Cody Bellinger doubled in the tie-breaking run and Joc Pederson hit a three-run home run during a five-run ninth inning and four Dodger pitchers combined on a two-hitter in a 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros Saturday evening in Houston, tying the World Series at two games a piece.
The victory assures the World Series of returning to Dodger Stadium for at least one game.
.@Cody_Bellinger is the ninth Dodger to record two doubles in a #WorldSeries game, and the first since @OrelHershiser in Game 2 in 1988. pic.twitter.com/unXTGkuAMh
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 29, 2017
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series will be played Sunday at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, with Game 6 set for Dodger Stadium Tuesday. A seventh game, if necessary, would be played Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
Corey Seager was the first batter to face Astros closer Ken Giles to start the ninth and singled. He moved to second on a walk to Justin Turner and scored on Bellinger’s double.
Joe Musgrove relieved Giles and struck out the first batter he faced, Yasiel Puig. Logan Forsythe was intentionally walked to load the bases. Charlie Culberson, the pinch-runner for Turner, scored on Austin Barnes’ sacrifice fly. Pederson followed with his homer.
Dodger left-hander Alex Wood held the Astros hitless until George Springer’s home run with two outs in the sixth. Brandon Morrow then relieved Wood and retired all four batters he faced.
Tony Watson pitched a perfect eighth and was credited with the victory. Kenley Jansen retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth, then allowed Alex Bregman’s solo homer. Jose Altuve filed out to end the game.
Wood struck out three and walked two. His no-hit bid was the longest by a Dodger pitcher in a World Series game, erasing the previous record of 4 2/3 innings by Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series.
The Dodger victory gave teams trailing two games to one a 45-44 record in World Series Game 4s.
Houston right-hander Charlie Morton limited the Dodgers to Chris Taylor’s leadoff single in the first until Kike Hernandez’s single with one out in the sixth. Morton was relieved by Will Hayes after giving up Bellinger’s double with one out in the seventh. Bellinger had been hitless in 13 at-bats in the Series before the double.
Hayes retired Puig, the first batter he faced, on a line drive to right fielder Josh Reddick, for the second out of the inning, but Logan Forsythe singled, driving in Bellinger with the tying run.
Morton allowed three hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven. He hit one batter and did not issue a walk.
This was the first World Series game both starting pitchers allowed four baserunners or less.
The loss in the three-hour, six-minute game before a crowd announced at 43,322 was the Astros first at Minute Maid Park during the 2017 postseason after seven victories. Houston and 2008 Philadelphia Phillies are the only two teams to win each of their first seven home games in a single postseason.
Teams were not able to win seven home games in a single postseason until 1969 when the division of each league into divisions created the championship series.
–City News Service