The Houston Astros have evened the best-of-seven World Series at one game apiece by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they set a record while doing it.
The two clubs combined to blast a record eight homers in the Astros’ 7-6, 11-inning victory at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night. Five of those home runs came in extra innings, and this also set a record for the most in MLB history, regular season or playoffs. The previous record was three, set by the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the 1995 AL Division Series.
George Springer earned the biggest homer of the night, a two-run, tie-breaking drive in the 11th frame of the four-hour, 19-minute contest.
“That’s an incredible game on so many levels, so many ranges of emotion,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “If you like October baseball, if you like any kind of baseball, that’s one of the most incredible games you’ll ever be a part of.”
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Marwin Gonzalez added a solo shot off closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth to tie the game at 3, and Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa went back-to-back in the tenth.
Houston right-hander Chris Devenski struck out Yasiel Puig to seal the victory, the Atros’ first in franchise history.
Game 3 is Friday night at Minute Maid Park, where the Astros are undefeated (6-0) this postseason.
Astros starter Justin Verlander claimed the hot temperatures were responsible for the slew of homers not coming until late in the game.
The eight total homers surpassed the previous World Series record of seven set in 1989 by the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants.
Brandon McCarthy, off whom Springer belted his game-winning shot in the 11th, was the eighth reliever the Dodgers used on Wednesday: he wasn’t even on Los Angeles’ roster for the previous two playoff series.
“I mean, honestly, it was an exciting baseball game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s two teams that competed for 27 outs. And, yeah, it was an emotional roller coaster. There were some big plays defensively, some big pitches made, obviously some big hits and big homers. And the focus was there. Guys were playing hard on both sides. And unfortunately we came up short.”
Wednesday’s game was also special because former Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully — who retired at the end of last season after 67 years — returned to toss out the first pitch with assistance from Fernando Valenzuela, who won two World Series with the Dodgers in 1981 and 1988, and former Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager.
Righty Lance McCullers Jr. will start for the Astros in Game 3, which begins at 8pm EST on Friday. The Dodgers will counter with Yu Darvish, who is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA this postseason.
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 25: Chase Utley #26 of the Los Angeles Dodgers attempts to field a RBI single hit by Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros (not pictured) during the eighth inning against the Houston Astros in game two of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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