace of Darvish, extending his postseason shutout streak to nine innings.
"He kept us in the ballgame and gave us a shot to win," said catcher Austin Barnes of Maeda. "He did an unbelievable job. He threw the ball really well. We just have to score some more runs."
When a World Series has been tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the championship 65 percent of the time, but only once in the last four years.
Houston improved to 7-0 at home this postseason, becoming just the second team in Major League history to start the playoffs undefeated at home through the first seven games.
Up Next:
The Dodgers will look to even up the series on Saturday as LHP Alex Wood makes his second start of the postseason against RHP Charlie Morton for the Astros. First pitch is scheduled for 5:20PM PST.
