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Here it is, Game 7, just what everyone has been waiting for as two evenly matched teams square off tonight.
Didn’t you figure it would go the distance, coming down to a winner-take-all game with everything on the line.
Facing elimination at home, the Dodgers rallied to win Game 6 with a 3-1 victory over Houston to deadlock the World Series at three victories apiece, setting the stage for a high drama in the concluding contest of the Fall Classic.
Yu Darvish will pitch for the Dodgers and Lance McCullers will take the hill for Houston as the teams take the field for the 5:20 p.m. start at Dodger Stadium. McCullers won Game 3, beating Darvish, who had a rough outing and will be looking for some redemption in the rematch.
Like a heavyweight fight, the two teams with more than 100 wins apiece in the regular season and 10 postseason victories will be going toe-to-toe in what’s expected to be another epic battle.It marks the third time in the last four years that the World Series has gone seven games.
Oh, and tickets won’t come cheap for tonight’s game as the Dodgers and Astros fans “pay” for all the marbles. Expect to fork over about 16 grand for the best seat behind home plate or roughly $1,300 to sit in the outfield pavilion.
The Astros struck first in Tuesday’s game 6 on the 23rd home run of the series, this one hit by George Springer. It was his fourth homer against Dodger pitching, and 14th overall by Houston in the six games played.
Justin Verlander dominated Dodger hitters, giving up just three hits, striking out nine and allowing no walks through five innings before Los Angeles broke through in the sixth with a pair of runs. Austin Barnes singled and Chase Utley was hit by a pitch, putting players on first and second. Chris Taylor then belted a run-scoring double to right field, sending Barnes to the plate to even it at 1-1. The Dodgers took the lead on a sacrifice fly by Corey Seager to deep right on a hanging slider by Verlander.
It was the first loss in 10 starts for the Astros’ ace since he was traded from to Detroit to Houston on Aug. 31.
Joc Pederson, who wasn’t even on the National League Division Series roster, gave the Dodgers an insurance run with a solo homer in the seventh. He was added to the National League Championship roster when Seager got injured.
During the regular season Pederson struggled at the plate and was sent down to Triple-A. It has been a remarkable turnaround for the player who found himself in the minors in August and in the World Series in October.
“This series has been back-in-forth with incredible teams trying to get to the finish line,” said Astros Manager A.J. Hinch following Game 6. “Both teams will be ready to play with about as much energy as you can imagine in Game 7.”
Knowing it might come down to this, the Dodgers worked hard over the course of the 162-game regular season and earned home field advantage by winning a Major League Baseball high 104 contests. Cleveland, helped by a 22 game winning streak, was next with 102 victories, followed by Houston’s 101.
Now the two powers – the National League champion Dodgers and American League’s top finisher, Houston go head-to-head to decide who walks off with the Major League Baseball trophy. There’s no tomorrow for both teams.
Dodger Manager Dave Roberts says players as young kids dream of playing in Game 7 of the World Series. “We’re happy to be at home,” he said. “We love being in front of our fans, and I know we’ll be ready to win a baseball game.”
