Houston wins its first World Series title as they chase Yu Darvish early and coast to a Game 7 victory over the Dodgers.
Dodgers miss Game 7 scoring opportunities
The Dodgers didn’t want for baserunners in Game 7 of the World Series and were primed with scoring chances in the first three innings.
But Los Angeles left 10 runners on base Wednesday and went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position, which proved to be the difference in a 5-1 loss.
For the seven-game series, the Dodgers stranded 34 baserunners and hit a paltry .200 with runners in scoring position.
As you can expect, Los Angeles felt the effects the most in the close games. In the one-run, 10-inning loss in Game 5, the Dodgers stranded nine baserunners and went 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position.
Back in Game 2, a 7-6 loss in 11 innings, Los Angeles went 1-for-5 with runners on second or third.
Astros’ Carlos Correa proposes after World Series win
After winning the World Series, the Houston Astros will soon be sporting flashy championship rings, but it appears Carlos Correa came prepared with a ring of his own.
Moments after his team defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers to give Houston its first World Series title, the Astros shortstop got down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend.
“And right now I’m about to take another big step in my life,” Correa said while being interviewed by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. “Daniella Rodriguez, will you marry me?”
An emotional Rodriguez, who was Miss Texas USA in 2016, moved past a barricade to embrace and kiss Correa, who placed the ring on her finger.
She said yes.
Astros fans ‘can’t believe it’ — their team is World Series champions
At El Tejano in North Hollywood, Astros fans cheered and jumped up and down, spilling beer on the floor. They cried, hugged and chanted “Astros” and “We did it” while Dodgers fans looked on.
“I can’t believe it,” Becca Halpin said. “Amazing. I’m so happy. I’ve got no energy left.”
As music played, people screamed out, “It just hit me, I can’t believe we won,” and, “We’re world champions.”
Standing by the bar, Cris Arias, 42, tried to take it all in.
“My heart was going crazy,” Arias said. “People didn’t expect this to go well as it did.”
“No matter what, it was a great World Series,” he added.
No one could agree more than Bao Chung, 39, who bought a ticket to Los Angeles at the last minute to watch Game 6.
“We lost, but we ended up staying,” Chung said.
He and his friend slept in their rental car and came to El Tejano in North Hollywood with other Houston fans to watch and support the team. It was his first time in Los Angeles.
“Now we gotta buy a ticket home,” he said.
Dodgers fans are downtrodden after Game 7 loss
As the Astros rushed onto the field after the final out, Eric Beltran, 33, stood in stunned silence, staring straight ahead from the loge section at Dodger Stadium, where he’d bought standing-room-only tickets.
“It’s depressing to watch the other team celebrate on your own field,” he said. He thought the Dodgers would at least have “some fight” in them.
“It wasn’t even exciting for us,” he said of the game.
The only chance he was able to cheer was the single run scored when Andre Ethier singled during the sixth inning.
Carlos Padilla, 23, of Loma Linda, felt confident coming into the game and was just sad throughout.
“I felt like we didn’t have a chance after Yu Darvish blew the lead,” he said.
This loss hurt, and it’s going to keep hurting for a while.
Dodgers fans quickly made for the exits. Coming up the stairs near Padilla, one woman had tears in her eyes.
Astros top Dodgers 5-1 to win World Series
Bottom of the ninth.
Chase Utley, batting for the pitcher, struck out swinging.
Chris Taylor grounded to second.
Corey Seager grounded to second.
Congratulations to the Houston Astros, World Series champions.
These Astros fans in North Hollywood are ready to celebrate
Inside El Tejano, a Tex-Mex restaurant in North Hollywood, more than two dozen Astros fans gathered to watch and cheer for their team.
Surrounded by a sea of Dodger blue, the group occasionally cheered and clapped as they watched their team take the lead in the do-or-die game. They celebrated each time their team prevented the Dodgers from scoring or for one of their favorite players, but they made sure they didn’t celebrate too much.
“We know we’re in enemy territory,” said Ian Willoughby, 36.
Every now and then, L.A. fans responded with “Let’s go, Dodgers,” or the names of players.
These Astros fans are members of the L.A. Houston Sports Fans, a Facebook page devoted to, well, Houston sport teams.
Erin Salinas, 36, said the group formed three years ago to bring Houston fans together in Los Angeles and has been growing since. She became the core organizer for the group last year.
“Coming from Houston, seeing another fan you didn’t know about is like finding home,” Salinas said.
Becca Halpin, a 36-year-old event planner, discovered the group for Sunday’s wild game in Houston.
“It’s better than being at home yelling at the television,” Halpin said.
During the top of fifth inning, Halpin said she’s hoping for the obvious — the Astros to win the World Series.
“This year with the Harvey devastation, we need this,” Halpin said about the hurricane. “It’s about bringing a little bit of joy.”
Leading by five runs, Halpin said it was still too early to celebrate.
Petting the group’s mascot, Artemis, Josh McClain, a 25-year-old who was wearing a George Springer jersey, said he’s not going to be celebrating until the game is officially over.
McClain said he put his worries aside when the Astros won Game 5 and is hoping the team will win.
“It’s been great a World Series,” he said.
As the game continued, the group appeared shocked when the Dodgers scored a run. But by the bottom of the eighth there were only smiles with the Astros leading 5-1. Their team was just three outs from being World Series champions.
Willoughby said winning would be “everything.”
“It’s 36 years of watching us come close,” he added. “We need this.”
Astros don’t score in top of ninth
Top of the ninth.
Charlie Morton struck out looking.
Cameron Maybin struck out looking.
George Springer flied to center.
Dodgers are down to their last three outs
Bottom of the eighth.
Joc Pederson struck out swinging.
Logan Forsythe flied to right.
Austin Barnes flied to center.
Astros don’t score in top of eighth
Top of the eighth. Alex Wood is now pitching.
Yuli Gurriel flied to center.
Brian McCann struck out looking.
Marwin Gonzalez grounded to third.
Disheartened Dodgers fans hope for a late-inning comeback
John Mann, 54, of Thousand Oaks clutched a michelada at Dodger Stadium and shook his head angrily about the Dodgers trailing 5-0 in the top of the sixth inning.
He stood with Julio Gomez, 38, of Oxnard on the loge level on the third-base side.
“We’re bummed out,” Mann said.
“Brutal,” Gomez said. “It’s gonna be a sad day in L.A. tomorrow. We’ve been waiting too long for this moment.”
“It’s gonna suck,” he added. “At least make a game out of it.”
Both men have been fans since they were children.
“We’re let down,” Mann said. “If it was me personally, I would have started Kershaw and not Darvish. They killed him in his first game.”
“Wait till next year,” he said. People always say it. Mann said it bitterly.
“It hurts,” he said.
Still, both men said, they’d be back next year.
On the field level, Alex Soltero, 41, of Los Angeles wore a Dodger blue sombrero and poncho. Despite the Dodgers trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth, he has a shred of confidence that they’d figure things out over the next few innings.
“I’m OK,” he said. “I have faith in our Dodgers.”
The game wasn’t going how he thought it would, but ”you can never let go of your faith.”
Tony Avila, 44, of Los Angeles, who was wearing a sombrero and poncho, also refused to believe his team could actually lose.
“This is the Dodgers’ hometown. The Dodgers are going to win in the ninth inning.”
Near them, Omar Portillo, 30, of Rosemead was devastated.
“I’m heartbroken,” he said. “I worked very hard to come to this game, to pay for these tickets.”
Portillo works as a valet at a Santa Monica hotel and had put in a lot of extra hours to come to the game with his wife.
“I feel like you have to have luck on your side, and I think the Astros have luck on their side.”
He spent the game screaming his lungs out. He was surrounded by more optimistic people, but he didn’t care. He was sad and disappointed.
“I’ll probably be heartbroken for the next two months.”
Still, he’s glad he came. The pain will eventually cede to his being glad he saw something historic.
“It’s a lifetime experience,” he said, sighing.
When the Dodgers scored one in the bottom of the sixth on an Andre Ethier single, fans exploded, screaming as if they’d won the game. They at least weren’t going to see the Dodgers go scoreless.
“We got on the board, baby!” one man screamed.
Dodgers go down quietly in bottom of seventh
Bottom of the seventh.
Justin Turner popped to first.
Cody Bellinger struck out looking.
Yasiel Puig grounded to short.
Astros don’t score in top of the seventh
Top of the seventh. Kenley Jansen pitching.
George Springer flied to left-center. Chris Taylor made a running and sliding catch.
Alex Bregman struck out swinging.
Jose Altuve walked.
With Carlos Correa batting, Altuve stole second. Correa popped to short.
Dodgers close to 5-1 in bottom of sixth
Bottom of the sixth. Charlie Morton now pitching.
Joc Pederson singled to center.
Logan Forsythe walked.
Austin Barnes popped to short.
Andre Ethier, batting for Clayton Kershaw, singled to right, scoring Pederson.
Chris Taylor struck out swinging.
Corey Seager grounded to short.
Astros leave the bases loaded in the top of the sixth
Top of the sixth.
Carlos Correa singled to left.
Yuli Gurriel grounded to the pitcher, Correa to second.
Brian McCann grounded into the shift. Logan Forsythe had to run half a mile to catch it and throw him out.
Marwin Gonzalez was walked intentionally.
Evan Gattis, batting for Josh Reddick, was also walked intentionally.
Cameron Maybin, batting for the pitcher, popped to third.
Dodgers don’t score in bottom of fifth
Bottom of the fifth.
Chris Taylor flied to left.
Corey Seager walked.
Justin Turner grounded into the hole and off of Alex Bregman’s glove. Runners at first and second, one out.
And that’s it for Brad Peacock. Francisco Liriano coming in to pitch.
Cody Bellinger grounded to first, forcing Turner at second. First and third, two out.
And that’s it for Liriano. Chris Devenski coming in to pitch.
Yasiel Puig lined to first.
It’s ‘stressful’ at the Down and Out, but there’s ‘still a lot of baseball to play’
Nate Joyner has two words to describe Game 7: extremely stressful.
As he took a break from bartending at the Down and Out in downtown L.A., Joyner said that the five-run deficit has been infuriating to watch but that he’s “still not afraid.”
“There’s still a lot of baseball to play,” the 41-year-old said as Justin Turner came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. “Every game we’ve blown up in the sixth.”
“That’s the way I like to hear you talk!” a bar patron shouted as he walked past.
Joyner said he has been a Dodgers fan for 20 years since moving to Los Angeles from Florida. He attended about 20 Dodgers games this year.
Joyner was raised a Cubs fan but officially switched when his daughter was born seven years ago, he said.
“It’s the energy of the ballpark, everything about these players,” he said. “The Ravine is my church.”
Joyner said he won’t count the Dodgers out just yet because of how “crazy” the series against the Astros has been and how “incredibly” well the team has played.
“If we don’t win tonight, it’ll ... kill me,” he said. “But I know in my heart we’re gonna get one. We are.”
The last time Afle Diaz says he was at Dodger Stadium: Game 5 of 1965 World Series
The last time Afle Diaz stepped foot in Dodger Stadium, he said, it was Game 5 of the 1965 World Series.
Sandy Koufax was on the mound. The Dodgers beat the Minnesota Twins 7-0.
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FOR THE RECORD, 7:45 p.m.: A previous version of this post said Diaz last was at Dodger Stadium for Game 7 of the 1965 World Series, pitched by Koufax. That game was played in Minnesota. Koufax also pitched in Game 5 in L.A., which the Dodgers won 7-0.
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Back then, Diaz was overcharged for his ticket. It was listed for $15 but was jacked up to $17 once he got to the stadium.
Fifty-two years later, he was back for Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. His son, Anthony, paid $1,500 apiece for their left-field loge-level tickets.
Diaz, a 76-year-old retired heavy machinery operator from Fontana, wore a pin that said “#1 Fan” given to him by stadium staff when they learned how long it had been for him to return here.
The stadium looks the same, he said. “It’s beautiful.”
Anthony Diaz said he surprised his father with tickets Tuesday night. He arrived at his house after the Dodgers won Game 6, and his father answered the door, screaming, “The Dodgers won!”
When Anthony, 48, told him he got tickets, he froze.
“He was speechless,” Anthony said. “He didn’t say a word.”
In the bottom of the fifth inning, with the Dodgers trailing 5-0, fans either swore loudly or sat stone-faced. Many crowded in the corridors, too anxious to sit.
Astros go down quietly in top of fifth
Top of the fifth.
George Springer struck out swinging.
Alex Bregman struck out swinging.
Jose Altuve popped to first.
Dodgers go down in order in bottom of fourth
Bottom of the fourth.
Logan Forsythe grounded to third.
Austin Barnes popped to third.
Clayton Kershaw struck out swinging.
Astros don’t score again in top of fourth
Top of the fourth.
Brian McCann struck out swinging.
Marwin Gonzalez singled into the hole in short.
Gonzalez took second on a wild pitch.
Josh Reddick grounded to short.
Brad Peacock flied to center.
Dodgers keep putting runners on but can’t score
Bottom of the third.
Corey Seager singled to center.
Justin Turner was hit by a pitch. That’s four hit batters by Lance McCullers Jr.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Yasiel Puig up.
And that’s it for McCullers. Brad Peacock is coming in to pitch.
Puig flied to deep center, Seager taking third.
Joc Pederson struck out swinging.
‘There’s still time’: Fans hopeful as Dodgers fall behind
First, a hush fell across the bar. Then came the jeers.
“Come the ... on!”
“Take him out!”
Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish had just allowed a fifth run, and the fans at downtown L.A.’s Down and Out wanted him pulled from the game.
Melissa Villalobos stood next to a friend and stared at the three televisions hanging above the bar, angry that her team had fallen so far behind.
“There’s still time,” she said.
The 29-year-old grew up in Echo Park, not far from Dodger Stadium. She remembers watching baseball games with her uncle, who she said is a “huge Dodgers fan.”
She isn’t old enough to remember the last time the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988, but she feels it’s a good omen that their last win was the year she was born.
“It has to happen now,” she said. “I still have hope.”
She added: “If they win or lose, it’s going to be crazy here. It’s going to be crazy everywhere. No matter what.”
Daughters carry the spirit of their father with them to Game 7
Louis Maldonado was a huge Dodgers fan.
And even though the 78-year-old Amtrak foreman died of lung cancer last year, his daughters say he is with them in spirit at Game 7 of the World Series.
Lulu Maldonado, 47, of Whittier and Sally Maldonado, 53, of West Covina said he would have loved this. While raising nine kids in Boyle Heights, he always talked about the team and had the games on TV.
“We used every last penny to get here,” Sally said. “It was worth it.”
The sisters came to Game 7 in matching T-shirts that showed Yasiel Puig sticking out his tongue. They attended Game 6, too, with their brother, who wore their dad’s old Dodgers jacket. Their brother dribbled food on it, and they said that meant their dad was there, because that’s what he’d always do.
Throughout the season, to honor Louis, they put his photo on the spot on the couch where he always sat to watch games. They put his hat, jacket and cane around it.
“Dad used to sit there and hit rewind so he didn’t miss anything,” Lulu said. “Our father led us to bleed Dodger blue, and we’re here for him, representing him.”
In the second inning, with the Dodgers trailing 5-0, fans in the stadium were stunned and angry, screaming curse words and too nervous to sit in their seats, crowding in the corridors as if to put some distance between themselves and the disaster unfolding before them with Yu Darvish on the mound.
“Get him off the mound!” a man growled.
A woman let out a blood-curdling scream.
L.A. landmarks light up for the Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw retires Astros in order
Top of the third. Clayton Kershaw now pitching.
Jose Altuve flied to center.
Carlos Correa flied to right.
Yuli Gurriel struck out looking.
Get a 360-degree view of Dodger Stadium for Game 7
Dodgers don’t score in bottom of second
Bottom of the second.
Logan Forsythe singled to left.
Clayton Kershaw is warming up in the bullpen.
Austin Barnes grounded to third. Great diving stop by Alex Bregman to make the play and throw him out. Forsythe to second.
Enrique Hernandez, batting for Brandon Morrow, was hit by a pitch.
Chris Taylor lined to Carlos Correa at short. Correa got the double play, picking Forsythe off at second.
Astros take 5-0 lead in top of second inning
Top of the second.
Brian McCann walked.
Marwin Gonzalez doubled to right-center.
With the infield in, Josh Reddick grounded to second. Runners had to hold.
Brandon Morrow is warming up in the Dodgers bullpen.
Lance McCullers Jr. grounded to second. The ball was hit slowly, allowing McCann to score. 3-0 Astros.
George Springer homered to left. 5-0 Astros.
And that’s it for Yu Darvish. Brandon Morrow is now in the game.
Alex Bregman struck out swinging.
Dodgers leave bases loaded in bottom of first
Bottom of the first.
Chris Taylor doubled to right-center.
Corey Seager struck out swinging.
Justin Turner was hit by a pitch.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Yasiel Puig was hit by a pitch.
Joc Pederson grounded to second. That’s a big scoring opportunity wasted.
She’s due to give birth next week, but that didn’t stop her from attending Game 7
Elizabeth Ceja is supposed to be giving birth to a baby boy next week.
So when her mom called her Wednesday morning and said she’d bought tickets to World Series Game 7 for her and her brother, she wondered if she should go. She’d already been having contractions, after all.
But whether she gives birth at the stadium or not, she’s here, wearing a Dodger blue shirt over her pregnant belly that says, “You’re Kickin’ Me Smalls.”
“Hopefully I don’t go into labor with all the excitement of the game,” said Ceja, 32, of Santa Ana.
Ceja said she doesn’t yet know what her son is going to be named, but she’s considering Jet, after the character Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez in the 1993 baseball movie “The Sandlot.”
She planned to take selfies with her belly in the stands and to tell her son he was at Game 7 of the World Series.
Her mom, Liz Rosas, decided to get the tickets this morning and called her adult children, surprising them.
Rosas, 56, also of Santa Ana, works as a financial coordinator and actually pulled in to work this morning before she realized she was making a huge mistake by missing out on the historic game.
“I was at work,” she said. “I was in the parking stall. And I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’ ”
Rosas grew up a Dodger fan and came to games to see greats such as Sandy Koufax, Steve Garvey and Ron Cey.
She started crying on Wednesday long before the game had even begun.
If they win?
“Oh, God, it would mean so much,” she said.
Her son, Francisco Rosas, 30, also of Santa Ana, said that even if the Dodgers lose, the family will be proud of them.
“We’re still fans,” he said. “We’ll still be here.”
The Down and Out bar is packed with anticipation
Chants of “Let’s go, Dodgers!” filled the Down and Out in downtown Los Angeles just before the first pitch Wednesday evening as fans packed into the bar to cheer on their favorite baseball team.
A blue Dodgers flag hung by the front door across from where the game was being broadcast on a big screen. Dozens of fans dressed in blue shirts and Dodgers hats filled into plastic chairs, with their phones clutched in their hands as they waited for the deciding game of the World Series to begin. Some held their faces in their palms in anxiety.
Sal Barajas, 31, stopped by to catch the game after work. Dressed in a Dodgers jersey with his name sewn across the back, Barajas said it was surreal to see the team reach Game 7.
“They’re playing with heart,” he said. “Everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Still, he said, he has no idea who will come out on top — not after the back-and-forth that has been this World Series.
“I honestly don’t know,” he said. “Whoever wins it deserves it.”
He’s back, and nothing has changed from Game 6 (including his clothes)
Momo Rodriguez is doing his part for the Dodgers during Game 7 of the World Series.
Like so many baseball fans, he’s superstitious. So, he came to the last game of the Fall Classic wearing the same clothes he wore to Game 6, which the Dodgers won.
He repeated everything he did for Game 6. He brought 4 SmartWaters to Dodger Stadium and half a bag of Cracker Jack. He bought a bag of pistachios, but since the one he brought Tuesday was half full, he dumped half out in his car before Game 7.
This last game on a cloudy day in November was emotional for 34-year-old Rodriguez, who has loved this team since he was a boy.
“It’s like watching a member of your family excel,” he said. “You give them a hard time during the year, but when they succeed, there’s so much pride you don’t have the words.”
Getting to watch a hard-fought Game 7, he said, will be like watching a relative graduate. If the Dodgers win, it’ll be like watching that relative become valedictorian, he said.
Rodriguez was a young boy growing up in Norwalk when the Dodgers won the 1988 World Series. His parents, originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, were huge fans who idolized pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.
His folks would bring him to games when he was a kid. His mom would make bean burritos to take to the stadium — but since she didn’t realize you were allowed to bring in outside food, she made her kids hide them under their shirts to sneak them into the stadium.
Rodriguez said she’d make the burritos and, to preserve the heat, would immediately wrap them in aluminum foil that burned his skin under a jacket on a hot summer day.
“I was always sweating at games, wearing big jackets,” he said, laughing. “We all looked like sick kids at Dodger games, holding our stomachs.”
It’s a fond memory, he said. The taste of a bean burrito still reminds him of those stadium picnics with his family.
When he found out in adulthood that, indeed, they were allowed to bring food in the whole time, he called his mom and teased her.
Rodriguez said he takes great pride in the Dodgers in part because they’re a team that has adapted to its Latino fan base, with events such as Viva Los Dodgers, the embracing of the phrase “Los Doyers” and even the ubiquitous micheladas at the stadium. The team, he said, has long represented inclusion with its embrace of players such as Jackie Robinson and Valenzuela.
On Wednesday, Rodriguez carried a Dodger blue sombrero. He’d already made enough World Series-branded clothing purchases that he had to call and “barter with my wife.”
“This is a city of dreams,” he said. “And It feels amazing when there’s such a beautiful reality playing out in front of you.”
All around him, anxious Dodgers fans streamed into the stadium, hours before game time, picking up their blue rally towels and breaking into chants of “Let’s go, Dodgers!”
Astros take 2-0 lead in top of first inning
World Series Game 7. Dodgers vs. Astros. Yu Darvish vs. Lance McCullers Jr. Here we go.
George Springer doubled down the left-field line. Can we please get him out just once?
Alex Bregman grounded into the hole at first. Cody Bellinger made the play, but threw it away as Darvish was covering first. 1-0 Astros. Bregman is on second.
Bregman stole third.
Jose Altuve grounded to first, Bregman scoring.
Carlos Correa grounded to first, Darvish covering.
As he stepped into the batters box, Yuli Gurriel tipped his helmet toward Darvish for a show of respect.
Gurriel flied to right.
Darvish threw 24 pitches. He’s not long for the game at that rate.
Columnist Dylan Hernandez predicts a Dodgers win and reminds fans to celebrate appropriately
I think Yu Darvish will recover from his Game 3 debacle and pitch well tonight. And I think the Dodgers have a substantial edge over the Houston Astros in the bullpen, especially now with Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood available in relief. So I’m picking the Dodgers to win Game 7 by something like a 7-3 score and claim their first World Series championship in 29 years.
Here’s the important part: Fellow citizens of Los Angeles, if the game unfolds the way I envision, please don’t do anything stupid.
Don’t flip over any cars. Don’t fire any bullets into the sky. Don’t light anything on fire other than the counterfeit Cuban cigar you have set aside for an occasion such as this.
This should be a showcase event for Los Angeles, not another instance where the city embarrasses itself.
I know many of you have waited a long time for this. I know there’s an entire generation or two out there who have never seen the Dodgers win a World Series. That doesn’t give you permission to transform into vandals.
More than any other team, the Dodgers represent this city, with Los Angeles’ rich diversity reflected on the roster. The Dodgers have represented this city well. Fans should do the same.
How L.A. and Houston match up off the field
Six games into the World Series we have a pretty good idea how the Dodgers and Astros match up on the field. But how do their fans compare off the field?
Nielsen Sports Sponsorlink, a national syndicated tracking study designed to measure consumer attitudes and consumption of different sports and their sponsors, crunched the numbers, and here are some of the things it found:
- The Dodgers play in the second-largest television market in the country and have the fifth-largest fan base in the U.S. The Astros, from the nation’s 10th-largest TV market, have the 16th-largest fan base.
- Fifty-nine percent of people in the Astros market are married, compared with 50% in the Southern California market.
- Thirty-eight percent of Southern California residents are affiliated with the Democratic Party, compared with 23% of the people in Houston.
- Twenty-nine percent of people in the Houston market are affiliated with the Republican Party, compared with 23% in Southern California.
- Twenty-nine percent of Houstonians own a pickup truck, compared with 14% of Southern Californians.
- Eight percent of people in the L.A. area own or lease a hybrid car, compared with 3% in Houston.
- Fifteen percent of people in Houston follow a weight-loss program, compared with 7% of those in Southern California.
- Twenty-eight percent of Dodgers fans belong to a gym or health club, compared with 19% of Astros fans.
The Dodgers had interest in A.J. Hinch — 13 years ago
The Dodgers could see that A.J. Hinch was destined for a starring role beyond his playing days. Hinch, now drawing raves for his work as the Houston Astros’ manager, had not even finished his playing career when he hit the Dodgers’ radar as a possible candidate for an executive job.
In 2004, Hinch was a triple-A catcher in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization. Paul DePodesta, then the Dodgers’ first-year general manager, considered Hinch in his search for a minor league director.
“I don’t want a clone of me as the farm director,” DePodesta told The Times then. “Someone with a playing background would be very attractive.”
Hinch, who played one more year at triple-A before retiring, said he never did get an offer from the Dodgers. However, he said, he had conversations with contacts in many organizations, trying to determine what his next career move might be.
“When you don’t hit a slider consistently, you’re not going to play very long,” Hinch said Wednesday. “And there’s only so far personality can take you as a backup catcher.”
This year has gone better for Hinch than for DePodesta.
When the New York Mets advanced to the World Series in 2015, DePodesta was their vice president of player development and scouting. The NFL’s Cleveland Browns hired him two months later, as their chief strategy officer, in an attempt to revive the dormant franchise using the principles of “Moneyball.”
That may yet work, but the early results resemble an NFL version of tanking. The Browns are 0-8 this season and 1-23 since DePodesta’s arrival.
Dodgers win the World Series ... or so our L.A. Times team predicts
The Dodgers win the World Series, their first since 1988.
That could be the headline tonight — well, actually, it is likely to be way more clever that that — at the conclusion of the first World Series Game 7 played at Dodger Stadium.
Almost to a man, the Los Angeles Times’ coverage team is predicting that the Dodgers will defeat the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.
Rooting for the hometown team? Not likely. A Dodgers victory just means more work.
Pedro Moura, The Times’ Angels beat reporter, is the lone holdout. He’s predicting a 5-4 Astros win.
The others, all choosing the Dodgers:
Andy McCullough, Dodgers beat writer: 6-2.
Bill Shaikin, national baseball writer: 5-3.
Houston Mitchell, who writes The Times’ Dodgers newsletter: 5-2.
Deputy sports editor Mike Hiserman and former Angels beat writer Mike DiGiovanna: 4-2.
Reporter Kevin Baxter, who is covering his eighth World Series: also 4-2.
Columnist Dylan Hernandez: 7-3.
And then there is columnist Bill Plaschke, who sent along this: 10-4, good buddy.
Over and out.
Plaschke predicts Dodgers fans will be celebrating tonight after Game 7
The Dodgers will win.
That’s my World Series Game 7 prediction, I’m putting it right out there, and while it might lack drama, it is not short of substance.
The Dodgers will defeat the Houston Astros tonight to win their first World Series championship in 29 years – and sixth in their 59 years in Los Angeles – for one simple reason.
The Dodgers are the better team. They were the better team during the regular season, they were better in the previous two rounds of the playoffs, and they will be better in the only game left.
Throw out the records of starting pitchers Yu Darvish and Lance McCullers Jr., because everybody is going to pitch in this game.
Throw out the deadening fatigues and nagging injuries, because adrenaline will allow everyone to feel at full strength in this game.
“This is Game 7. Every player works and dreams about this moment,’’ said manager Dave Roberts before the game. “So innings, at-bats, workload, we don’t care. We’re trying to win one game. So all that stuff is out the window.’’
The Dodgers have better pitchers. I’ll take the three starters they will use tonight – Darvish, Alex Wood and Clayton Kershaw – over the Astros starters who are available: McCullers Jr., Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel.
The Dodgers have better relievers. They have the best closer in the game in Kenley Jansen while the Astros don’t even have a closer. If Houston is going to be in a position to win, who is getting those last three outs?
The Dodgers offense is more consistent. Heroes can come from anywhere, from relentless Chris Taylor to August castoff Joc Pederson to Kirk Gibson imitator Justin Turner. The Astros offense is basically confined to its first four hitters, and really runs on the duo of Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa. In the Astros wins in the last two play rounds, that duo has combined for 17 RBIs. In the Astros losses, zero RBIs. And both have struggled against Darvish.
Finally, the Dodgers are 6-1 at home this postseason, while the Astros are 2-6 on the road, and that will matter in the biggest game in Dodger Stadium history. Three hours before first pitch Wednesday afternoon, fans were already standing and chanting, “Let’s Go Dodgers.’’
After the Dodgers bring them their long-awaited title, they will be singing that tune long into the night.
Dave Roberts discusses Game 7
Kenley Jansen spends some time with Don Newcombe
Here is the Game 7 lineup for the Dodgers
Dodgers fans: We need your help
Los Angeles has been waiting for this day for 29 years. Wherever you’ll be tonight -- whether it’s a packed bar or a friend’s watch party or Dodger Stadium -- we want to see L.A.’s reaction to the final out of this seven-game World Series. So we’re asking for your help.
Game 7 weather should favor the pitchers
NASA climatologist William Patzert of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena is calling for temperatures in the mid-60s for Game 7 with a possibility of light drizzle. That means heavier air and possibly stickier baseballs, which he said will favor the pitchers.
It was 103 degrees at the first pitch for Game 1 a week ago, which worked to the benefit of the hitters.
Clayton Kershaw will be available for Game 7
Dodger manager Dave Roberts, who has ridden his bullpen hard in the World Series, said everyone will be available to pitch in relief in Game 7 on Wednesday. And everyone includes ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who came out of the pen to rescue the Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series a year ago.
“When you’re talking about Clayton Kershaw, Game 7, I think anything’s within reason,” Roberts said. “Knowing that we have Alex Wood, Clayton and everyone else available, that’s a good sign.”
Kershaw, who beat the Astros in Game 1, threw 97 pitches in 4 2/3 innings of Game 5, which Houston won. And though Kershaw is fanatical about his preparations, he said that’s something that’s out of his control now.
“Preparation’s out the door at this point. Routine’s out the door,” he said. “I’ll be ready. Whatever they need from me.”
“How often do you get to play in Game 7 of a World Series?” he added.
The Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. had a feeling he’d be needed in Game 7
Houston manager A.J. Hinch declined to name a Game 7 starter until Game 6 had finished. But the guy he eventually handed the ball to had a pretty good idea he was going to get it all along.
“I knew it was a possibility coming into the series,” said Lance McCullers, who also started Game 3, putting him in line to begin Game 7. “A.J. scheduled me for [Game] 3 coming in for a reason.
“This Series was destined to go seven pretty much the whole time.”
McCullers spent part of Game 6 in the Astros’ bullpen, although he didn’t do any throwing until after the Dodgers had won to force a deciding next game.
“The guys know in the clubhouse that I go out there and I’m not going to hold anything back,” said McCullers, who allowed three runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings to win Game 3. “That’s something that I’ve always tried to pride myself on, regardless of how I’m pitching or how I’m feeling.”
Hinch said every other pitcher on his staff, except for Game 6 starter Justin Verlander, will be available behind McCullers, who might have a short leash as a result.
“It’s Game 7,” he said. “All of our guys are going to have the adrenaline on their side. They’re all going to be ready to pitch. If it’s one pitch or 100 pitches, we’re going to have all hands on deck.”
Joc Pederson is inspired by his brother
Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, whose solo home run in the seventh inning put the exclamation point on the team’s Game 6 win Tuesday, appeared at the postgame media conference with his brother Champ.
Champ, who was born with Down Syndrome, has spent a lot of time around the Dodgers during the postseason and his younger sibling said his presence has had a positive effect.
“He keeps me humble and makes me realize that it’s just a baseball game and there’s a lot more to life,” said Joc Pederson, whose homer Tuesday was his third of the Series. “He always has a smile on his face, even through stressful situations.”
Champ took that theme a step further.
“I have a feeling that everything’s possible,” he said. “There’s going to be a Game 7 so I just want to say that they’ll get it done. I’m not going to say they have it but I’m just going to say they will find a way.
“That’s them. My guys.”
But even if the Dodgers win Game 7, earning Joc Pederson a championship ring, he’ll have a way to go to catch his brother, who is a Hall of Famer. Champ, a graduate of the Challenger Division of the Palo Alto Little League, was enshrined in the Little League Hall of Fame in August, making him the first Challenger Division player to earn that honor.
Dodgers broadcaster Alanna Rizzo makes sure Hall of Fame reporter Claire Smith can see Game 7 live
Wednesday’s Game 7 at Dodger Stadium will be historic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it will be the first time the seventh game of the World Series is played in Chavez Ravine. And Alanna Rizzo, a reporter with the Dodgers’ broadcast team at SportsNet LA, decided it was something a woman who had made her own kind of baseball history needed to see live.
On Wednesday morning, Rizzo walked into the stadium’s cafeteria and insisted that Claire Smith, a recent inductee into the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, take her third-row seat in the press box.
Smith, a pioneering female sportswriter, became the first woman to win the J.G. Taylor Spink Award from the Baseball Writers’ Assn. this year. She was honored for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing” during her Hall of Fame induction ceremony in July.
But she has been anonymously covering the Dodgers-Astros World Series from crowded workrooms in Los Angeles and Houston, where she was forced to follow the action on a television monitor.
When Rizzo insisted that Smith watch the deciding game from her seat, Smith at first resisted, then began to tear up when Rizzo escorted her to her new spot.
“Please,” Rizzo told the other journalists who saw her act of kindness. “She’s in the Hall of Fame. She should be in the press box.”
In the 1980s, Smith became the first female beat writer in baseball history when she covered the New York Yankees for the Hartford Courant. It wasn’t an easy job. After the first game of the 1984 National League Championship Series, Smith was physically removed from the San Diego Padres clubhouse despite the fact league rules required all accredited journalists to have equal access to the locker room.
The next day, then-Commissioner Peter Ueberroth strengthened that rule, insisting that all credentialed media members get equal clubhouse access regardless of gender.
Smith went on to work as a columnist for the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She currently is a news editor for ESPN.
Dodgers’ Yu Darvish talks about starting Game 7 of the World Series
Bill Plaschke predicts the winner of Game 7 of the World Series
Get ready for Los Angeles’ first World Series Game 7
Dodger Stadium has played host to a pope and the Kings. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Three Tenors have performed there. So have the Harlem Globetrotters.
But baseball’s third-oldest ballpark, which opened in 1962, has never seen Game 7 of a World Series played there. Until today.
By rallying for a 3-1 victory in Game 6 on Tuesday, the Dodgers kept the champagne in the Houston Astros’ clubhouse corked and assured that history would be made Wednesday in their iconic home of 56 seasons.
Either the Dodgers will win the first Game 7 played in Los Angeles or the Astros, born the same year Dodger Stadium was built, will win their first World Series title. Either the Dodgers will capture a championship for the first time in 29 years or the state of Texas will own a trophy it has never won.
High drama and high stakes, either way.
Game 7 tickets are easy to get ... if you have $800 (or much more) to spare
Tickets for Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros are the hottest ticket in L.A. on Wednesday.
That doesn’t mean there’s few tickets available. Actually, ticket reseller StubHub told ESPN that more than 16,000 tickets were posted on the site as of early Wednesday morning.
But they’re still going to be hard to purchase, at least for most average baseball fans. StubHub told ESPN that the average price for a ticket to the first World Series Game 7 ever at Dodger Stadium was $1,795.
Too pricey? Well, don’t despair. As of 8 a.m. PT, the least expensive Game 7 ticket on StubHub was only $790. Similarly, Barry’s Tickets had them starting at $808.
And if money is no object, then you are definitely in luck. StubHub has a pair of seats directly behind home plate for as low as $14,250.
That’s quite an investment, but maybe worth it for some if the Dodgers clinch their first World Series title in 29 years.
Dodgers win 3-1
Top of the ninth.
Marwin Gonzalez popped to first.
Josh Reddick struck out swinging.
Carlos Beltran struck out swinging.
Dodgers 3, Astros 1
Dodgers don’t score in bottom of the eighth, still lead 3-1
Bottom of the eighth. Luke Gregerson now pitching.
Charlie Culberson singled to left.
Chris Taylor grounded down the third-base line. Alex Bregman made a great stop and threw wide, but Yuli Gurriel came off the bag and made the tag.
Corey Seager struck out swinging.
Justin Turner walked. First and second, two out. And that’s it for Gregerson. Francisco Liriano now pitching.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Watch Joc Pederson’s solo homer
He’s the official good-luck charm for Game 6
Roman Luna wore a conical red gnome hat, a big belt, a white beard and a Nomar Garciaparra jersey.
He was — wait for it — Gnomar Garciaparra.
“I’m the good-luck-World-Series-Game-6 Dodger gnome,” Luna said. “It’s an official title.”
Luna decided to come to Tuesday’s game at the last minute. He was 18 when the Dodgers played in the World Series in 1988 and didn’t go to a game or the championship parade, thinking his team would make the Fall Classic again soon.
Twenty-nine years later, the Long Beach resident still shakes his head at that decision.
“I regret not going,” he said. “It’s my biggest regret.”
He vividly remembers listening to the radio when Kirk Gibson hit the winning home run. He was driving his Hyundai along Rosecrans Avenue in Norwalk and almost wrecked because he was so excited.
Luna’s love of the Dodgers was passed along by his family. His grandfather helped build Dodger Stadium.
And his godmother, who is Mexican American, lived on Chavez Ravine and was one of the last people kicked out of her home when it was built. She eventually came to embrace the Dodgers, Luna said.
“The Dodgers are woven in my life,” said Luna.
For him, seeing his team lose in Game 5 was brutal.
“It was a heartbreaker,” he said. “It hurt.”
“Today’s a big day.” he added. “I need them to win.”
Astros go down in order in eighth
Kenley Jansen pitching. Charlie Culberson in at second.
Carlos Correa flied to left.
Yuli Gurriel popped to first.
Brian McCann struck out swinging.
Joc Pederson’s homer makes it 3-1 Dodgers
Joe Musgrove now pitching.
Yasiel Puig popped to short.
Joc Pederson homered to left. 3-1 Dodgers.
Andre Ethier flied to shallow left. Marwin Gonzalez made a running catch.
Austin Barnes struck out looking.
Astros miss another scoring chance in top of seventh
Top of the seventh.
Josh Reddick walked.
Evan Gattis was announced as the pinch hitter for Justin Verlander. And that’s it for Tony Watson. In comes Kenta Maeda for the righty-righty matchup.
Gattis grounded to short, forcing Reddick. Gattis just beat the throw to first.
George Springer singled into the hole at short. Runners at first and second, one out.
Alex Bregman flied to center, with Derek Fisher, who ran for Gattis, taking third.
Jose Altuve grounded to third. Nice stop by Justin Turner and nice dig by Cody Bellinger at first.
Dodgers take 2-1 lead in bottom of sixth
Bottom of the sixth.
Austin Barnes singled to left.
Chase Utley was hit by a pitch.
Chris Taylor doubled to right, scoring Barnes. Utley to third.
Corey Seager flied to deep right, scoring Utley, Taylor to third.
Justin Turner popped to first.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Astros blow great scoring opportunity in top of the sixth
Top of the sixth.
Jose Altuve struck out.
Carlos Correa struck out swinging.
Yuli Gurriel singled to center.
And that’s it for Brandon Morrow. Tony Watson is coming in to pitch, and Chase Utley is coming in to play second.
Brian McCann was hit by a pitch. Runners at first and second, two out.
Marwin Gonzalez lined to second.
Best friends since high school still share their passion for the Dodgers
Robert Lee wore bull horns on his head, a red matador cape and a Kirk Gibson Dodgers jersey.
It was Halloween at the World Series.
Much like the Dodgers’ bullpen, “I’m bringing the horns!” the 38-year-old Torrance resident said, laughing.
Lee came to Game 6 with Susan Kim, who has been his best friend since they attended Torrance High School together. Back then, they had something in common: their love of the Dodgers.
Kim, 37, wore a bright-blue wig on her head. It was her “postseason wig,” she said. She wore it to a game in last year’s National League Championship Series that the Dodgers lost.
“If they lose tonight, I’m going to throw it away,” she said. “I’m going to have to reevaluate the wig.”
She was just a kid during the 1988 World Series but remembers her parents having it on TV in the living room. And she remembers Kirk Gibson’s home run.
“Even at that young age, I cried,” she said. “I knew it was something special.”
She and Lee were nervous about Game 6, in which the Dodgers trailed 1-0 going into the sixth inning.
“This is a critical game,” Kim said. “We’re either going to see someone win the World Series, or we’re going to see the boys move on.”
It’s still 1-0 Astros through five innings
Bottom of the fifth.
Yasiel Puig struck out.
Joc Pederson popped to shallow left.
Logan Forsythe struck out swinging.
Astros leave bases loaded in top of fifth
Top of the fifth.
Brian McCann singled to right.
Marwin Gonzalez doubled down the left-field line, McCann to third.
Josh Reddick struck out swinging.
Justin Verlander struck out looking.
George Springer was walked intentionally to load the bases.
And that’s it for Rich Hill. Brandon Morrow is now pitching.
Alex Bregman grounded to short.
Astros lost a chance to blow the game open.
They dressed appropriately for the occasion
Dodgers fans show their team and Halloween pride ahead of Game 6 of the 2018 World Series.
For Juliet Diaz as well as her mom and sister, there was one appropriate costume for coming to Dodger Stadium on Halloween night.
They came dressed as Dodger dogs.
They have ... relished ... their time watching the Dodgers this postseason, and they traveled to Houston to see Game 4, which the Dodgers won.
They all watched Game 5 from home, nerves rattled, stress levels high.
“I’m nervous,” Diaz, 30, of Reseda, said of Game 6. “But I’m pretty confident.”
Her mom, Cathy Shapiro, who lives in Ventura County, said she initially went upstairs to bed during the nearly 5 1/2-hour game Sunday night but came running back down when she heard her husband screaming.
She’s been a fan since she was a child. She came to her first game at Dodger Stadium when she was 7 years old.
The opponent? The Houston Astros.
Justin Verlander is on his game through four innings
Bottom of the fourth.
Corey Seager flied to right.
Justin Turner struck out swinging.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
It’s still 1-0 Astros after quick top of the fourth
Top of the fourth.
Jose Altuve grounded to short.
Carlos Correa flied to center.
Yuli Gurriel flied to right.
Dodgers go down quietly in bottom of third
Bottom of the third.
Austin Barnes grounded to second.
Rich Hill struck out swinging.
Chris Taylor struck out looking.
Astros take 1-0 lead in top of the third
Top of the third.
Josh Reddick popped to shallow center.
Justin Verlander struck out swinging.
George Springer homered to right.
Alex Bregman grounded to short. Corey Seager booted it but recovered in time to barely throw him out.
Still no score through two innings
Bottom of the second.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Yasiel Puig singled to center. George Springer at first broke back, and when he reversed course he couldn’t make the play.
Joc Pederson struck out looking.
Logan Forsythe flied to right.
Watch Tommy Lasorda and Orel Hershiser throw out the first pitch
Trick-or-treating will just have to wait for one Dodgers fan
Eight-year-old Conner Abboud had a big decision to make Tuesday.
Go trick-or-treating? Or go to Game 6 of the World Series?
The third-grader opted for baseball.
Conner came to the Fall Classic dressed as Justin Turner. He wore a red wig and a bushy, red beard that was, he admitted, a little itchy.
Turner is his favorite player.
“He hits a lot of home runs,” Conner said.
As for scoring Halloween candy, Conner won’t miss out because he has good neighbors. The family lives on a cul-de-sac in Ventura, explained his mom, Cheri, and they are going to let Conner trick-or-treat Wednesday night.
He’ll be dressed as Rocky Balboa, with a black eye and scratches.
Conner hopes the Dodgers don’t look the same way after tonight.
“I just hope they win the World Series,” he said.
There were several other fans dressed as Justin Turner walking around the stadium Tuesday night. They were men and women, boys and girls.
Here, at least, the red beard is the must-have for the Halloween season.
Astros don’t score in top of second inning
Top of the second inning.
Yuli Gurriel popped to first. Loud boos for Gurriel.
Brian McCann flied to left.
Marwin Gonzalez grounded to third.
Dodgers go down in order in bottom of first
Bottom of the first.
Chris Taylor flied to right.
Corey Seager struck out looking.
Justin Turner popped to third.
Astros don’t score in first inning
World Series Game 6. Rich Hill vs. Justin Verlander. Here we go.
George Springer struck out looking.
Alex Bregman singled to left.
Jose Altuve struck out swinging.
Carlos Correa grounded to third, forcing Bregman. Hill is throwing harder than normal tonight.
Dodgers fans show off their team pride and Halloween spirit
Dodgers fans show their team and Halloween pride ahead of Game 6 of the 2018 World Series.
Look for a lower-scoring game with weather unseasonably cool
It was 67 degrees at Dodger Stadium when the Dodgers’ Rich Hill threw the first pitch of Game 6 on Tuesday. That’s nearly 40 degrees cooler than it was when the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw threw the first pitch of Game 1 a week ago.
That will make a difference in how the game unfolds, said Bill Patzert, a NASA climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
“A total turnaround from last week,” Patzert said. “That’s below normal for late October. The advantage definitely goes back to the pitchers. The ball will not carry as far.”
It was 93 degrees at the start of Game 2 last week, and, partly as a result, 11 home runs were hit in the first two games.
This paramedic is hoping Game 6 will be easier on the hearts of Dodgers fans
Matt Juline knows what he’s talking about when he says this bonkers World Series between the Dodgers and the Houston Astros is bad for fans’ hearts.
He’s a helicopter paramedic.
And a longtime Dodgers fan.
Juline, 31, was on call Sunday night in Palm Springs, watching Game 5 with a pilot and a nurse. The insane game was essentially a 5 hour and 17 minute cardiac event for Juline.
“I probably had five or six mini heart attacks,” he said. “My heart rate was through the roof.”
He hooked himself up to a heart monitor just to see the effect the game was having on him. His resting heart rate is usually around 70 beats per minute. During the game, it went up to 110.
Juline’s pilot is, unfortunately, an Angels fan, he said. Both the pilot and nurse were rooting against him.
Juline was feeling nervous before Game 6, which he was attending with his dad, Rich, a carpenter from Monrovia.
Rich bought a stack of World Series programs and wrapped them with plastic bags to protect them from spilled beer at the stadium. It was a first World Series game for father and son, who don’t know when or if they’ll get to see another.
Before the game Tuesday, the crowd was more subdued than at earlier home games. Lines outside the stadium shops were shorter.
And the nerves were on full display.
In the corridors were mutters of “have to win” and “do or die.”
It’s rally towel time
These Astros fans are back in L.A. after scoring Game 6 tickets
Astros fans Jay and ReeRee Friedman came to Dodger Stadium last Wednesday hoping to score two tickets to Game 2 of the World Series and see a win before the team went back to Texas.
They settled for the win after the price of tickets went north of $800.
After the Dodgers blew three different leads in their Game 5 loss Sunday, Jay looked online and found tickets for Game 6 back in Los Angeles dropping toward the $500 range. The couple scored a pair and booked a flight to L.A.
Prices were still dropping to as low as $300 on some sites before game time.
“That blows my mind,” he said. “It’s like day trading a penny stock.”
“What kind of fans you got here in L.A.?” he said with a hoot.
There were certainly more Astros fans in the streets around Echo Park compared to last Wednesday. About a dozen walked by the Friedmans on Sunset Boulevard as they talked to this reporter for a couple of minutes.
“We’ve seen 1,000 more Astros fans,” Jay said.
And after watching the Astros and Dodgers slug it out this series, he is done making predictions.
“There are no rules anymore,” he said.
These two Dodgers fans are no longer strangers
Joe Martinez, 70, sat back in a lawn chair on the patio of his big, green home on Sunset Boulevard just blocks from Dodger Stadium and took a sip from his beer.
Martinez had never met Terry Morris, a 54-year-old from Fresno, before Tuesday, but as Morris walked by his house on the way to Dodger Stadium, he offered him a Hangar 24 beer from his cooler and the two started talking Dodgers baseball.
Martinez has the edge on Morris — after all, he has been in the neighborhood since before the Dodgers.
He grew up with his mom, seven brothers and two sisters in a house around the corner on Everett Street on a hill overlooking Chavez Ravine.
Except there wasn’t a stadium there yet.
“I was a kid looking for a place to play, and Dodger Stadium was just an enormous hill, like a mountain,” he said. “And one day the city told us we had to stop playing there.”
He remembers when homes in Chavez Ravine were being bought and the last of the evictions in the area happened.
“It was chaos,” he said.
But his family stayed in the area, along Everett Street’s big, teardrop-shaped park.
And he became a die-hard Dodgers fan, from Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax to Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser.
“I’ve seen them all play,” he said before rising from his seat and running into his house.
He came back with a seat cushion signed by Vin Scully when the Mets beat the Dodgers on Aug. 19, 1986.
The retired driver leaned back in his chair as the long line of cars trickled into the stadium, many honking at the sight of Morris and Martinez enjoying beers in front of large Dodgers flags with Martinez’s dog, Puppy, nearby.
“This is the best spot,” he said. “Lot of good memories around here. But I’m the only one left. All my friends from around here are dead or in jail.”
He figured the Dodgers have two more wins left in them now that they are back at home.
Morris added, “We got this.”
Happy Halloween from Dodger Stadium
Lance McCullers Jr. could pitch in relief for Astros tonight
In the American League Division Series, Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch made a curious choice, electing to use Justin Verlander out of the bullpen in Game 4, rendering his ace unavailable to pitch in a potential fifth game.
There was no fifth game. Verlander closed out the series victory for the Astros. In tonight’s sixth game of the World Series at Dodger Stadium, which Verlander will start, Hinch could do something similar. Lance McCullers Jr. is his scheduled Game 7 starter, but he could appear in relief of Verlander to secure a win.
The rest of the Astros’ bullpen is one great uncertainty, and McCullers has impressed this postseason. It would be short rest, but he pitched on short rest to finish off Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
“I think it’s a possibility,” Hinch said. “I think all bets are off. You just try to win the game. I think saving things for the unknown is probably not the way to go.
“But, obviously it starts with Verlander. We’ll see what he can give and how long he can be in the game.”
Hinch said the National League rules here will make his decision more difficult. They may force Verlander’s exit earlier than intended. Or Hinch could favor his most reliable pitcher over offense.
“I think you play to win the game tonight,” Hinch said. “I think if you complicate it and try to manage two games at once, you’ll find yourself having two games.”
Yu Darvish says Yuli Gurriel doesn’t need to apologize to him
Yuli Gurriel still hasn’t apologized in person to Yu Darvish for making a racially insensitive gesture after hitting a home run against him in Game 3 of the World Series.
Darvish said he told the Houston Astros first baseman it was “completely unnecessary.”
“When a Dodgers staffer told me what was happening, at the time, it’s not like I was that irritated by it,” Darvish said in Japanese. “About the extent of my reaction was me telling [interpreter Hideaki] Sato, ‘He did something he shouldn’t have done. This is going to be a problem, isn’t it?’ But I wasn’t angry at all.”
Gurriel reached out to Darvish the day after the incident, saying he wanted to meet so he could apologize face to face.
“I was told the next day told he wanted to speak to me, and I communicated to him that it was completely unnecessary and that I wasn’t bothered by it,” Darvish said. “Even now, I’m not bothered by it at all.”
Darvish was born in Japan to an Iranian father and Japanese mother. He said he considers racial discrimination to be a serious problem.
Gurriel received a five-game suspension, which he will serve at the start of next season. Asked if he thought Gurriel received a sufficient punishment, Darvish replied, “It hasn’t really been explained to me, so I don’t know how to judge it.”
Dave Roberts talks about Rich Hill and Kenley Jansen ahead of Game 6
It’s almost time for Dodger baseball
There could be some tricks, and hopefully some treats, in Game 6
I walked into Dodger Stadium on this Halloween afternoon and immediately ran into a woman wearing a Clayton Kershaw jersey while dressed like a bear.
He won’t be available tonight.
A quick glance in the stands shows lots of people dressed up in the bright orange of Houston Astros fans.
Yeah, sigh, their team will be here.
Common sense says there will be no way Game 6 of this World Series between the Dodgers and Astros can match the previous games for drama and suspense. The eyeball test would tell you that this could simply be a nine-inning coronation for a Houston team whose young stars seem impervious to pressure.
But this being Halloween, spooky things could happen.
Justin Verlander, the Astros ace who has lasted at least six innings in each of his four postseason starts, could finally get hit hard by a Dodgers offense that found itself in the last two games in Houston.
Rich Hill, the Dodgers starter who has yet to even be allowed to pitch into the sixth inning in his three postseason starts, could finally be stretched out in the wake of the exhausted Dodgers bullpen and be allowed to create the same sort of magic he carried into the postseason with a 1.86 September ERA.
Brian McCann is living the suite life with Astros
This is catcher Brian McCann’s first season with the Houston Astros. So, in an effort to get to know his new teammates, when the team was rained out of an April game in Oakland, he bought a luxury suite for a Golden State Warriors’ playoff game and hosted a boys’ night out.
He did the same thing Monday night in Los Angeles, renting a suite at Staples Center for the Clippers’ game against Golden State.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ve been on a lot of teams, and winning teams will always brag about their chemistry and the culture and the camaraderie,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “To live it is pretty special.
“We had a mixture of guys: We had some core guys that had come back from our ’15 and ’16 team. We had some veterans, like [Carlos] Beltran and McCann and [Josh] Reddick. We had some guys that were making our team for the first time, guys like [Alex] Bregman and [Yuli] Gurriel. So it contributes at some level.”
Here is the Game 6 lineup for the Dodgers
Here is the Astros’ Game 6 lineup
Rich Hill discusses his crucial Game 6 start
A.J. Hinch is bonding with his family during the World Series
The toughest postseason decision Houston manager A.J. Hinch had to make had nothing to do with pitching changes or setting a lineup. But what has kept him up at night is his decision to take daughters Hailey and Kaitlin out of school to accompany their dad on the Astros’ playoff run.
“They’ve been to school six days this month, which is hard for me,” Hinch said Tuesday. “A Stanford grad, it’s hard for me to pull my kids out of school.”
Which isn’t to say the girls aren’t getting an education. Hinch said the once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience a World Series from the inside is something no one in his family will forget.
“There’s so much of this story behind the scenes. All of us in baseball cherish our families and what they sacrifice for us to live out this dream and do this crazy stuff.”
There was one drawback, though: The girls had to celebrate Halloween at the team hotel Tuesday.
“The trick-or-treating in the hotel will suffice because I think this is special circumstances. So is missing school,” Hinch said. “But you should stay in school.”
Dodgers need the home crowd to give them an extra shot of energy
Dave Roberts’ managing skills will be tested in Game 6
For Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, running a game borders on a religious experience in that it’s an act of faith.
Faith in his players. Faith in the organization’s system.
His convictions have been tested a number of times this year. Roberts stayed the course, as he likes to say, and was rewarded with the organization’s first pennant in 29 years.
The ultimate test is coming up. Tuesday, the Dodgers host the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the World Series. The Dodgers are behind in the best-of-seven series, three games to two, and a loss here will crown their opponent as champion.
This World Series deserves a Game 7
The World Series is driving you bonkers, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Every time you think the Dodgers have won, some wide-eyed Houston Astro swings from his fancy cleats, clangs a ball into a bleacher and dances all over your heart.
Every time you think the Dodgers have lost, Cody bellows or Corey flexes or Puig becomes Puiiiiig and suddenly you’re clutching that scratchy rally towel and tugging on that faded blue T-shirt and hopping around the middle of your living room to the rattling of your Vin bobblehead.
You scream, you groan, you nearly pass out twice, then, early Monday morning in Houston, your world is turned upside down when the series shifts on a 10th-inning Astros single that scores a guy named, yes, Lakers fans, Derek Fisher.
The Astros’ memorable, painful 13-12 victory over the Dodgers in Game 5 was yet another example of a week filled with both miraculous drama and unabashed kookiness. And though you can’t take it anymore, you also can’t get enough.
This cannot yet be declared the best World Series ever, if only because there are still two games remaining, beginning Tuesday night in Game 6 at Dodger Stadium with the Astros leading three games to two.
Dodgers stick to their process
Weary, wounded and trailing in the World Series by a 3-2 margin, the Dodgers straggled onto a plane headed from Houston to Los Angeles in the early hours Monday.
As he surveyed the group, manager Dave Roberts searched for signs of optimism after three harrowing games at Minute Maid Park, a mini-series that concluded with a marathon 13-12 defeat in Game 5 on Sunday.
“I think guys are looking forward to getting back home,” he said later.
The prospect of a game at Dodger Stadium sounded welcome. Another night with the Astros offered less appeal. During the first five games, Houston’s offense has punctured holes in Roberts’ decision-making process, which he followed successfully throughout a record regular season but has led to gut-wrenching defeats in Game 2 and Game 5.
Astros win, 13-12
Bottom of the 10th. Kenley Jansen still pitching.
Evan Gattis grounded to third.
Marwin Gonzalez struck out swinging.
Brian McCann was hit by a pitch.
George Springer walked.
Alex Bregman singled to left, scoring Derek Fisher, who ran for McCann. Astros win, 13-12.
Dodgers don’t score in top of the 10th
Top of the 10th. Joe Musgrove pitching. Maybin to center. Springer to right. Reddick to left. Gonzalez to first.
Justin Turner hit a shot to left that Reddick caught.
Andre Ethier singled to left.
Cody Bellinger flied to right-center, Maybin making the catch.
This game is now five hours old.
Logan Forsythe grounded to short, forcing Ethier.
Astros don’t score in bottom of ninth
Bottom of the ninth. Kenley Jansen now pitching.
Jose Altuve flied to center.
Carlos Correa popped to first. Bellinger had to lean into the crowd to get it. Great play.
Yuli Gurriel doubled to left-center. Cameron Maybin comes in to run for Gurriel.
Josh Reddick flied to left.
Dodgers tie it on Chris Taylor’s single. It’s now 12-12
Top of the ninth. Chris Devenski still pitching.
Cody Bellinger walked.
Logan Forsythe struck out swinging.
Yasiel Puig homered to left. Unbelievable game.
Austin Barnes doubled to left-center. He barely beat the throw.
Joc Pederson grounded to short, Barnes to third.
Chris Taylor singled up the middle. 12-12.
Corey Seager flied to center.
Need a note for school? MLB has you covered.
With Sunday’s Game 5 going well past midnight on the East Coast, Major League Baseball has provided a great letter you can fill in and use as an excused absence from school tomorrow.
Astros, Dodgers tie World Series record for most homers in one series (Update: They broke it)
Sunday’s six-homer barrage in Game 5 of the Astros-Dodgers series has tied the record for most home runs in one series.
Brian McCann’s home run in the bottom of the eighth was the 21st of the series.
It ties the record sent in 2002 between the Angels and San Francisco Giants. Of course, that series went seven games.
Update: The teams broke the record when Yasiel Puig homered in the top of the ninth.
Astros increase lead to 12-9 in bottom of the eighth
Bottom of the eighth.
Marwin Gonzalez struck out.
Brian McCann homered to right.
And that’s it for Tony Cingrani. Ross Stripling now pitching.
George Springer singled to right.
Alex Bregman grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
Dodgers close to 11-9 in top of eighth
Top of the eighth. Brad Peacock still pitching.
Austin Barnes struck out looking.
Joc Pederson doubled to left.
Chris Taylor was hit be a pitch. First and second, one out.
And that’s it for Brad Peacock. Will Harris in the game.
Corey Seager doubled to left-center, scoring Pederson, Taylor stopping at third.
Justin Turner flied to right, not deep enough to score Taylor.
Andre Ethier was announced as the pinch-hitter for Kikè Hernandez. And that’s it for Will Harris. Chris Devenski is coming in to pitch.
Ethier grounded to first.
Astros take 11-8 lead after seven innings
Bottom of the seventh. Brandon Morrow, pitching for the 12th time in 13 postseason games, now on the mound.
George Springer homered to left. It’s now 8-8.
Alex Bregman singled to center.
Jose Altuve doubled to left-center, scoring Bregman. 9-8 Astros.
Carlos Correa homered to give the Astros an 11-8 lead. Greatest World Series ever.
And that’s to for Morrow. Tony Cingrani now in the game.
Yuli Gurriel struck out swinging.
Josh Reddick struck out swinging.
Evan Gattis flied to right.
Cody Bellinger’s triple gives Dodgers an 8-7 lead
Top of the seventh. Brad Peacock pitching.
Justin Turner doubled off the top of the wall in right-center. It just missed going out for a homer.
Kikè Hernandez sacrificed, but hit it too hard back to the mound and Turner was thrown out trying to get to third.
Cody Bellinger hit a sinker to center. George Springer tried to make a diving catch, but the ball got by him. Hernandez scored all the way from first. Bellinger went to third for a triple.
Logan Forsythe struck out looking. No one is happy with the plate umpire tonight. He has a very broad strike zone.
Yasiel Puig flied to left.
Astros don’t score in bottom of the sixth
Bottom of the sixth.
Josh Reddick struck out.
Evan Gattis walked.
And that’s it for Kenta Maeda. Tony Watson is coming into the game.
Marwin Gonzalez flied to right.
Brian McCann grounded into the shift. It went off Bellinger’s glove and right to Forsythe at second.
Dodgers don’t score in top of sixth, still 7-7
Top of the sixth.
Austin Barnes struck out looking.
Joc Pederson, batting for Charlie Culberson, walked.
Chris Taylor flied to right.
Corey Seager struck out looking.
Watch Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer
Jose Altuve’s three-run homer ties it up, 7-7
Bottom of the fifth.
Marwin Gonzalez flied to deep left.
Brian McCann struck out looking after hitting a long fly ball that just curved foul.
George Springer walked.
Alex Bregman walked. First and second, two out.
And that’s it for Clayton Kershaw. Kenta Maeda in the game.
Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to center. 7-7.
Carlos Correa hit a roller to third, which Forsythe threw away. Correa to second. Single and an error.
Yuli Gurriel grounded to short.
Dodgers take 7-4 lead on Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer
Top of the fifth. Collin McHugh pitching.
Corey Seager walked.
Justin Turner walked.
Kikè Hernandez struck out looking.
Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer to right. 7-4 Dodgers.
Logan Forsythe flied to right.
Yasiel Puig struck out swinging.
Astros tie score in bottom of fourth with three-run homer off Kershaw
Bottom of the fourth.
George Springer walked.
Alex Bregman flied to left on a 3-2 pitch.
Jose Altuve singled to left.
Carlos Correa doubled to left, scoring Springer. 4-1 Dodgers. Second and third, one out. The Dodgers asked for an appeal at second, but he was safe.
Yuli Gurriel hit Kershaw’s first pitch for a three-run homer. Wow.
Josh Reddick popped to first.
Evan Gattis flied to left. Ugly inning.
Dodgers take 4-0 lead in top of fourth
Top of the fourth.
Cody Bellinger struck out looking.
Logan Forsythe doubled to deep center.
Yasiel Puig struck out swinging.
Austin Barnes singled to left, scoring Forsythe. 4-0 Dodgers. It looked like Gonzalez in left should have been able to make a play on that.
Charlie Culberson grounded into the hole at second. Altuve made a sliding stop, but Culberson beat the throw.
And that’s it for Dallas Keuchel. Luke Gregerson now pitching.
Chris Taylor struck out swinging.
No tickets, no problem: Dodgers fans happy to make it to Minute Maid Park
It was a last-second decision for Luis Gonzalez and Amanda Guillen.
The boyfriend and girlfriend from El Paso hopped a plane Sunday morning bound for San Antonio, where they were going to meet up with friends and go to Six Flags.
But they had a layover in Houston, and there was a World Series happening here.
They don’t have tickets. But they skipped their flight and stayed put anyway, just to get as close as they could to history.
“You have to,” said Guillen, a 24-year-old television news weather forecaster who clutched a just-purchased World Series pennant outside Minute Maid Park on Sunday.
“I wish we had a couple hundred dollars more so we could go in,” Gonzalez said.
“But just being outside and knowing what’s going on inside, it’s just awesome,” he added. “Maybe we’ll get to be in there some day.”
Gonzalez, 27, who runs a gas station and restaurant, said he loved the Dodgers because his dad and grandpa loved the Dodgers.
His family is Mexican, and his dad was swept up in Fernandomania. His dad idolized Fernando Valenzuela and listened to every game he pitched — and can still name a bunch of the staring lineups from the 1980s.
When Valenzuela threw out the first pitch for Game 2 last week after being called to the pitcher’s mound by Vin Scully, Gonzalez’s dad got misty-eyed.
Gonzalez planned to buy some World Series souvenirs for his dad.
“Baseball’s awesome,” he said. “Especially when your team is winning.”
Dodgers maintain 3-0 lead through three
Bottom of the third.
Evan Gattis singled to left-center. Taylor made a nice play to cut the ball off and hold Gattis to a single.
Marwin Gonzalez grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. You’d think Forsythe and Culberson had been turning double plays together for years the way they did that.
Brian McCann grounded into the shift, Culberson making the play.
Watch Logan Forsythe’s two-run single in the first
Dodgers go down quietly in top of third, still lead 3-0
Top of the third.
Corey Seager grounded to first, pitcher covering.
Justin Turner popped to shallow right, Altuve making the play.
Kikè Hernandez grounded to the pitcher.
Clayton Kershaw retires Astros in order in second
Bottom of the second.
Carlos Correa grounded to first.
Yuli Gurriel popped to first.
Josh Reddick flied to center.
Six up, six down.
Game photo: Replay says safe
Dodgers don’t score in top of second
Top of the second.
Austin Barnes flied to deep right.
Charlie Culberson bounced to short.
Chris Taylor grounded to third.
Astros go down in order in first
Bottom of the first.
George Springer grounded to third. High throw by Logan Forsythe, but it pays to have a 6-4 first baseman.
Alex Bregman flied to deep center.
Jose Altuve struck out swinging.
That’s a big cap
Dodgers take 3-0 lead in top of first
World Series Game 5. Here we go.
Chris Taylor singled up the middle.
Corey Seager struck out looking.
Justin Turner walked. First and second, one out.
Kikè Hernandez walked, loading the bases with one out.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Logan Forsythe singled to left, scoring Taylor, Marwin Gonzalez bobbled the ball in left, allowing Turner to score
With Yasiel Puig batting, Logan Forsythe got caught in a rundown. First baseman Yuli Gurriel threw wide to Jose Altuve at second. Forsythe slid in safely, and while that was going on, Kikè Hernandez scored.
Astros then appealed the decision, and the call was not overturned.
Puig grounded to the pitcher.
Not a frightful thought for this Dodgers fan: winning World Series on Halloween
Ramon Malta says he called it months ago, even before the Dodgers were playing in the postseason.
They’d make the World Series, he said. And they’d win it at home in Los Angeles on Halloween night.
Well, if it comes true, consider him a fortune teller. The Dodgers and Astros will return to Dodger Stadium to play Game 6 on Tuesday night. Halloween night.
“I’m speaking it into existence,” Malta said Sunday afternoon while standing outside Minute Maid Park in a Dodgers jersey.
Malta, an accountant from Highland Park, has come to all three games in Houston, and he traveled out of state several times this year to watch the Dodgers play. He was even at the first day of spring training in Arizona in February.
“I’m invested,” he said, laughing. “I’m 27. My whole life has been in the championship drought.”
Malta said he’s been a fan his whole life.
“In L.A., growing up, I couldn’t afford to go to a Lakers game,” he said. “It was the cheapest ticket in town. And I’m Hispanic, and the team has a strong Hispanic following.”
Malta noted that Dodger Stadium has all those years of successful World Series past hanging above right field — 1988, 1981, 1965, 1963, 1959, 1955.
“There hasn’t been a year for me,” he said. “I’d like to have a year for me.”
He thinks 2017 is going to be it. And he’s already planning to be at the championship parade.
“I’m already visualizing the route to Chavez Ravine,” Malta said. “It’s a fun time to be a Dodgers fan.”
Clayton Kershaw is alone with his thoughts
Astros expect Yuli Gurriel to get booed at Dodger Stadium
Houston first baseman Yuli Gurriel’s racial gesture mocking Dodgers starter Yu Darvish in Game 3 earned him a five-game suspension from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
Despite that ruling, Gurriel’s apology, and Darvish’s push for forgiveness, the Astros are certain it will also lead to an aggressive reception when they return to Dodger Stadium for Tuesday’s Game 6.
“I think everyone is aware it’s going to be a rough setting for him,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “I don’t think you can convince 55,000 fans to turn the page as fast as maybe the two teams have. And that goes out of support for their own players and their own people.”
During Saturday’s Game 4 at Minute Maid Park, Astros’ fans showered Gurriel with cheers.
Astros’ Ken Giles won’t be pitching in key situations
In the regular season, opponents scored on Houston Astros closer Ken Giles only once in his final 19 outings, and 12 times in his 63 appearances. In the postseason, they have scored on Giles six times in seven outings. In the World Series, he’s allowed as many runs as he has recorded outs.
He’s morphed from one of the sport’s better pitchers into one of its worst. No reliever has ever been scored upon more frequently in one postseason.
The long-term implications for Giles’ status are unclear, but his role in the rest of this tied World Series is certain. He won’t be pitching in anything resembling a high-leverage situation.
“I’ll try to lift the burden off of him carrying this end-of-the-game pressure with him,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “Obviously, he’s had a rough go of it. He’s more than equipped to handle it. And I’m not sure how the game is going to play out. If I’ve got to give him the ball at some point, he’s got the weapons to get outs.”
Clayton Kershaw feels more anxiety when he doesn’t pitch than when he does
Clayton Kershaw pitched the opening game of this World Series, but the three games that followed were the source of as much, if not more, anxiety.
“It’s almost more nerve-racking watching on the bench because you feel a little bit helpless and you want us to succeed so bad,” he said.
Kershaw won’t have that feeling of helplessness Sunday night at Minute Maid Park, where he returns to the mound for Game 5. How he pitches will determine whether the Dodgers return home leading or trailing the series by a three-games-to-two margin.
The distance from home plate to the 19-foot-high wall in left field at Minute Maid Park measures only 315 feet. Asked how that that would affect how he pitches, Kershaw replied: “No, I don’t think you can change anything based on where you’re at. It’s just a matter of making good pitches to these guys. Most of the time I would say it doesn’t come into play that much. I feel the homers I give up are pretty legit.”
Kershaw gave up a career-high 23 home runs in the regular season. He has served up another seven in three starts this postseason.
Trust the process? Trust Kershaw
The Dodgers talk a lot about how they are following the “process’’ of building toward a championship one game at a time, one year at a time, with more concern about progress than results.
Dave Roberts, their manager, often talks about “Trusting the process.’’
They aren’t the first organization to espouse this theory. That would the Philadelphia 76ers, who, as luck would have it, were in Houston Sunday in advance of a game against the Houston Rockets Monday.
So it only figured that the 76ers team visited the Dodgers during batting practice before Game 5 of the World Series. Yes, that was 7-foot center Joel Embiid hanging around the batting cage with his teammates, not that the Dodgers need any advice from them. The Sixers are 2-4 this year and, while exciting, will be fortunate to reward those who “trust the process’’ with an eighth seed in the East.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers are trusting in something greater tonight. Considering the team has won all of Clayton Kershaw’s four postseason starts, does anybody doubt he won’t get it done tonight, allowing the team to return to Los Angeles for Game 6 with a 3-2 lead and a chance to clinch a championship Tuesday night on Halloween?
No doubt here. Trust the process. And trust the ace.
Dodger fans gather outside of Minute Maid Park
Dave Roberts discusses Game 5 of the World Series
Adrian Gonzalez has a request for you from Minute Maid Field
Here is the Astros’ Game 5 lineup
Here is the Dodgers’ Game 5 lineup
Clayton Kershaw talks about his Game 5 start
Bill Plaschke previews World Series Game 5
Bellinger turns it back on as Dodgers pull even in World Series
Cody Bellinger skidded into second base like a kid on a Slip ’N Slide, a 22-year-old rookie enjoying the World Series for the first time in four games. He leapt to his feet and banged his hands together. Inside the Dodgers dugout, moments after Bellinger’s ninth-inning double broke the deadlock and paved the way for a 6-2 victory over the Astros in Game 4 of the World Series, his teammates responded with glee.
Bellinger looked stoic. Dirt caked his uniform. Lost for so long, he found himself at an opportune time for the Dodgers, who have evened this best-of-seven World Series at 2-2. A double by Bellinger in the seventh led to his team’s first run. His next hit pulled his team ahead and opened the door for a five-run flood. After a sacrifice fly by Austin Barnes, Joc Pederson thundered a three-run homer to mute the 43,322 fans at Minute Maid Park.
In his first outing since blowing a save in Game 2, closer Kenley Jansen was not immaculate. He surrendered a solo home run to Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. It was only the Astros’ second hit of the game.
A pitchers’ duel heightened the tension. Alex Wood did not give up a hit until the sixth inning, when Astros outfielder George Springer hit a solo home run. Houston starter Charlie Morton suppressed the Dodgers until the seventh, when Bellinger recorded his first hit of the World Series and Logan Forsythe tied the game with an RBI single.
Dodgers defeat Astros 6-2 in Game 4
Bottom of the ninth inning. Kenley Jansen pitching. Logan Forsythe moves to third. Charlie Culberson in at second.
Brian McCann tried to bunt to beat the shift. Corey Seager was the only one on that side and ran half a mile, grabbed the ball and threw him out.
George Springer struck out swinging.
Alex Bregman homered to left. 6-2 Dodgers.
Jose Altuve flied to deep right-center. Dodgers win 6-2.
Joc Pederson gives Dodgers a 6-1 lead
Top of the ninth. Ken Giles now pitching.
Corey Seager hit the first pitch to right for a single.
Justin Turner walked.
Cody Bellinger doubled to left-center. Dodgers lead 2-1.
Yasiel Puig struck out swinging.
Logan Forsythe was walked intentionally.
Charlie Culberson ran for Turner, who has been limping a bit since taking a grounder off his knee.
Austin Barnes flied to right, scoring Culberson, Bellinger taking third.
Joc Pederson homered to deep right. Dodgers lead 6-1.
Enrique Hernandez flied to left.
Score remains 1-1 through eight innings
Bottom of the eighth. Tony Watson pitching.
Josh Reddick fouled to third.
Evan Gattis grounded to second.
Marwin Gonzalez lined to second. Astros have only one hit tonight.
Watch Logan Forsythe tie the score with a single
Dodgers don’t score in top of eighth
Top of the eighth. Chris Devenski pitching.
Joc Pederson struck out looking.
Enrique Hernandez flied to left.
Chris Taylor grounded to second.
Astros retired in order in bottom of the seventh
Bottom of the seventh.
Jose Altuve grounded to third.
Carlos Correa flied to left.
Yuli Gurriel flied to center.
Dodgers tie score in top of seventh
Top of the seventh.
Justin Turner hit a shot to third. Alex Bregman knocked it down and threw him out by half a step. He’s looking like Graig Nettles down there.
Cody Bellinger doubled to left-center.
And that’s it for Charlie Morton. Great outing. Will Harris now pitching.
Yasiel Puig flied to right-center.
Logan Forsythe singled to left-center. Score is tied.
Austin Barnes grounded to short, forcing Forsythe at second.
Alex Bregman makes that play home routinely now
For the second time in one week, Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman made a superb play to cut down a runner at home plate.
This time, he scooped up Chris Taylor’s one-out grounder in the sixth inning tonight and threw out Austin Barnes, who was running from third base on contact. The play preserved this game’s scoreless tie for another half-inning.
Last time, in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, he did it to Greg Bird in the fifth inning of a one-run game the Astros went on to win.
It all stems from a different decision Bregman made on Sept. 24 against the Angels. With runners on the corners in a scoreless tie, he fielded a similar grounder by Justin Upton and tried to turn a double play. It didn’t work, the runner scored, and the Angels won.
Afterward, Astros coaches informed Bregman he should throw home in any similar situations that arose in the playoffs.
Count it as a lesson learned.
George Springer gives Astros a 1-0 lead in bottom of the sixth
Bottom of the sixth.
Marwin Gonzalez grounded to third. Turner bobbled it but threw him out by a couple of steps.
Brian McCann struck out looking.
George Springer is up. Third time through the lineup, so shouldn’t they be taking Wood out?
Springer homered to left. 1-0 Houston.
And that’s it for Alex Wood. Brandon Morrow is in the game.
Alex Bregman grounded to third.
Dodgers waste big opportunity in the sixth
Top of the sixth.
Austin Barnes was hit in the right forearm by a pitch.
Joc Pederson flied to left.
Enrique Hernandez singled to right-center. Barnes was going on the pitch (it was a full count) and easily went to third.
Chris Taylor grounded to third. Alex Bregman threw Barnes out trying to score. First and second, two out. That could be a game changer.
Corey Seager flied to left.
Dodgers, Astros scoreless though five
Bottom of the fifth.
Yuli Gurriel struck out swinging on a 3-2 changeup.
Josh Reddick flied to left.
Evan Gattis popped to short.
Alex Wood has a no-hitter through five innings.
Charlie Morton shuts the Dodgers down again in top of fifth
Top of the fifth.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging. 0 for 13.
Yasiel Puig grounded to third.
Logan Forsythe struck out looking. Seven strikeouts for Morton.
Astros go down quietly in fourth, still no score
Bottom of the fourth. Game is just sailing along.
Alex Bregman flied to center.
Jose Altuve hit a hopper up the middle, Forsythe made a backhand play and threw him out.
Carlos Correa popped to second.
Quick inning.
Dodgers go down quietly in top of fourth
Top of the fourth.
Chris Taylor struck out swinging.
Corey Seager grounded to second.
Justin Turner struck out swinging.
Still scoreless after three
Bottom of the third.
Evan Gattis hit a little looper that Bellinger caught.
Marwin Gonzalez walked. Wood had him 0-2, but let him get away.
Brian McCann struck out swinging.
George Springer grounded to short, forcing Gonzalez at second.
Dodgers are retired in order in the top of the third
Top of the third.
Austin Barnes grounded to third.
Joc Pederson struck out swinging.
Enrique Hernandez struck out looking.
No score after two innings
Bottom of the second.
Carlos Correa walked on four pitches.
Yuli Gurriel grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
Josh Reddick grounded up the middle. Logan Forsythe made a sliding stop and threw him out.
Still no score after the top of the second
Top of the second.
Cody Bellinger flied to left. 0 for 12 in the Series.
Yasiel Puig hit a high chopper off the batter’s box and was thrown out by the pitcher. But the ball hit his foot. No one seemed to really care.
Logan Forsythe grounded to first.
Engaged couple will postpone honeymoon after paying for Game 4 tickets
When Marcus Flores fell in love with Roxanne Garcia, he knew something would have to happen. He’d have to become a Dodgers fan, just like her.
So, here they are at Game 4 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park. They’re engaged to be married, and the wedding is in January.
The couple from McAllen, Texas, held up a handmade sign: “We emptied our honeymoon savings to be here!!!”
Indeed they did. They’d been saving up for a trip to Thailand. But that will have to wait.
“We figured we could have a honeymoon whenever. It doesn’t have to be right after the wedding,” said Garcia, a 26-year-old radio producer and host. “Why not use what we’d saved for World Series tickets?”
Garcia was born in Orange County. Her dad, who is Mexican, idolized pitcher Fernando Valenzuela in the 1980s, and as a young child she went to many Dodgers games.
Even after her family moved to Texas when she was about 4, they’d come back to California every summer and watch a game.
When the Dodgers made it to the World Series, Garcia — who has a dog named Dodger — cried.
She told her fiance: “We have to come. We have to be at that game.”
Game 4 was Flores’ first professional baseball game.
He said he’s fine with delaying the honeymoon. He owns a gym and is a professional trainer — that’s how he met his soon-to-be-wife — and January is a busy time, when people make their New Year’s resolutions and hit the treadmills.
As they watched Dodgers batting practice, Garcia, who keeps a photo of herself with Andre Ethier on her phone, hollered for autographs.
She saw Ethier and, with her real-life love standing beside her laughing, yelled, “Andre! Oh my God, I love you!”
Astros go in order in bottom of the first
Bottom of the first.
George Springer flied to right-center, Chris Taylor making the catch.
Alex Bregman grounded to short.
Jose Altuve grounded to second.
Dodgers don’t score in top of first
World Series Game 4. Here we go.
Chris Taylor singled to center. Good start.
Corey Seager struck out swinging.
Justin Turner popped to third.
Taylor was thrown out on a delayed steal attempt. Not sure what he was thinking there.
Astros fans give Yuli Gurriel a big ovation
Dodgers’ ability to focus might not be a problem in Game 4
For the Dodgers, all season long, it’s been about focus.
“We’re hyper-focused,’’ says manager Dave Roberts, again and again.
Saturday night in Game 4 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park will represent their biggest test of this focus.
The Astros are starting a guy, Charlie Morton, who shut down the New York Yankees for five scoreless innings here in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
The Dodgers are countering with a guy, Alex Wood, who couldn’t last five full innings against the Chicago Cubs while giving up three home runs in his only postseason start.
The top four hitters in the Astros lineup — George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa — have combined for four homers and eight RBIs in the Series.
Meanwhile, for the Dodgers, Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig are a combined 2 for 23, while National League Championship Series co-MVPs Chris Taylor and Justin Turner are a combined 3 for 22.
It doesn’t look good for the Dodgers — which, if you believe what you’ve seen in the previous six months of Dodger focus, usually means it could turn out very good.
“Today, we’re refocused and ready to win a baseball game,’’ said Roberts before Saturday’s game, and here’s guessing they will.
Clayton Kershaw remembers Minute Maid Park
Clayton Kershaw’s first visit to Minute Maid Park with the Dodgers didn’t end well.
It came in July 2008, and Kershaw, then 20, was winless eight starts into his big-league career when manager Joe Torre pulled him aside to tell him his was being sent down to Double A Jacksonville.
Kershaw, who got that news just minutes after filling out a ticket request for friends, rushed up the tunnel to the empty clubhouse, tears in his eyes, to angrily clean out his locker.
“It’s disappointing,” he said then. “I didn’t expect it.”
That, however, isn’t how Kershaw remembers it.
“I don’t remember being that emotional or upset,” he said Saturday.
What’s indisputable, however, is the fact that was the last time Kershaw was demoted. Three weeks later, he was back in a Dodger uniform to stay, throwing six shutout innings to beat Washington for his first major league win.
He’s won 143 games, three Cy Young Awards and an MVP trophy since then with his only minor league appearances coming on rehab assignments.
However, Kershaw insisted Saturday that his disappointment over being demoted didn’t fuel his rise.
“No,” he said, “not really.”
Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda won’t be available for Game 4
Alex Wood better pitch better than he did last time.
Yu Darvish emerged as a symbol of racial harmony Friday night, obscuring how much he compromised the Dodgers in this World Series.
By recording only five outs in a 5-3 defeat to the Houston Astros in Game 3, Darvish forced manager Dave Roberts to use Kenta Maeda for 2 2/3 innings. The result is that Maeda can’t pitch in Game 4.
The absence of Maeda will present a challenge for Roberts, who has to account for 27 outs.
If Wood has a repeat of his performance in the National League Championship Series — he pitched 4 2/3 innings — that task won’t be any easier. Of course, Wood can make his manager’s life considerably more pleasant if he can make it through, say, six innings.
Bill Plaschke previews Game 4 of the World Series
Dodgers’ Alex Wood discusses his Game 4 start
Dave Roberts discusses using analytics to manage the Dodgers
Here is the Astros’ Game 4 lineup
Read Yuli Gurriel’s official statement apologizing to Yu Darvish
Here is the Dodgers’ Game 4 lineup
Watch MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announce suspension for Yuli Gurriel
Five-game suspension for Yuli Gurriel, next season
Yuli Gurriel, one of the key hitters for the Houston Astros, was suspended for five games after television cameras caught him making a gesture and mouthing a word with racial overtones Friday during Game 3 of the World Series against the Dodgers.
The unpaid suspension will be served at the start of the 2018 season, and Gurriel will not appeal. He will not miss any games in the World Series.
It is believed the Major League Baseball Players Assn. opposed a suspension during the World Series. Even an expedited appeal might have force Gurriel to miss World Series games.
“I made an offensive gesture that was indefensible,” Gurriel said in a statement released by the Astros. “I sincerely apologize to everyone that I offended with my actions. I deeply regret it.
Alex Wood needs to give Dodgers’ bullpen a rest in Game 4
When the Dodgers swept the Yankees in the 1963 World Series, manager Walter Alston used four pitchers. Total. In the whole Series.
Don Drysdale pitched a shutout, Sandy Koufax had two complete games and Johnny Podres needed reliever Ron Perranoski to get the final two outs in Game 2.
The Dodgers are just three games into this World Series, and manager Dave Roberts has already gone to his bullpen 15 times. The only pitcher on the 12-man staff who hasn’t appeared against Houston is left-hander Alex Wood, who is scheduled to start Game 4 on Saturday.
Wood will take the mound with two goals in mind: Pitch well enough to even the Series and pitch long enough to give Dodgers relievers a rest.
A.J. Hinch is happy to bring back the three-inning save
The postseason has a way of inspiring creative approaches to bullpen usage. Last fall, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon and the Cleveland Indians’ Terry Francona broke with regular-season protocol and frequently used their closers in high-pressure situations before the ninth inning.
This year, Houston manager A.J. Hinch has twice used a starting pitcher to get a multi-inning save, first in the deciding game of the American League Championship Series when Lance McCullers Jr. pitched four scoreless innings to beat the Yankees and then again Friday in Game 3 of the World Series, when Brad Peacock retired 11 of the 12 batters he faced in a win over the Dodgers.
“I’ve enjoyed bringing back the three-inning save,” Hinch said. “That’s cool.”
For both pitchers, the saves were the first of their careers.
“It was crazy,” said Peacock, who went 10-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 21 regular-season starts. “In the eighth [inning], A.J. asked if I felt good. I said, ‘Yeah.’ ‘All right, you’re going back out.’
“I’m shocked. I’m just glad he gave me the opportunity to do that.”
Peacock’s outing was the longest by a reliever in a World Series since Madison Bumgarner went five innings for the San Francisco Giants in the final game in 2014. It was the longest by an AL reliever since 1990.
And the only two longer relief appearances in Astros’ postseason history both came this month in the ALCS.
“Maybe it’s not perfect because we’re not used to it and … we don’t know how they’re going to respond out of the pen,” Hinch said. “When it doesn’t go well, it feels like we weren’t prepared. When it does go well, we get to the next game.
“You have to react to the game, use the players the best way to get 27 outs. These are unique ways to win the game. I’m not sure you can do it all the time. But you can do it sometimes.”
Defense has been an unsung hero for Astros
Lost in the praise for the Astros’ hitting – they are averaging more than four runs a game and nearly half their hits have gone for extra bases – and their bullpen – Houston relievers have allowed just three hits in 10 innings – has been the team’s stellar defense.
The Astros have turned five double plays and made just one error through the first three games of the World Series. And they turned in three stellar fielding plays Friday that may have saved their 5-3 win.
“We have athletes all over the field. We do execute plays,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We handle the ball pretty cleanly; it’s something we talk about a lot.
“To see it on the biggest stage is why we’re having the success that we’re having.”
The first big play Friday came in the third inning, after Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. walked the bases loaded to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. But first baseman Yuli Gurriel snuffed out the building rally, ranging far to his right to field Corey Seager’s bouncer and starting a 3-6-1 double play.
An inning later, Yasiel Puig drove a ball past third baseman Alex Bregman and down the left-field line. Shortstop Carlos Correa, anticipating the ball would bounce off the stands that jut out in shallow left, broke toward the corner immediately. He beat left fielder Marwin Gonzalez to the ball, then turned and threw a no-look strike to second to nail Puig, who had paused at first before trying for a double.
Then in the fifth, with the Dodgers’ Joc Pederson at third, center fielder George Springer made a diving catch of Chris Taylor’s sinking line drive to end the inning and save a run.
“The defense has been steady since the start of the postseason,” Hinch said.
“These plays are not easy. We practice a lot. We have attention to detail. The players are playing tremendous defense.”
A closer look at the Game 4 pitching matchups
A look at the pitching matchups for Game 4:
Dodgers vs. Astros
Minute Maid Park, Houston, Friday, 5 p.m. PT
TV: Fox. Radio: ESPN Radio, AM 570, KTNQ 1020.
Starting pitchers
Dodgers: Alex Wood
Astros: Charlie Morton
Wood in regular season: 16-3, 2.72 ERA
Wood in playoffs: 0-1, 5.79 ERA
Wood, a lefty, had a spectacular regular season, making the All-Star team, winning a career-high 16 games and losing just one of eight decisions on the road. But in his only postseason start, he gave up three home runs in 4 2/3 innings in a 3-2 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. A soft-tosser, Wood relies primarily on a sinker, and he has gone to his changeup more this season than in the past. And though the Astros hit .278 against left-handers during the regular season, they went 21-23 against left-handed starters.
Wood on the increased use of his changeup: “It’s really just game plan. Situational stuff. Just pure coincidence, honestly. It’s not like we have a mindset or an idea where we’re going to throw a lot of changeups or breaking balls or whatnot. It’s kind of just how the situation lays out and how we match up with the individual hitter.”
Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, speaking to Dodger Insider on Wood:
“When he’s got his breaking ball, it’s as good as there is in the game. He’s got three weapons and command that is really good, so that’s pretty much a lethal combination.”
::
Morton in regular season: 14-7, 3.62 ERA
Morton in playoffs: 1-1, 6.23 ERA
Morton, a veteran right-hander, won a career-year 14 games this season, his first with the Astros. He also struck out a career-high 163 batters in 146 2/3 innings. Like Wood, Morton’s favorite pitch is his sinker, which he throws about a third of the time. But his most effective one is his curveball; opponents are hitting just .104 against that pitch. He also has a four-seam fastball that sits in the low 90s. Morton has struggled in the postseason this year, winning just once in three starts and allowing seven runs in 8 2/3 innings.
What Morton said: “I’m really excited. Most people don’t get a chance to play in the postseason, let alone in the World Series. I’m going to try to enjoy it. But at the same time, I’ve got a job to do.”
What the Yankees’ Chase Headley said about Morton in the ALCS: “He’s got great stuff. He’s certainly no pushover. He’s very capable of going out and doing similar things as their top two guys.”
Yu Darvish comments on Yuli Gurriel’s mocking gesture
A.J. Hinch says Yuli Gurriel is ‘remorseful’ for his gesture apparently aimed at Yu Darvish
Houston manager A.J. Hinch said he was aware that first baseman Yuli Gurriel made what appeared to be a racist gesture after hitting a second-inning home run off Dodger pitcher Yu Darvish, who is Japanese.
“I think he’s going to have a statement,” said Hinch, who added that he had not had a chance to discuss it with his player immediately after the game. “I do know that he’s remorseful.”
Dodgers’ pitching problems are escalating quickly
When the Dodgers swept the Yankees in the 1963 World Series, manager Walter Alston used four pitchers. Total. In the whole Series.
Don Drysdale pitched a shutout, Sandy Koufax had two complete games and Johnny Podres needed reliever Ron Perranoski to get the final two outs in Game 2, which he won.
Three games into this World Series and manager Dave Roberts has already gone to his bullpen 15 times, with 10 pitchers making an appearance.
The only pitcher on the staff who hasn’t appeared against Houston is left-hander Alex Wood, who will start Game 4 on Saturday.
They are old-school fans, even when it comes to some gear
Nick Casebolt came to Game 3 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros in a Texas Rangers jersey.
It had Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish’s name on the back.
Rough night to be a Yu Darvish fan, like 19-year-old Nick. The starting pitcher didn’t even throw two full innings after the Astros jumped to a 4-0 lead.
Still, Nick got to attend the World Series with his dad, Derek, a 45-year-old manager for T-Mobile.
Derek, who has three younger brothers, has been a baseball fan since he was an infant, he said. His parents, who attended the 1972 World Series, hung baseball banners all over his room when he was a baby.
He grew up in Colorado, and his parents are Rockies fans. But he always loved the Dodgers.
When they watched the 1988 World Series on TV, “they all magically became Oakland A’s fans just to give me a hard time,” Derek said, laughing. “Now, they root for anyone who’s playing the Dodgers.”
Astros beat Dodgers, 5-3, to take 2-1 lead in World Series
Top of the ninth. Brad Peacock still pitching.
Yasiel Puig struck out swinging.
Chase Utley grounded to the pitcher.
Yasmani Grandal flied to right.
Astros win, 5-3.
Astros don’t score in bottom of the eighth
Bottom of the eighth. Ross Stripling still pitching.
Alex Bregman flied to right.
Jose Altuve struck out looking.
Carlos Correa singled to center. It was a line drive that almost hit Stripling.
Yuli Gurriel grounded to second.
Dodgers are retired in order in top of the eighth, trail 5-3
Top of the eighth. Brad Peacock still pitching.
Corey Seager struck out swinging.
Justin Turner popped out to the catcher.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging. He’s 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. 0 for the World Series.
Astros leave bases loaded, still lead 5-3 after seven
Bottom of the seventh. Brandon Morrow still pitching. Andre Ethier in left. Yasmani Grandal at catcher.
Yuli Gurriel doubled to left.
And that’s it for Morrow. Here comes Tony Cingrani.
Josh Reddick tried to bunt, but Cody Bellinger made an outstanding diving catch.
Evan Gattis was walked intentionally.
Marwin Gonzalez popped to second.
Brian McCann grounded into the shift. Bellinger stopped it but had no play. If he hadn’t stopped it, Chase Utley would have made the play and thrown McCann out.
And that’s it for Tony Cingrani. Ross Stripling is in the game.
George Springer flied to DEEP center. Everyone thought it was gone. But Chris Taylor caught it one step in front of the fence. Astros missed a chance for some insurance runs there.
Sporting a sign of the times for Dodgers
Blaise D’Sylva of Dallas held up a big sign at Game 3 of the World Series that got a bit of a attention from Astros fans at Minute Maid Park.
It was a huge picture of Yasiel Puig. With his tongue sticking out, of course.
On the back, it said, on a homemade marker board, #PuigYourDaddy.
“I could have put any other player on the roster on here, and it wouldn’t have gotten as much of a reaction,” D’Sylva said.
Astros fans were mostly friendly, he said, but they certainly pointed it out. Dodgers fans wanted photos with it.
“Puig just stands out,” he said.
D’Sylva was attending the game with his friend J.R. Edwards, who is from Boston.
Edwards grew up in London, Canada, near Detroit, and rooted for the Tigers. When Kirk Gibson left the Tigers and signed with the Dodgers, Edwards found his new National League team. He’s rooted for the Dodgers ever since.
On being at the World Series?
“It’s amazing,” he said.
Dodgers strand a runner in seventh, trail 5-3
Top of the seventh.
Yasmani Grandal, batting for Austin Barnes, flied out to deep left.
Joc Pederson struck out swinging.
Andre Ethier, batting for Enrique Hernandez, walked.
Chris Taylor grounded to first.
Brandon Morrow escapes two-on, one-out jam in sixth
Bottom of the sixth.
Brian McCann popped to short. And that’s it for Tony Watson. Brandon Morrow is coming into the game.
George Springer grounded to third. Justin Turner’s throw was wide, Springer safe at first. Error on Turner.
Alex Bregman walked.
Jose Altuve struck out swinging.
Carlos Correa struck out swinging.
He’s been a Dodgers fan since the day he met Maury Wills
Rick Rider cherishes a black-and-white Polaroid photo from 1962.
In it, he’s 5 years old, sitting on the lap of Dodgers legend Maury Wills.
Wills signed it: “Best wishes to a future Dodger.”
Rider, 60, of Berkeley recounted the story of the meeting he’ll never forget outside Game 3 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park.
There was a friend of his family, a gregarious guy from Long Beach, who had been in Houston, where construction was underway on the new Astrodome. There was a mix-up in his flight, and somehow he ended up on the Dodgers’ flight back to L.A., where he got to talking with Wills and invited him to a cocktail party at his house.
Wills came. He played a banjo. Rider was there, tagging along with his dad, who introduced him to the ballplayer, saying, “This is your future replacement.”
Someone put the child to bed and later woke him up from a dead sleep to take the photo with Wills.
“I think I was a little cranky,” Rider said, laughing.
Rider, of course, was a Dodger fan the rest of his life. He played baseball at Long Beach Poly High and Whitman College in Washington. He now coaches youth baseball.
He was at the World Series with his 23-year-old son, Cole, who lives in Manhattan and played baseball at Johns Hopkins University.
Cole inherited his dad’s love of the Dodgers. He gets a kick out of the players.
“It seems like they’re buddies,” he said. “It seems like they’re good guys, like guys you’d want to have a beer with. They’re just dudes who happen to be really good at baseball.”
Dodgers score twice in top of sixth, trail 5-3
Top of the sixth.
Corey Seager walked.
Justin Turner doubled to left, Seager stopping at third.
That’s it for starter Lance McCullers Jr., Brad Peacock is now pitching.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging. Again.
Yasiel Puig grounded to second, Seager scoring.
With Chase Utley, batting for Logan Forsythe, up, Brad Peacock threw a wild pitch, Turner scoring.
Utley fouled out to third.
Astros 5, Dodgers 3
Throwing error gives Astros a 5-1 lead
Bottom of the fifth.
Carlos Correa grounded to short. And that’s it for Kenta Maeda. Tony Watson is now pitching. They may need to save Maeda for a Game 7 start.
Yuli Gurriel grounded to short.
Josh Reddick singled to center.
Evan Gattis hit a grounder to the pitcher. Watson fielded it and threw it away, Reddick scoring. Give Gattis a single and an error.
Marwin Gonzalez struck out swinging.
Dodgers still trail 4-1 after top of fifth
Top of the fifth.
Austin Barnes flied to right.
Joc Pederson doubled to left-center. It looked like he was going to be thrown out, but he just beat the throw.
Enrique Hernandez grounded slowly to second, Pederson taking third.
Chris Taylor hit a fly ball to left-center. George Springer misread it and had to run in and make a diving catch.
Astros 4, Dodgers 1
Astros go down quietly in bottom of the fourth
Bottom of the fourth.
Brian McCann hit a Texas Leaguer to left for a single.
George Springer struck out swinging.
Kenta Maeda is on his game tonight.
Alex Bregman struck out swinging.
Jose Altuve grounded to short, forcing McCann.
Astros 4, Dodgers 1
Was Yuli Gurriel mocking Yu Darvish’s Asian heritage after his home run?
After his home run put the Astros up 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, Yuli Gurriel returned to the dugout, where he was caught making a gesture that many see as mocking Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish.
Take a look and see what you think. We will ask Gurriel about it after the game.
Dodgers fail to score in top of fourth, trail 4-1
Top of the fourth.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Yasiel Puig was thrown out attempting to stretch a single into a double. The ball tipped off the third baseman’s glove, and Puig hesitated before going to second. That cost him.
Logan Forsythe flied to right.
Astros 4, Dodgers 1.
Astros don’t score in bottom of third, still lead 4-1
Bottom of the third.
Yuli Gurriel popped to third.
Josh Reddick popped to third.
Evan Gattis walked.
Marwin Gonzalez grounded to first.
Astros 4, Dodgers 1
Yu Darvish’s World Series experience is a personal worst
Between the regular season and postseason, Yu Darvish had taken a major league mound 135 times. Until tonight’s Game 3 of the World Series, in the biggest start of his career, the Dodgers’ right-hander had never failed to finish two innings.
The Astros forced him out with two out in the second inning, after scoring four runs while two more men were on base. The Dodgers will now have to cover at least 6 1/3 innings of relief tonight and several more tomorrow.
Over the last month, Game 4 starter Alex Wood has pitched only once, a 4 2/3-inning start in the National League Championship Series. After Saturday’s Game 4, another game looms Sunday, but the Dodgers will have ace Clayton Kershaw on the mound then.
The shortest start of Darvish’s U.S. career, before tonight, came last month, when he gave up five runs in three innings of the second game of a doubleheader at Petco Park.
They delivered on their pact after Dodgers finally got back to the World Series
John Dudley visited his son in Austin, Texas, about two weeks ago, then flew home to Maui.
Then his Dodgers made the World Series.
So, he hopped on a Texas-bound plane again this week to catch Game 3 between the Dodgers and the Houston Astros.
The 64-year-old retired photographer — who has a Labrador retriever named Dodger — got on his plane Wednesday when the Dodgers were up 3-1 in the sixth inning of Game 2. Seven hours later, when he landed and turned on his phone, he was in for a surprise. The Dodgers had lost in 11 innings.
“I was like, ‘What happened?!’” he said.
John was attending Game 3 with his sons, Chad, a 43-year-old attorney who lives in Baton Rouge, La., and Kalin, a 36-year-old marketer from Austin.
The three made a pact last year: If the Dodgers ever made a World Series, they’d do everything in their power to see it.
John grew up in Los Angeles and went to games at the Coliseum right after the Dodgers moved to town.
He distinctly remembers the smell of games there: cigar smoke.
He’d go with his grandpa, who smoked Camel cigarettes.
John watched the 1988 World Series home run by Kirk Gibson on TV with his sons, who say that’s a moment they will never forget.
“Our jaws dropped,” Kalin said. “We just looked at each other in disbelief. It’s a lifelong memory.”
Chad said Game 3 was a “must-win for the Dodgers” in this World Series.
Though, by the end of the second inning, the Astros led 4-0.
Dodgers score a run in top of the third, now 4-1 Astros
Top of the third.
Joc Pederson walked.
Enrique Hernandez walked.
Chris Taylor walked. Bases loaded, no one out.
Corey Seager grounded into a 3-6-1 double play, scoring Pederson.
Justin Turner grounded to short.
Astros 4, Dodgers 1
Dodgers’ Alex Wood is trying to absorb the championship atmosphere
Alex Wood, the Dodgers’ Game 4 starter, enrolled at the University of Georgia the year after the Bulldogs went to the College World Series. But that doesn’t mean he’s never played for a title before this season.
“In high school, won a state championship,” he said. “Lost my junior year. And after that, nothing notable. So this is my first massive experience in terms of a championship.”
So he’s trying to make sure he takes it all in.
“The biggest thing for me is just trying to kind of let it all sink in and enjoy the moment,” said Wood, who lost his only postseason start this year. “It goes by so fast, and you turn back and you’re like, ‘Wow, what happened? We won the World Series or lost or whatever it may be.’
“That’s like anything in life. So I’ve been trying to take it all in and enjoy it.”
Astros take 4-0 lead in bottom of second
Bottom of the second.
Yuli Gurriel hit a shot to left for a home run.
Josh Reddick thwarted the shift and doubled down the left-field line.
Evan Gattis walked. Yu Darvish is not fooling any Astros so far. Not a lot of swings and misses.
Manager Dave Roberts comes out to talk to Darvish and settle him down a bit.
Marwin Gonzalez singled to deep center, scoring Reddick. It could have been a double, but Gattis waited to see if the ball was caught.
Brian McCann singled to center, scoring Gattis.
George Springer lined to second. That’s the first out of the inning.
Alex Bregman flied to center, scoring Gonzalez.
Jose Altuve doubled to left, McCann to third.
And that’s it for Yu Darvish. Kenta Maeda now in the game.
Carlos Correa flied to right.
Astros 4, Dodgers 0
Dodgers don’t score in top of the second
Top of second.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Yasiel Puig grounded to second.
Logan Forsythe singled to right.
With Austin Barnes at bat, Forsythe stole second on a 2-2 count.
Barnes grounded to third.
There is always the human side of advanced analytics in baseball
The Dodgers rely on advanced analytics more than many teams do. And though manager Dave Roberts studies the numbers, he said he augments that information with what his eyes and his gut tell him.
“I take it all in,” he said. “I have the privilege of watching these guys every single day practice. And seeing how a guy is feeling, knowing what’s going on in his life, how he’s feeling that particular day.
“The metrics are a very good baseline. These are facts. But I think that me having a relationship with the players, the coaches having a relationship with the players, me relying on the coaches, and me kind of baking that all in, helps me make certain discussions, in game, lineup construction, defensive positioning. One is really not more important than the other one for me — I think they’re both tangible.”
Houston manager A.J. Hinch agreed.
“We’re in an analytical-run organization. We need to have the most up-to-the-minute, up-to-date information possible to help us win,” he said. “We combined that with the human element, the human touch, the players’ interaction, their feedback, the coaches that we have. [We] have a system in place that we hope is going to maximize their performance.”
Astros don’t score in first inning
Bottom of the first.
George Springer doubled to right-center.
Alex Bregman fouled off a few two-strike pitches before he grounded to third, Springer holding at second.
They are making Yu Darvish work, with 13 pitches already.
Jose Altuve flied to deep center, Springer advancing to third. They are hitting the ball hard off Darvish.
Carlos Correa grounded to short.
Dodgers 0, Astros 0
Jacob Ables is a very smart kid. His stepdad, however ...
For fathers and sons of all ages, it’s hard to top the World Series when it comes to a classic bonding moment.
That’s true for Clay Brooks and his 13-year-old stepson, Jacob Ables — even though they’re rooting for opposite teams.
At Game 3 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park, Brooks, a fireman for the Killeen Fire Dept. in Texas, wore an Astros cap while Jacob braved the orange crowd in a Dodgers jersey.
“When both teams won 100 games, we knew we’d have to come,” Brooks said.
Jacob said that he’s been a Dodgers fan seemingly forever and that his grandfather played ball for a Dodgers minor league team. Jacob, a redhead who likes Justin Turner, plays baseball himself.
Both Brooks and Jacob thought their team was going to win.
“We have better pitchers,” Jacob said, matter-of-factly.
The pair watched the pandemonium that was extra-innings Game 2 together.
“Happy, mad, happy, mad,” is how Jacob described it.
When one of them cheered, the other had his face in his hands, Brooks said.
Outside Minute Maid Park, barbecue pits were smoking meats, an inflatable tube man in a Jose Altuve jersey dancing in the breeze atop a Texas barbecue joint nearby.
The stadium’s retractable roof was closed, but a bald eagle flew in from center field during the national anthem.
On people’s shirts and hats was the phrase, “Houston Strong,” the words that reverberated through the city after Hurricane Harvey.
The eagle, known as Challenger, has landed for Game 3
Before Games 1 and 2 of the World Series, the Dodgers had a quartet of fighter jets fly over the stadium at the end of the national anthem.
The best the Astros could do Friday was a solitary eagle, which circled the field before landing near the mound.
Of course, Minute Maid Park’s retractable roof was closed, so a bird was about the best the Astros could do.
Speaking of the roof, Major League Baseball, not the Astros, is responsible for deciding whether postseason games will be played with the roof open or closed.
Houston has made no secret of the fact it wants the roof closed, partly because it will amplify the crowd noise and boost the Astros’ home-field advantage. The Dodgers, who rarely play indoors, would probably like it open.
Advantage Astros. With scattered showers forecast for Friday night, MLB ordered the roof closed.
Dodgers retired in order in top of first
World Series Game 3. Dodgers vs. Astros. Yu Darvish vs. Lance McCullers Jr. Here we go.
Chris Taylor popped to second.
Corey Seager hit a rocket to shallow right. Altuve fielded it on a hop, kicked it, but still had time to throw Seager out. That’s how hard it was hit.
Justin Turner hit the ball to deep right-center, but George Springer ran it down.
When WWE meets the World Series
Stuttering doesn’t stop Astros’ George Springer
George Springer begins to speak, hesitates, continues, pauses, then finishes with a perfectly pronounced recitation of one of the most important lessons of this World Series.
“I can’t let anything in life I can’t control slow me down or stop me from being who I want to be,’’ he said.
Those 22 words proved it.
Springer, the Houston Astros’ center fielder, is one of the most courageous players in the Series, yet his struggle is mostly hidden, his bravery unknown.
His difficulty is not in trying to hit a fastball or chase down a line drive, but in talking about it.
Springer, 28, speaks with a stutter, a communication disorder that has afflicted him since childhood. He has learned to deal with it so that it is noticeable only in momentary stops and starts in his speech. It is nothing that keeps him quiet, which was evident during an awe-inspiring achievement Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
He hit a two-run home run in the 11th inning that gave the Astros a 7-6 victory over the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series.
The achievement occurred during his postgame interview.
For several minutes, he sat by himself at a table in front of a roomful of journalists and provided lengthy, expressive and detailed answers to eight questions.
There were brief pauses. There was the occasional repeated word. But if you didn’t know he was a stutterer, you might have just thought he was nervous. He was that smooth. He was that empowered.
“There was a point in my life where I used to hate this stuff,’’ Springer said of interviews. “But it kind of grew on me, and the more I kind of embraced who I am, it made me enjoy it more.’’
Is Yu Darvish ready for Game 3?
Minute Maid Park seems so tiny.
Yasiel Puig shouted, “[Bleeping] baby stadium!’’ while hitting home runs during the Thursday workout.
Then, during Friday’s batting practice before Game 3 of the World Series, Puig hit the iconic train high above the left-center field wall, and Justin Turner smashed several balls off the glass wall high above left.
Into this environment steps the Dodgers’ Yu Darvish, and I don’t know if he’s ready for it. Though Darvish is 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA at Minute Maid Park, and though he actually asked to start this game, he didn’t appear very confident in Thursday’s news conference.
He issued short answers. He kept his head down. And now he must face a Houston Astros team that had four home runs in the last three innings of their 7-6 victory in Game 2. And in his last three postseason starts dating back to last season with the Texas Rangers, Darvish allowed six home runs.
It seems like the smart bet in this game would be on the Astros and Lance McCullers Jr., who, in his last postseason appearance, held the New York Yankees scoreless with six strikeouts in four innings.
Of course, the smart bet two nights ago was also that Kenley Jansen would not give up a ninth-inning homer to Marwin Gonzalez, and we all know how that turned out.
Father and son looking forward to new Dodgers memories during Game 3 in Houston
When Randy Webb was a teenager, he worked as a grocery bagger at a Publix supermarket in Vero Beach, Fla.
The eastern Florida town is the site of Historic Dodgertown, where, for decades, the Dodgers held spring training before moving it to Arizona.
So, in his store, Webb would see Dodgers picking up their groceries. Pitcher Kevin Brown. Third baseman Adrian Beltre. Even the legendary Sandy Koufax.
Standing outside Minute Maid Park before Game 3 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Houston Astros on Friday, Webb laughed as he said he got an autograph from Brown — technically. He kept a carbon-copy Publix receipt the pitcher signed. He figured Brown knew what he was up to.
Webb, a 34-year-old aviation parts salesman, was attending the World Series with his dad, Rob Webb, 64.
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FOR THE RECORD, 5:30 p.m.: A previous version of this post said Rob Webb, 34, was at the game with his dad, Randy, 64. Rob is 64, and his son Randy is 34.
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The elder Webb, who grew up in Whittier, was about 13 and attending a game in the right field reserve section at Dodger Stadium with his church youth group back on Sept. 9, 1965, when he watched Koufax pitch a perfect game.
That, of course, was before the era of smartphones, he said, and it took people a little bit to realize what they were witnessing. It was about midway through the game when he figured it out and started telling all his friends that history was being made.
He’s been a Dodgers fan all his life and attended the World Series in 1965 and 1981. He even saw a second perfect game at Dodger Stadium in 1991: that of Montreal Expos pitcher Dennis Martinez.
When the family moved to Vero Beach in 1997, the elder Webb was thrilled to be near Dodgertown. His son, who had a dresser drawer full of spring-training foul balls, grew up running around the ballpark.
On Friday, they were feeling confident about the Dodgers and starting pitcher Yu Darvish.
“I’m hoping for a blowout tonight,” the elder Webb said. “Tonight’s game could really turn the tide.”
The Astros have hope and prayers heading into Game 3
The Dodgers haven’t won a World Series since 1988, which probably seems like yesterday to the people of Houston.
The Astros, who entered the major leagues in 1962, have never won a championship. And only the Cleveland Indians have waited longer for a title than the state of Texas, whose Rangers have never won a World Series either.
“It’s been since never,” Astros fan Tracy Clayton said as he waited on line to enter Minute Maid Park for Game 3 on Friday. “All that history changes now.”
Clayton is 36, so he pretty much missed the first two decades of Astro futility. And since he moved to Houston after the Astros made their only other appearance in the Fall Classic, Friday’s game was the first World Series game he has attended.
It won’t be the last, though, since he also has tickets to Games 4 and 5.
“We’ve been waiting for this since 2005,” he said. “I’ve never had a World Series experience. I’m so pumped.”
So, apparently, is the rest of Houston. Several streets around the stadium were shut down early Friday to make room for fan fests, which had become a sea of cowboy boots and navy blue and orange Astro jerseys by mid-afternoon.
The students at Incarnate Word Academy, a Catholic girls school across the street from the stadium, covered the sidewalk with chalk drawings and messages of support for the Astros. Around the corner at Annunciation Church, the parishioners went a step further, selling necklaces, bracelets and rosaries in Astro colors to raise money for the church.
Let the Dodgers call on Kenley Jansen to save them; Astro fans are seeking salvation from a much higher source.
“Praying to the Virgin Mary, on our behalf,” Greg Womack, a member of the congregation, said as he monitored the flow of people in and out of the church grounds, trying to keep the crowd from overwhelming the vendors selling the rosaries.
Church volunteers sold Astro-colored rosaries at times during the summer and, after looking at sales figures, the church found that on days when it sold out its stock, the team won. When a local TV station reported that correlation on the air, Astro fans overwhelmed the tiny church during the American League playoffs.
Most of them left empty-handed, but hardly frustrated.
“They were just happy that we sold out,” said Womack, who was wearing a throwback white Astro jersey. “Because that meant we were going to win the game.”
The church was also offering Dodger rosaries Friday, though they were selling at a much slower pace that the Astro-colored ones. Womack said there was a strategy to that as well.
“What it amounts to is we’re getting rosaries in the hands of individuals,” he said. “That’s the key. And if they pray at the game, it’s even better.
“If they’re blue, we don’t think it matters.”
Dodgers make an adjustment to their Game 3 lineup
Who you gonna call? Not these Astros fans
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is boosting the Dodgers
Yu Darvish won’t mind a loud Minute Maid Park
There is a hearse parked in front of a building a few blocks from Minute Maid Park. A nearby banner read, “Reserved for,” with a Dodgers logo below.
So, yeah, the city of Houston is into this World Series.
The retractable roof at the so-called Juice Box will be closed Friday for Game 3 of the World Series, ensuring an extra-loud environment.
Yu Darvish doesn’t mind. In fact, before the start of the World Series, Darvish specifically asked manager Dave Roberts if he could pitch in Game 3 instead of Game 2.
A division rival of the Astros in his 5 1/2 seasons with the Texas Rangers, Darvish is 4-1 with a 2.16 earned-run average in six career starts at Minute Maid Park. He also likes how the designated-hitter rule will be in effect in the American League stadium, as he is more than willing to face an extra hitter in exchange for not having to step into the batter’s box himself.
“I think it’s really big that I don’t have to go into the batter’s box and swing and run,” he said in Japanese.
Darvish has offered only complimentary words about the Astros and their fans. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, he wore “Houston Strong” shirts and made donations to relief efforts.
“They’re from the same state of the Texas, so I have feelings about wanting to see them doing well again as soon as possible,” Darvish said.
He joked, “Because I made a donation, I’m wondering if maybe they can use baseballs that don’t fly when I’m pitching.”
This video will get you fired up for Game 3
Don’t expect to see Justin Verlander in relief between starts
Here’s the Game 3 lineup for the Dodgers
Here’s the Game 3 lineup for the Houston Astros
Astros have a hearse, graveyard and coffin set up for Dodgers outside Minute Maid Park
Dodgers’ Kiké Hernandez is ready for Game 3
Bill Plaschke previews Game 3 of the World Series
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts talks about his Game 3 lineup for the World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts discusses Game 3 preparation and how he works with Yu Darvish.
Yu Darvish discusses how he prepares for Game 3
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish talks about preparing and playing in Houston in the World Series.
Yu Darvish hasn’t dreamed of pitching in the World Series
Yu Darvish will make his World Series debut on Friday for the Dodgers in Game 3 against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, but if you think he has waited his entire life for this moment, think again.
Asked when he first started thinking of wanting to pitch in the World Series, he replied in Japanese, “I never have.”
Really?
“I have never thought about wanting to pitch in the World Series,” he said. “I just don’t want to lose until the end. When you lose in a division series or league championship series, everyone is like this.”
Darvish looked down and hunched over, as if to convey sadness.
“I don’t like going into the offseason with that feeling, so my goal has always been to win until the end,” he said. “So, as a result, winning the World Series has become my goal. But I have stronger feelings about wanting to end the season with a win.”
Making history doesn’t appeal to him, either.
“You can leave your mark in history, but once you’re dead it doesn’t matter, so I don’t really think about that,” he said.
Darvish’s candor doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He does.
Dodgers hope to turn the page in Houston
The exorcism of Game 2 of the World Series, a punishing 7-6 defeat that cost the Dodgers a chance to seize a two-game advantage over the Houston Astros, began a half hour after Yasiel Puig struck out to end the night.
In the center of the Dodgers’ clubhouse stood Kenley Jansen, the indomitable closer who could not suppress the Astros, a feisty group that overcame a two-run deficit heading into the eighth inning to outlast the Dodgers in 11 innings. A strange expression covered Jansen’s face. He was smiling.
A procession of Dodgers officials visited Jansen. He greeted owner Mark Walter and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Manager Dave Roberts led Sandy Koufax toward Jansen. The duo climbed over equipment bags bound for Houston to reach the closer. Koufax offered a hug. Roberts did likewise.
As he spoke with Koufax and Roberts, Jansen made a dismissive gesture, as if waving away the game from his mind. He had no more interest discussing the misplaced cutter that Astros outfielder Marwin Gonzalez crushed to tie the score in the ninth. Already, Jansen had insisted to reporters earlier, he was thinking about an opportunity to close out Game 3 on Friday at Minute Maid Park.
“That’s right!” Roberts said. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
Astros embrace change of scenery in World Series, while Dodgers try to recapture the magic
A day later, the Houston Astros still were beaming.
“We’re coming off one of the most epic baseball games in any of our careers,’’ said manager A.J. Hinch. “That feels good.”
A day later, the Dodgers still were wondering.
“Yeah, last night hurt,” acknowledged manager Dave Roberts. “We’ve turned the page.”
Well, at least they’ve changed the location, with the World Series now moving from picturesque Chavez Ravine to a garage named after a juice box. The Dodgers and Astros will take their duel to Minute Maid Park on Friday tied at one game apiece, but they arrived there Thursday from vastly different directions.
The Astros still were celebrating a night that could have changed a series, waxing over their 7-6, 11-inning comeback win in Wednesday’s Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.
“It was an incredible game. It was just fun to be a part of, and it gave us a little bit of momentum,” said Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, were still answering questions about how a team that was 98-0 this season when leading after eight innings could break that goose egg at the worst possible time in one of the worst possible games.
Houston Astros want the roof closed at Minute Maid Park
The Houston Astros have not played a game with Minute Maid Park’s retractable roof open since June 9. They want that to remain the case through Games 3, 4 and 5 of the World Series this weekend against the Dodgers, the last games of the year to be played in the stadium.
“We want it closed. We’ve got to have it closed,” reliever Chris Devenski said. “I feel the electricity when it’s closed is so much better. We have so much excitement being here and the electricity and the vibe. I feel like we feed off of it.”
According to the Astros’ blog that documents the status of the structure, the roof was open for only 14 of 78 games this season. (The Astros played three “home” games in St. Petersburg, Fla., because of Hurricane Harvey.) Those were mostly in April, when the weather is more temperate than in the humid summer.
Ultimately, what to do with the roof is not the team’s choice.
This could be Rick Honeycutt’s final week as pitching coach
When Don Mattingly took his managerial talents to South Beach two winters ago, preferring a long-term contract with the Miami Marlins to a short-term deal to stay in Los Angeles, the Dodgers cleared out the coaching staff.
The bench coach, first base coach, third base coach, bullpen coach? All gone.
Not Rick Honeycutt, the Dodgers’ highly regarded pitching coach. The Dodgers signed Honeycutt to a two-year contract, with the understanding he would move into a front-office role thereafter.
When the World Series ends, those two seasons will be up. For now, the Dodgers say they have not decided whether the team will have a new pitching coach next season.