Game 2 sets World Series records for combined home runs, extra-inning home runs
For as long as the bats were silent in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday night, once they awoke, the home runs kept on coming.
They came one-by-one and they came in clusters. All told, the ball landed in the Dodger Stadium bleachers eight times. The Astros hit four home runs. The Dodgers hit four home runs.
The Astros won 7-6 in 11 innings, the Dodgers lost and fans were treated to a historic back-and-forth game.
The combined eight home runs are the most in a World Series game, bettering the seven home runs that the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants combined for in Game 3 of the 1989 World Series.
Houston and the Dodgers combined to hit five home runs in the 10th and 11th innings, which means nearly a quarter of all World Series home runs in extra innings since 1914 came in Game 2.
The home runs from Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the 10th inning were the first back-to-back World Series home runs to come in extra innings.
Erwin Portillo feels the ups and downs of a crazy Game 2
The mood swings in the Gold Room are likely to require long-term therapy.
At least for Erwin Portillo.
He was 5 when he came to Los Angeles from Honduras. The year was 1988, the month was August. And Dodgers were everywhere.
“You don’t know much English, but you know the Dodgers are in the World Series,” he said of the time. “Everyone played stickball, everyone wore Dodger blue or some Michael Jackson gear.”
Sitting on a stool at the Sunset Boulevard bar, Portillo felt the peaks and valleys and repeated heart attacks of Game 2.
When Kenley Jansen gave up the lead, he screamed.
“We are going to seven games,” he said with confidence.
He questioned Dave Roberts calling in the closer in the eighth.
“A six-out save, WTF?” he texted a friend.
When Yasiel Puig hit a home run to bring the Dodgers close, he leaped from his seat.
“They did say this would be one of the most exciting World Series ever,” he said after he collected his breath.
When Enrique Hernandez came to bat with Logan Forsythe on, he screamed again. He turned his cap inside out to lure a comeback out of the ether.
“Hit that ... to Puerto Rico,” he said.
Hernandez did not cross a body of water but did hit a ball to right field. And that was enough to drive Portillo and the rest of the bar mad.
“I really can’t believe the rally cap worked,” he said. “It’s never worked before.”
He screamed and slapped any hands that crossed his path.
But the pendulum swung the other way when the Astros answered with a single and a home run.
The bar was quiet. Portillo looked glum.
“At least we got to Verlander,” he said. “You say Verlander versus Rich Hill, and I think we lose. At least we got to the bullpen.”
After Puig struck out to end the game, the crowd went silent.
Portillo said he would back Friday for Game 3, confident Yu Darvish and Alex Wood could provide wins on the road.
Astros take a wild Game 2 over Dodgers to even series
The result could not be considered unthinkable, because October baseball expands the realm of possibility and exposes the soul to untold anguish. The Dodgers had avoided this fate for so much of these playoffs. They were the team who broke hearts, who snuffed out dreams. Except until this week, they had not stared down an opponent like the Houston Astros.
On Wednesday evening, in the final innings of Game 2 of the World Series, the veneer of invincibility surrounding the Dodgers bullpen shattered beneath the might of Houston’s offense in a 7-6 defeat that tied this series at one victory each. Kenley Jansen blew a save by yielding a solo homer in the ninth. Josh Fields yielded two more in the 10th. After scoring two runs in the bottom of the 10th, the Dodgers turned to Brandon McCarthy for the 11th.
Astros win 7-6
Bottom of the 11th. Chris Devenski still pitching.
Corey Seager flied to center.
Justin Turner lined to third.
Charlie Culberson homered to left. Astros 7, Dodgers 6.
Yasiel Puig struck out swinging.
Astros win 7-6.
George Springer’s homer gives Astros a 7-5 lead in top of 11th
Top of the 11th. Brandon McCarthy pitching. Charlie Culberson in at left. Enrique Hernandez moves to center. The Dodgers are out of position players.
Cameron Maybin singled to center.
With George Springer batting, Maybin stole second.
Springer homered to right-center, Astros lead 7-5.
Alex Bregman fouled to first.
Jose Altuve grounded up the middle. Austin Barnes made the play and threw wide, but Logan Forsythe made the tag.
Carlos Correa grounded to short.
Astros 7, Dodgers 5.
Dodgers bullpen gives up rare runs
Atlas shrugged.
The Dodgers bullpen, which has been so good this season, unraveled in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday, giving up four runs in three innings. Two came on back-to-back homers by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the 10th inning, giving the Houston Astros a 5-3 lead to break a tie.
The runs came off Josh Fields, who had allowed just one hit in three previous playoff appearances. But Fields would never have entered the game if closer Kenley Jansen had been able to do his job.
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FOR THE RECORD, 9:55 p.m.: A previous version of this post said home runs by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the 10th inning gave the Astros a 5-3 win. The homers gave the Astros the lead, but the Dodgers scored two runs in the bottom of the 10th to send the game to an 11th inning.
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Instead the Dodgers wound up emptying their bullpen.
Jansen, who had been near-perfect in the postseason, was asked to get a six-out save, only to stumble, giving up a run-scoring single to Correa in the eighth and a game-tying home run to Marwin Gonzalez leading off the ninth.
Coming in, Jansen had allowed two hits and struck out 13 in nine postseason innings. And the rest of the bullpen was keeping pace, pitching 28 scoreless innings between Game 2 of the National League Division Series and the eighth inning Wednesday.
The four earned runs the relievers gave up after that was one more than they had given up in the rest of the postseason combined, more than doubling the bullpen ERA to 1.72.
Enrique Hernandez ties score with single, 5-5 in 10th inning
Bottom of the 10th.
Yasiel Puig homered to left. 5-4 Astros.
Yasmani Grandal strikes out swinging.
Austin Barnes struck out swinging.
Logan Forsythe walked.
Enrique Hernandez singles to right, scoring Forsythe to tie the game. And the crowd goes crazy!
And that’s it for Ken Giles. Chris Devenski comes in to pitch. Cameron Maybin in at center field.
He immediately tried to pick Hernandez off second, but the ball hit the umpire.
Chris Taylor flied to center.
Dodgers 5, Astros 5. We go to the 11th inning.
These Elysian Valley friends continue to gather for Dodgers games
Ricardo Jaquez grew up in Frogtown, back when it was called Elysian Valley.
He and his pals would ride their bikes up the hill, through Echo Park to Dodger Stadium and pay $3 to sit in the left field pavilion for games.
When Kirk Gibson hit his famous home run, Jaquez was sitting on the floor of his grandmother’s living room at her home on Benedict Street near the Los Angeles River, watching on her big wooden television.
Over the years he collected autographs from Tommy Lasorda, Orel Hershiser and Mike Piazza, the latter a week before he was traded.
That jersey is sitting at his home in Ft. Hood, Texas, along with four seats from Dodger Stadium he bought online when they renovated the place.
The 38-year-old left Los Angeles to enlist in the U.S. Army and works in the corporate office of a brake check firm near Ft. Hood. But he comes to opening day every year to meet up with his friends from Elysian Valley, which sits along the Los Angeles River basin directly below the hills of Elysian Park.
He got seats in the loge section for World Series Game 1 and lost his voice as he yelled through the night.
“Best day of my life,” he said. “The stadium was electric. I had goosebumps for four hours after.”
Standing inside the Gold Room on Sunset Boulevard on Wednesday night, even his hoarse voice didn’t stop him from erupting in cheers as Joc Pederson and Corey Seager hit home runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.
He and his crew from the old neighborhood high-fived and leaped into each other’s arms as the Dodgers took the lead.
His childhood friend, 34-year-old Janelle Marin, likens their gatherings for Dodgers games to family reunions.
They all share memories of the neighborhood that are tied to Dodger Stadium.
“We’d take a hike up the hill, and it’d be like going on a mission,” she said.
“Now I’ll take an Uber,” her older sister, Melissa, said with a laugh.
“It is so special, because people would come from all over L.A. to see the Dodgers,” Janelle said, “but for us it was home.”
The crew of friends hugged as the night went on and recalled childhood memories as Jaquez tried to convince the crew to come to Texas for the next few games.
But that’s all in the future.
The immediate needs were all that consumes them: The Dodgers need to score a run in the bottom of the ninth after the Astros tied the score, 3-3, in the eighth inning.
Then Jaquez needs to get some sleep and grab a sausage, egg and chili cheeseburger at Tommy’s before he catches his plane home.
Astros take 5-3 lead on homers by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa
Top of the 10th. Josh Fields now pitching.
Jose Altuve homered to left-center, giving the Astros a 4-3 lead.
Carlos Correa then homered to even deeper left. Astros 5, Dodgers 3.
Yuli Gurriel then doubled to left-center.
And that’s it for Fields. Nice outing.
Tony Cingrani now pitching. Yasmani Grandal at catcher. Logan Forsythe moves to first.
Brian McCann flied to center.
Marwin Gonzalez was walked intentionally.
Josh Reddick grounded into a 1-6-3 double play.
Astros 5, Dodgers 3.
Dodgers don’t score; we go to extra innings
Bottom of the ninth. Ken Giles pitching for the Astros.
Corey Seager struck out swinging.
Justin Turner grounded to short.
Cody Bellinger flied to deep right.
Dodgers 3, Astros 3. We go to extra innings.
Marwin Gonzalez homers to left to tie score in top of the ninth
Bottom of the ninth. Kenley Jansen pitching.
Marwin Gonzalez homered to left-center, tying the score.
Josh Reddick popped to first.
Carlos Beltran, batting for Joe Musgrove, flied to center.
George Springer doubled down the left-field line.
Two out, man on second.
Alex Bregman grounded to short.
Dodgers 3, Astros 3.
Dodgers go in order in bottom of the eighth
Bottom of the eighth. Joe Musgrove pitching.
Chase Utley flied to left.
Enrique Hernandez grounded sharply to short.
Chris Taylor flied to left.
Dodgers 3, Astros 2.
Astros score a run in top of the eighth, trail 3-2
Top of the eighth. Brandon Morrow still pitching.
Alex Bregman hit a slicer down the right-field line that tipped off Yasiel Puig’s glove and into the stands for a ground-rule double. Puig is furious with himself, but most outfielders wouldn’t have even touched the ball.
And that’s it for Brandon Morrow. Here comes Kenley Jansen for a six-out save. With a day off tomorrow, Jansen can pitch two innings today.
Jose Altuve grounded to second, Bregman taking third.
Carlos Correa singles to center. 3-2 Dodgers.
Yuli Gurriel fouled to first. Two out.
Brian McCann struck out swinging.
Dodgers 3, Astros 2
Dodgers lead 3-1 after seven innings
Bottom of the seventh.
Will Harris pitching for the Astros.
Cody Bellinger grounded to short. Carlos Correa threw to first but Yuli Gurriel dropped the ball. They gave the error to Correa, but it should have gone to Gurriel.
With Yasiel Puig up, Bellinger took second on a wild pitch.
Puig grounded to short, with the ball being hit slowly enough for Bellinger to advance to third.
Joc Pederson struck out swinging.
Austin Barnes struck out swinging. It would have been nice to get an insurance run in.
Watch Corey Seager hit his two-run home run
Dodgers are six outs away from taking 2-0 lead in World Series
Top of the seventh. Ross Stripling pitching.
Marwin Gonzalez walked.
And that’s it for Ross Stripling. Brandon Morrow is coming in to pitch.
Josh Reddick grounded into a 5-6-3 double play.
Evan Gattis, batting for Justin Verlander, hit a hard hopper down the third-base line. Justin Turner made a great play but couldn’t throw him out.
George Springer grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
Watch Dodgers fans react to Corey Seager’s homer
Watch Clayton Kershaw react to Corey Seager’s homer
Dodgers take 3-1 lead on Corey Seager’s homer
Bottom of the sixth.
Chase Utley flied to center.
Andre Ethier, batting for Tony Watson, flied to center.
Chris Taylor walked.
Corey Seager HOMERS TO LEFT! Dodgers lead 3-1.
Justin Turner popped to second.
Dodgers 3, Astros 1.
Watch Joc Pederson’s World Series Game 2 home run
It’s probably the heat, and not humidity, when it comes to a few of these Dodgers homers
Through the first 14 innings of the World Series, all four Dodger runs have come on home runs.
Only one of those shots — Chris Taylor’s leadoff home run in Game 1 — was a no-doubter. The others, Justin Turner suggested, might have been helped by the high temperatures at Dodger Stadium.
And that could impact the Dodgers’ offense when the series moves beneath Minute Maid Park’s retractable roof Friday for Game 3.
“When it’s that hot here, the ball does travel a lot better. If it’s 10 degrees cooler, that’s probably a routine fly ball,” said Turner, whose sixth-inning homer in Game 1 barely got out.
Joc Pederson’s solo home run in Game 2 just carried over the right-center wall as well.
The game-time temperature Tuesday was more than 100 degrees; it was 90 degrees when Pederson came to bat Wednesday.
If the Astros close their retractable roof, as expected, temperatures will be in the low 70s.
Tony Watson escapes one-on, one-out jam with one pitch
Top of the sixth.
Carlos Correa singled to left.
Yuli Gurriel popped to the catcher.
And that’s it for Kenta Maeda. Tony Watson is coming into the game.
On his first pitch, Brian McCann grounded into the shift. Justin Turner, who was playing where the second baseman usually plays, grabbed it and threw to Corey Seager at short for the force. Seager threw to first to complete the double play.
Fernando’s appearance plays big at The Short Stop
The crowd at the Short Stop bar along Sunset Boulevard near Dodger Stadium was laughing its way through Vin Scully’s ceremonial first pitch bit when the retired announcer asked for a pitcher to come to the field to throw for him.
All of a sudden someone in the crowd made a prediction.
“Dude, it has to be Fernando,” said Jesse Leora to work buddy William Perez.
When Fernando Valenzuela came up the steps to join Scully on the mound, the bar erupted in applause.
“I’m glad he came at least for something,” said Perez, 30, who works with Leora installing glass.
The moment was the last bit of fun the crowd had for a while. They groaned when Rich Hill walked the first batter he faced. They continued to grimace as he put men on base.
But the crowd held on.
“We got this,” one man shouted after Rich Hill escaped the second inning.
Watch fans go crazy over Joc Pederson’s home run
Joc Pederson’s homer brings Dodgers even with Astros, 1-1
Bottom of the fifth.
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging.
Yasiel Puig grounded to short.
Joc Pederson homered to right. The game is now 1-1.
Austin Barnes flied to left.
Dodgers 1, Astros 1.
He’s hoping the Dodgers create another indelible memory during Game 2
Roy Wolfe still remembers watching the 1988 World Series from his grandparents’ living room in Compton.
His grandparents got him into baseball when he was younger, quizzing him after each inning about what he saw and what it meant.
“All I know is the Dodgers,” he said. “It’s all I want to know.”
That passion got him into the game, which he played all the way into college before he injured his knee playing at Long Beach State.
Now 35 and working in finance, he decided to shell out for a World Series ticket.
“You don’t know when it’s going to happen again — it could be 30 years,” he said.
Walking up the steep hill to Dodger Stadium, he recounted the various playoff fizzles over the years and the scars the Cardinals and Phillies left.
“It was always a build-up to a let-down,” he said.
This year — with the record-setting pace of victories and then the bizarre losing streak — feels different, he said.
“This feels like a real team,” he said. “And I feel like part of the team.”
“It’s been a journey,” he added. “Time to make some new memories.”
With Kenta Maeda now pitching, Astros don’t score in top of fifth
Top of the fifth.
Kenta Maeda is now pitching. Why? Because the Dodgers don’t like for Rich Hill to face a batter three times in one game. And this is the third time through the lineup.
George Springer flied to center.
Alex Bregman flied to left.
Jose Altuve flied to right.
Dodgers don’t score in bottom of the fourth
Bottom of the fourth.
After falling behind 0-and-2, Chris Taylor walked. There goes Justin Verlander’s perfect game.
Corey Seager grounded to second. With the shift on, shortstop Carlos Correa made the play. He tagged Taylor, who stopped, and couldn’t throw out Seager.
Justin Turner grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
Rich Hill has seven strikeouts through four innings
Top of the fourth.
Yuli Gurriel walked on a pitch that looked like a strike.
Gurriel took second on a passed ball.
Brian McCann flied to right. No way was Gurriel running on Puig’s arm.
Marwin Gonzalez struck out looking,
Josh Reddick was walked intentionally to get to Justin Verlander, who almost never gets to hit since he is in the American League.
Verlander struck out swinging. That’s seven strikeouts for Hill.
Dodgers 0, Astros 0
It’s a beautiful night at Dodger Stadium
They took a stroll in Chavez Ravine trying to track down tickets to Game 2
Jay and ReeRee Friedman hiked up Lilac Terrace in Chavez Ravine on Wednesday evening decked out in Astros gear, hoping they could find two tickets to Game 2 of the World Series.
Jay, a San Antonio lawyer, said he found some tickets online for $850 this morning but was hoping that he could find a better deal on foot.
He has been a fan since the team was called the Colt .45s, and he was still just a kid when the Astrodome opened a few years later.
“The eighth wonder of the world,” he said with glee.
He and ReeRee think the Astros have a shot to win the series if they can look like their old selves from the regular season.
“We aren’t gonna win with three hits,” he said in reference to a 3-1 loss in Game 1. “We’ve got to put five on the board and see what we can do.”
“Let me tell you,” he added, “winner of tonight’s game takes the series.”
He is excited for the Astros to come home. He thinks his team can do what the Yankees did to the Astros in the American League Championship Series — win three at home.
“Watch out, Dodgers,” he said.
Justin Verlander remains perfect through three
Bottom of the third.
Austin Barnes flied to left.
Chase Utley lined to second.
Rich Hill tried to bunt his way on, but Jose Altuve threw to a covering Verlander for the out.
Justin Verlander has a perfect game going. Yes, I’m trying to jinx it.
These two were not going to miss ‘a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to see a World Series game
Heather Tomaszewski and Kellie Dade sat at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, marveling at the fact that they will forever be able to say they attended a World Series.
“We were talking it over, and saying this is like the equivalent of a wedding day,” Tomaszewski said. “It’s that kind of life staple.”
The two friends from Simi Valley — neither of whom is married — weren’t even born the last time the Dodgers played in a World Series. Tomaszewski is 23; Dade, 24.
“This is just so crazy to me,” Dade said. “We looked at these tickets as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“I would never forgive myself if I hadn’t come,” Tomaszewski added.
Tomaszewski watched the first few innings of Tuesday’s Game 1 on TV, but then the graduate student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks had class.
“I’m going to be a teacher,” she said, “so I know all the tricks.”
She had her smartphone propped up in a book, with the MLB app keeping her updated on the game. Other students were doing the same, she said, laughing.
Astros take 1-0 lead in third inning
Top of the third.
Josh “Big Baby” Reddick grounded to second, but the ball bounced off Chase Utley’s glove. For some reason, they gave Reddick a hit.
Justin Verlander sacrificed Reddick to second.
George Springer singled to left, Reddick to third.
Alex Bregman singled to left-center. The ball caromed off of Taylor’s cap and right to Joc Pederson in left. Reddick scored, but Springer had to hold at second.
Jose Altuve struck out looking.
Carlos Correa struck out swinging. Nice job by Hill escaping the jam.
Dodgers go down quietly in bottom of second
Cody Bellinger struck out swinging. That’s three strikeouts for Justin Verlander.
Yasiel Puig popped to first.
Joc Pederson struck out looking.
Both pitchers are cruising right now.
Astros retired in order in top of second
Top of the second.
Yuli Gurriel hit the first pitch to left for the out.
Brian McCann struck out swinging.
Marwin Gonzalez struck out swinging.
Dodgers 0, Astros 0
Watch Vin Scully lead the crowd in ‘It’s time for Dodger baseball’
Justin Verlander retires Dodgers in order in first
Chris Taylor struck out swinging. Justin Verlander’s fastball is humming tonight. Approaching 100 mph.
Corey Seager struck out swinging.
Justin Turner flied to center. Easy inning for Verlander.
It’s all up to you, Fernando
Dee Gordon among the major leaguers making the rounds at Dodger Stadium
Former Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon, now with the Miami Marlins, is in attendance for Game 2 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium. As he did Tuesday before Game 1 and Monday during media day, he interviewed fellow players while working with the players association.
Also here are Miami right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, who won an award this afternoon, and Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole, who arrived hours before first pitch to greet former Pirates teammates Tony Watson and Charlie Morton on the field.
Watson is now a left-handed reliever for the Dodgers. Morton is a right-handed starter for the Astros. He will start Game 4 on Saturday at Minute Maid Park.
Cole is a Newport Beach native and a UCLA and Orange Lutheran High product. In 2017, he had the worst season of his five-year career, with a 4.26 earned-run average in 33 starts.
A year ago this month, Astros right-hander Joe Musgrove attended a postseason game at Dodger Stadium. He’s here now in the visiting bullpen.
Astros don’t score in top of first
Game 2. Dodgers vs. Astros. Rich Hill vs. Justin Verlander. Here we go.
George Springer walked. Rich Hill seems a bit amped up for his first World Series start.
Alex Bregman popped up a 3-and-1 pitch to the catcher.
Jose Altuve struck out swinging. Hill is effective erratic right now.
Carlos Correa flied to right.
Astros’ Jose Altuve honored with Hank Aaron Award as best offensive player in the American League
An hour before Wednesday’s first pitch of this World Series’ second game, Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve took a seat next to Hank Aaron in an underground conference room.
Altuve was receiving his first Hank Aaron Award, as the most outstanding offensive performer in the American League. Miami right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, a Los Angeles native, won the National League award and attended the news conference. Stanton also won the award in 2014, when Angels center fielder Mike Trout won the American League honor.
Major League Baseball created the award in 1999. The results are a combination of voting from fans and a panel of Hall of Famers convened by Aaron. The 83-year-old legend complimented both players’ performances and referenced Altuve’s 5-foot-6 frame in saying that he “stood tall” this season.
“There are not many players I’d pay to see, but I’d pay to see Altuve,” Aaron said.
Altuve led the major leagues with a .346 average and 204 hits this season. He has led the American League in hits for four consecutive seasons but has never finished in the top two of voting for most valuable player.
He’s almost certain to do so this year, and he’s likely to win the award outright. First comes the rest of this World Series, and before that, the Aaron Award.
“It’s really special,” Altuve said. “I really appreciate what Hank said about me.”
Vin Scully steals the show in pregame ceremony
The traditional first pitch at World Series games is usually quite the spectacle. The one before Game 2 was the best ever.
The public-address announcer told the crowd it was time for the first pitch, and Vin Scully walked out to a reception unlike any other. He mentioned Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges and Duke Snider and how they must be laughing their heads off watching him throw.
He asked for a catcher, and out walked 1981 World Series co-MVP Steve Yeager.
Scully went into his windup, then grabbed his arm: “I think I tore my rotator cuff. I need a left-hander to relieve me.”
The crowd started a chant of “Scully! Scully!” Out walked Fernando Valenzuela to another huge ovation. He threw out the first ball.
Scully then led the sellout crowd in saying, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”
There’s no way the game tops this.
Brad Paisley has a message for you
The Dodgers are ready to go
He might not be dressed to the nines, but with festive top hat he’s ready for Game 2
It felt, to Benjamin Rodriguez, like the makings of a once-in-a-lifetime sort of day. Here he was, 70 years old and feeling like a kid again at Dodger Stadium before Game 2 of the World Series.
The sweaty crowd bustled around him, jockeying for space in ungodly lines to buy World Series merchandise.
Standing to the side while his son-in-law braved the scrum to get a new hat and some shirts, Rodriguez wore a Dodger blue top hat.
Like Abraham Lincoln, he said. He’d always admired the 16th president and felt inspired to buy a top hat after seeing the movie “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”
It was the definition of bling, with a jeweled L.A. in front, a Dodgers patch on top, game pins on all sides and a string of tiny lights wrapped around it.
There were American and California flag patches on each side and, inside, a patch showing the flag of Mexico, where he was born.
“I’m a hat guy,” he said, laughing. He’s got Panama hats, some Stetsons. Another top hat, black, covered in pins. When he first got the top hats, he wasn’t immediately sure when he could wear them in public, but inspiration quickly struck.
“I thought, damn it, I’m going to make it a Dodgers hat!” said the retired carpenter and Whittier resident. At the stadium, everyone seems to want a photo with him.
Rodriguez — who also wore a jersey with a baseball patch that said “Fan Since 1958” — grew up near the stadium, on Baxter Street. He used to ride his bike to the top of the hill to watch the stadium being built at Chavez Ravine.
There were bulldozers and scurrying workers everywhere.
“It looked like an ant hill,” he said.
When the stadium opened, they would let kids in for free in the seventh inning. He went to a lot of games.
“Growing up and being this close, its part of my heritage,” he said of Dodger Stadium. “It’s my stomping grounds.”
He recently celebrated a birthday with his family.
“They asked me what I want for my birthday,” he said. “I told them I want a championship.”
Clayton Kershaw and family all smiles after Game 1
Astros depend on Marwin Gonzalez all over the field
The Dodgers have used Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez at a variety of positions this season, with Hernandez playing everywhere except pitcher and catcher while Taylor has started multiple games at five positions.
The Astros have their own super-utility player in Marwin Gonzalez, who has played all four infield positions and both corner outfield spots this season while hitting .303 with 23 home runs and 90 runs batted in.
“He’s carried us in a lot of different portions of the season, offensively and defensively,” said Houston manager A.J. Hinch, who called Gonzalez “the answer in one person.”
“If I wanted to give [Jose] Altuve a day off during the season, he can play second. Short for [Carlos] Correa, third for [Alex] Bregman, first for Yuli [Gurriel],” he continued. “It’s like having multiple players in one. And not just that he can do it, he can do it well.
“There’s not a lot of offensive slippage, there’s no defensive slippage and there’s no gap in performance. As a manager he’s a winning player.”
Clayton Kershaw meets Brad Paisley
This guy puts the -atic in fanatic
Rich Hill discusses why he came back to the Dodgers
Lance McCullers Jr. will start Game 3 for the Astros
Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch on Wednesday announced he will start Lance McCullers in Friday’s third game of the World Series.
McCullers will take the mound at Minute Maid Park, where he fired four scoreless innings to close out the the Astros’ Game 7 victory over the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. He threw 24 consecutive curveballs to finish that performance, and afterward excitedly proclaimed he proved he was back to being the dominant pitcher he had been before a mid-season injury.
The 24-year-old right-hander, signed with bonus money the Astros created by drafting Carlos Correa first overall in 2012, wields that sharp curveball and a 95-mph fastball.
Houston will start veteran right-hander Charlie Morton in the fourth game, scheduled for Saturday at Minute Maid Park. Morton threw the first five innings of the Astros’ Game 7 victory before giving way to McCullers.
“Those are two guys that we really believe in,” Hinch said. “The order is kind of what it is. It opens up Lance a little more in Game 6 and 7, if we can get that far, and if we don’t clinch before that or if they don’t clinch before that.”
Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander would start the fifth and sixth games of this series, if it gets there.
Fans tell what it would mean if the Dodgers won the World Series
Kenley Jansen does what his teammates say
Here’s the Game 2 starting lineup for the Astros
Here’s the Game 2 starting lineup for the Dodgers
How good was Kershaw in Game 1 of the World Series? Historically good.
Of the 21 outs recorded during Clayton Kershaw’s seven-inning gem of a World Series Game 1 on Tuesday, more than half came via strikeout.
The 11 strikeouts were the most by a Dodgers pitcher in the World Series since Don Drysdale fanned 11 batters in Game 4 of the 1965 Fall Classic.
Kershaw and Drysdale are tied with Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe for third all-time among Dodgers pitchers in terms of single-game strikeouts in a World Series game.
In pitching his gem, Kershaw became the first pitcher in World Series history to strike out 11 or more batters while yielding three or fewer hits without a walk.
Six of the 11 strikeouts caught the batter looking at a called third strike. In nine of the 11 strikeouts, the count was even or Kershaw was ahead of the batter.
What’s more, only two Houston batters were able to work an at-bat to full count against Kershaw. And eventually both Jose Altuve and George Springer struck out.
The showdown with Altuve came in the top of the fourth inning and after Alex Bregman had tied the game at 1-1 with a home run.
With the presumptive American League MVP looking to swing momentum back to the Astros, Kershaw threw the first pitch for a strike. He then missed with three consecutive pitches.
Down 3-1 in the count, Kershaw came back with a low slider that was fouled off for a strike and another that froze Altuve.
Kershaw went on to strike out the side, and didn’t allow another baserunner until Altuve singled in the top of the seventh.
As good as Kershaw was, he has a ways to go to equal Koufax’s performance in the World Series.
Koufax has struck out eight or more batters in a World Series game five times. And another thing about his 10 strikeouts in Game 5 of the 1965 series?
Three days later in Game 7, Koufax struck out 10 batters again.
This bullpen run can’t last forever for Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw delivered more than a victory with his dominant seven-inning performance Tuesday night in the opening game of the World Series. He also positioned the Dodgers to claim Game 2.
Much has been made of the Dodgers bullpen, and rightly so. The team’s relievers haven’t allowed a single run in 25 combined innings this postseason.
I hate to break it to you, but this can’t last forever. It can’t.
If the relievers are asked to cover three or four innings every single night, they will eventually give up a run.
And that’s why it was important for Kershaw to pitch as many innings as he did in Game 1. Kenta Maeda, Tony Cingrani and Tony Watson didn’t have to pitch.
Closer Kenley Jansen pitched only one inning. The only other reliever the team used was Brandon Morrow, who pitched the eighth inning.
This should come in handy Wednesday, with the Dodgers scheduled to take on Justin Verlander, the Astros workhorse who is 4-0 with a 1.46 earned-run average this postseason. Verlander started twice in the American League Championship Series, pitching in a complete game in his first game and seven innings in his second.
Dodgers starter Rich Hill’s two starts this postseason lasted a combined nine innings, meaning it’s very likely the bullpen will have to account for four or five innings in Game 2. If that’s the case, they will at least be well-rested.
By the way, in case you’re wondering, yes, I’m sticking with my prediction of Astros in five games. It’s still possible, you know.
Except for Verlander on the mound, Houston returns with same lineup for Game 2
Dodgers start Pederson, Utley in Game 2 of the World Series
Clayton Kershaw is glad to have Sandy Koufax in his corner
Only one pitcher in Los Angeles Dodgers history has struck out more batters in a World Series game than Clayton Kershaw, who fanned 11 in Tuesday’s Game 1 win over the Houston Astros. And after the game that other pitcher, Sandy Koufax, was among the first to congratulate Kershaw, meeting him with a handshake in a tunnel behind the Dodger dugout.
“He’s in our corner. He’s rooting for us,” said Kershaw, who has built a warm relationship with the usually aloof Koufax. “He’s a special guy. Not too many guys can have that pedigree and be the kind of man he is.
“I’m thankful that I’ve gotten to hang out with him.”
Koufax struck out 15 New York Yankees in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series.
Kershaw isn’t the only Dodgers player Koufax has helped prepare for the pressure and spotlight of baseball’s biggest stage.
“Sandy told me 162 [games] is work. Once you get to the playoffs, it’s fun,” said third baseman Justin Turner, who homered in Game 1. “I thought that was a pretty cool way to look at it, and I agree with him 100%.
“During the regular season, it’s work, it’s a grind. Once you get onto these stages it’s fun. And just to be in the moment and soak it in and take a step back and look around and see almost 60,000 people in Dodger Stadium on their feet going crazy, it’s pretty special.”
Dave Roberts discusses the World Series lineup
Dodgers vs. Astros Game 2: A look at the pitching matchup between Rich Hill and Justin Verlander
Hill, regular season: 12-8, 3.32 ERA
Hill, playoffs: 0-0, 3.00 ERA
A left-hander, Hill gets by on guile more than stuff, which includes a low-90s fastball, a tremendous curve and not much else. He is known for being animated on the mound, often talking to himself. He made 25 starts this season, his most since 2007, and held opponents to a .203 batting average. Two years ago, he was pitching for the Long Island Ducks in the independent Atlantic League and last winter he spurned the Astros, among others, to re-sign with the Dodgers.
Hill on playoff pitching: “It’s about attacking and staying convicted in your approach. You get to this point and it’s not about changing your game plan or doing something different. You’ve done your homework, you’ve prepared throughout the entire season to get to this point.”
Cubs manager Joe Maddon on Hill: “Two pitches, but he does different things in regards to changing speeds.”
Verlander, regular season: 15-8, 3.36 ERA*
Verlander, playoffs: 4-0, 1.46 ERA
Bill Plaschke looks ahead to Game 2
Dodgers’ ‘gamesmanship’ before start of World Series strikes sour note with Astros
Could be the Dodgers’ strategy worked.
The Houston Astros, statistically the best hitting team in Major League Baseball this season, managed only three hits in a 3-1 loss in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.
Was it Clayton Kershaw, Brandon Morrow and Kenley Jansen’s prowess, or were they lulled into a slump?
When the Astros took the field for batting practice during Monday’s workout at Dodger Stadium, the sound system played cheesy soft rock from artists such as Toto, Ambrosia and the Little River Band.
No harm, no foul on the selection, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said before the game. He was more offended that the Dodgers kept his team waiting beyond the scheduled starting time of the workout.
Here’s how our Dodgers coverage looks in print
Corey Seager doesn’t miss a beat in return to Dodgers
In 2014, that bygone era when Kyle was the best known of all the Seagers, his kid brother Corey played for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Corey had been honored with a spot in the Futures Game, and the Dodgers granted him permission to stick around to watch Kyle play in the All-Star game.
The time has come for Kyle to return the favor. Corey is by far America’s favorite Seager these days, as Kyle cheekily acknowledged by choosing “Corey’s Brother” when players got to pick a nickname to wear on their jerseys this season.
Kyle plays for the Seattle Mariners, a team that never has appeared in the World Series. When the series moves to Houston this weekend, Kyle plans to be in attendance to cheer on Corey in his first World Series.
“He’s super excited,” Corey Seager said. “I’m excited too. It’s the first time he’s ever seen me play professionally.”
The kid brother did the family proud Tuesday. In his World Series debut, Seager had two hits in three at-bats, helping the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Astros.
Tim Leary analysis: You can’t get beat by a homer like Astros ace Keuchel did in Dodgers’ Game 1 win
Tim Leary had a career year in 1988, going 17-11 with a 2.91 ERA to help the Dodgers win the World Series. The No. 2 starter behind Orel Hershiser in the regular season, Leary moved to the bullpen in the World Series, allowing one run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings of two games against the Oakland Athletics.
Now 55 and living in his hometown of Santa Monica, Leary is serving as a guest analyst for the World Series with an assist from Times staff writer Mike DiGiovanna.
DiGiovanna: Justin Turner didn’t exactly crush Dallas Keuchel’s 87-mph, up-and-in cut fastball for his tie-breaking homer in the sixth. The ball traveled only 371 feet to left field. According to Inside Edge, it was the first “up-and-in” pitch Turner hit for a homer this season. What do you think, good pitch or a mistake?
Leary: Keuchel had already “established inside” with a 1-and-0 cutter that Turner swung through and missed. After that, he should have just stayed away, away, away and preferably low, as a left-handed hitter [Cody Bellinger] was on deck.
Justin Turner strikes gold again
In this world, in Justin Turner’s world, the pumpkin is still a carriage, the mice are still horses and the rags are still a jeweled gown.
The clock never struck midnight on Turner and it never will.
The former nonroster player with the majestic red mane is now an October legend, the 32-year-old late bloomer’s postseason for the ages continuing with a two-run home run that broke a sixth-inning stalemate and vaulted the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in the opening game of the World Series.
Turner redirected an up-and-in cutter by Dallas Keuchel into the left-field pavilion, providing a new generation of Angelenos with another memory for which they waited their entire lives.
Nine days earlier, he floated around the bases at Dodger Stadium after he rifled a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs. Tuesday night, he soared again, taking in the roar of the crowd as he circled the infield.
Animal, the red-haired character from the Muppets, appeared on the stadium’s video scoreboard and chanted, “Jus-tin! Jus-tin!” The 54,000-plus fans in attendance chanted with him.
“Loud, it was loud,” Turner said. “That was probably just as loud as it was on the walk-off homer. This place was the most electric I’ve ever seen it, which it should be, the first World Series here in 29 years.”
Dodgers are red hot and rolling through postseason
Well, wow, that was hot.
In their first World Series game in 29 years Tuesday night, the Dodgers put the Houston Astros through various stages of blistering in a 3-1 victory at overheated Dodger Stadium.
In the beginning, it was simply hot, the hottest game in World Series history, 103 degrees at first pitch, fans baking, jerseys darkening, Dodgers smiling.
“It’s like July or August out here,” said the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger, rubbing his sweaty forehead. “Just the way we like it.”
Then it became heater hot, Clayton Kershaw winging it with arguably the best game of his storied Dodger career, striking out 11 while twisting the vaunted Astros hitters into Texas-sized knots.
“That, to me, was his masterpiece,” Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy said.
Then, finally, it was literally red hot, with Justin Turner doing it again, the Dodgers’ auburn-maned muppet hitting a two-run, tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning. It was his second game-deciding blast in consecutive home playoff games, and the memories of Kirk Gibson grow with each flourish.
“The home runs, all those hits, it’s hard to explain,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But he’s that guy that you want in big spots, and he doesn’t scare off.”
With 11 strikeouts, Kershaw nears career high
With 11 strikeouts in Game 1 of the World Series, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had complete command of the strike zone against Houston.
In doing so, the Dodgers left-hander approached his career high of 15 strikeouts in a game — something he’s done twice.
In addition to Game 1 on Tuesday, Kershaw has struck out 11 batters in two previous postseason games: against the Mets in the 2015 NLDS and against the Nationals in the 2016 NLDS.
Clayton Kershaw dominates Astros in Dodgers’ Game 1 win
Inside the Dodgers dugout, watching his teammates bat in the seventh inning on Tuesday evening, Clayton Kershaw felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to accept a hug from Justin Turner, the ginger-bearded third baseman. Turner came to congratulate Kershaw after striking out 11 Astros in seven innings in what might have been the finest postseason start of his career during a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the World Series.
Kershaw numbed the bats of the high-powered Astros. He gave up only three hits, one a solo home run in the fourth inning. He survived a scare in the seventh. He struck out 10 batters or more for the fifth time in his postseason career.
None occurred on a stage larger than this, the first Fall Classic played in Los Angeles since 1988. Kershaw outlasted a game opposing pitcher in Houston ace Dallas Keuchel. He could thank Turner for the help.
A pair of home runs from Chris Taylor and Turner sank Keuchel. Taylor homered on Keuchel’s first pitch of the game. Turner launched a two-run homer in the sixth inning to break a deadlock. On a day of record-setting temperatures, Turner ignited a crowd of 54,253 at Dodger Stadium with his blast.
Dodgers win Game 1, 3-1
Top of the ninth. Kenley Jansen pitching.
George Springer struck out looking. Tough night for Springer, 0 for 4 with four strikeouts.
Alex Bregman flied to center on a full-count pitch.
Jose Altuve flied to right.
Dodgers win, 3-1.
Dodgers held scoreless in eighth, top of ninth coming up
Bottom of the eighth. Chris Devenski pitching.
Charlie Culberson, batting for Morrow, struck out swinging at a pitch way out of the zone.
Chris Taylor hit a drive to center, but George Springer ran it down for the out. Nice play.
Justin Turner struck out swinging. Quick inning.
Connecting the Cal State Fullerton dots in the World Series
Justin Turner’s home run in the sixth inning was the second World Series homer by a Cal State Fullerton product and both came in games involved the Houston Astros – significant since Houston is playing in just its second World Series.
Mike Lamb, who played at Fullerton from 1995-97, homered against the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 Fall Classic. But that’s not the only thing Turner and Lamb share: both also played on NCAA championship teams with the Titans, Lamb in 1995 and Turner in 2004.
Turner also homered in the College World Series in 2003, when the Titans fell in the semifinals.
Dodgers need three more outs to win Game 1
Top of the eighth. Brandon Morrow pitching.
Marwin Gonzalez popped to shallow left. Hernandez ran a long way to make the catch.
Josh “Big Baby” Reddick fouled out to deep left.
Carlos Beltran, batting for Brad Peacock, grounded to first.
Dodgers are three outs away from winning Game 1.
Justin Turner’s home run eases the tension for these fans
The second the ball left Justin Turner’s bat, Onyi Chima left the ground.
The 28-year-old county employee and life long Dodger fan lept as high as he could and spun in circles, searching for hands to high-five.
The entire bar had been tense after the Astros tied the game, booing very close strike against the Dodgers, booing every close ball for the Astros and groaning at each of the three double plays the visitors were able to turn against the home team.
Then Turner sent the ball into the night.
“I did not see that coming,” Chima said. “I mean I love me some Justin Turner but I wasn’t ready for that.”
Chima was born in 1989 and so far his biggest Dodger memories involve playoff loses to the Phillies and Cardinals and bad trades.
“I was a year late,” he said, in reference to missing the last Dodger World Series.
He aches to see them go all the way.
This year he thinks they have the magic. He trusts the starters, he has faith in the hitters and the bullpen comforts him.
“I got us in six,” he said. “Shut it down!”
Dodgers lead 3-1 after seven
Bottom of the seventh.
Yasiel Puig bounced to the pitcher.
Enrique Hernandez grounded to short.
Corey Seager singled to center.
Still 3-1 Dodgers. Brandon Morrow will pitch the eighth.
And that’s it for Dallas Keuchel. Brad Peacock now pitching.
Logan Forsythe walked on five pitches. First and second, two out.
Austin Barnes flied to center.
A lifelong dream is realized for this couple
Sam and Bonnie Kane wore matching Dodgers-themed Hawaiian shirts, Dodgers face paint, blue beads and crazy blue wigs on their head.
The married couple from Woodland Hills have waited oh-so-long to be here, at the World Series, rooting for the team that has their heart.
Sam, 69, grew up in Boyle Heights and, along with his buddies, used to walk or hitchhike to both the Coliseum and the new Dodger Stadium to catch games.
Back then, he said, the team let kids in for free around the seventh inning. He was a poor Jewish kid, but he relished the long summer days at the stadium.
“My daughter told me, ‘Dad, you said you were in the poor house! How did you get in the stadium? That’s how.’”
He’d also get in as part of a Boyle Heights boys’ variety club and with groups of kids from the Eastside Community Jewish Center. Any way he could get into the stadium, he would go for it, even if it meant sitting in the worst seats in the house.
Back then, he said, Bell Brand Potato Chips would sponsor the Jewish Center kids and pay for their tickets.
“They took care of us poverty boys,” he said.
He’d linger around after games, waiting for autographs. Sandy Koufax would stay until every kid had a signature, he said. He still has an autographed black-and-white postcard from him.
Now, he and Bonnie have been season-ticket holders for a decade. They just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at the stadium and made it onto the Jumbotron.
Sam, like so many people, couldn’t believe he was at the World Series.
“I’m a complete person now,” he said. “I had this on my bucket list. The only other thing I want now is for them to sprinkle my ashes at Dodger Stadium when I die.”
On Tuesday, he wore a brace over his right hand. He said he had hurt it giving too many high-fives at Dodgers games.
Watch Justin Turner’s two-run homer
They’re two cool customers and not worried about a close game
Shaun Koplow, 33, and Natchez Fowler, 27, leaned back on the patio of The Down and Out bar In downtown Los Angeles and took drags of their cigarettes. The score was tied, 1-1, after Alex Bergman hit a home run off Clayton Kershaw.
“I’m not scared,” Koplow said.
“Yea, I’m not scared,” Fowler responded. “We just need to get to their bullpen and we will be fine.”
Koplow, who runs the record label Anticon around the block, has fuzzy memories of the 1988 World Series. Fowler, a court reporter, has none. Both are new to the stress of the hometown team in the World Series.
The Los Angeles they grew up in revolves around Kobe and Shaq, not the Fall Classic. Both were denizens of Staples Center.
But they have slowly morphed into Dodgers fanatics.
“This year, this team has been so much different than last year,” Fowler said.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch is concerned about pitch sequencing
Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch summarized this World Series succinctly this afternoon.
Asked if he considered how the Dodgers would formulate their roster while finalizing his, he said he already knew what possibilities laid in front of them. Besides, Hinch, said, those roster decisions concerned the last spots on each team, not the most impactful positions. Pitch sequencing would be more important.
“This is going to be about our ability to spin some breaking balls for strikes, and put them away when we get ahead of them,” Hinch said. “And, their ability to throw high fastballs against our fastball hitters. We know that going in. We’ve got seven games to figure it out.”
Astros starter Dallas Keuchel just proved unable to put away the Dodgers’ Justin Turner with two outs and two strikes in the sixth. He fired a cutter atop the strike zone, and Turner timed it right and followed the pitch up high. He pulled a two-run home run to left to break these teams’ 1-1 tie.
Six innings into this series, that’s one indication which way it might go.
Kershaw has thrown seven dominant innings as Dodgers lead, 3-1
Top of the seventh. But don’t tell Kershaw that. He has a 25.50 ERA in the seventh inning of games he starts in the postseason.
Jose Altuve singles to left.
Carlos Correa grounded to third, Altuve forced at second. The ball was hit alowly, so no chance to get Altuve at first.
Yuli Gurriel grounded to short, forcing Correa. The ball sort of rolled out of Seager’s glove to Forsythe, ending any chance of a double play. No error because you can’t assume a double play.
Brian McCann flied to center.
They’re drinking in the World Series atmosphere with other Dodgers fans
Jonathan Arangoa sat 10 feet in front of the ceiling-high projector screen Tuesday at The Down and Out bar in downtown Los Angeles waiting for the World Series to start.
Arangoa, a native Angeleno who now lives in Phoenix, flew in just to watch Game 1 in the heart of Dodger Nation. He sat clad in his brand new World Series lid, with a Blue Moon and a Dodger Dog before him. He been there since 11:30 a.m.
“I wasn’t even born in 1988, I was born in 1991,” he said. “I’ve never seen this. I wanted to be around my fellow Dodger fans, the ones who bleed blue.”
He was born in Los Angeles but moved when he was 5, so his earliest memories of the Dodgers are fuzzy — games he’d see when he visited L.A. and eventually when they’d see games in Phoenix.
The memories since then have been bittersweet: losing the NL Championship Series in five games to the Phillies in 2008 and their playoff woes the last few years.
This year has felt different for Arangoa, watching the Dodgers and Diamondbacks battle all year and into the postseason.
“Seeing them beat the D-Backs at home was so awesome,” he said. “Just enjoying the sorrow, the pain.”
The 26-year-old auto body shop worker sat with his cousin Jose, giddy at the possibilities the next few games hold.
“These guys are a brotherhood, a real team of hard workers,” he said. “It’s dope the way they work up the pitch count every at-bat.”
Kevin and Karla Torres, 38 and 36, sat a row behind the cousins, nursing Modelos.
“Not many of us remember,” Kevin Torres said.
The couple from Commerce were just kids when the Dodgers were last in the World Series. They both became fans thanks in large part to Fernando Valenzuela.
His celebrity made games a family event for many Latinos and both have fond memories of going to games when they were kids. Karla, now a manager for a food services company, vividly remembers once going to the game with her dad and two sisters one Father’s Day. Now it’s a family tradition.
Kevin, who works in the information technology field, is happy the Dodgers are back in the Fall Classic. His parents and grandparents still can’t stop talking about the 1981 or 1988 championships.
He wants to make memories of his own this fall.
“It’s awesome for the younger generation,” he said. “The Dodgers are back where they are supposed to be.”
Clayton Kershaw joins some elite company
Justin Turner gives Dodgers a 3-1 lead after two-run homer in sixth
Bottom of the sixth.
Austin Barnes grounded to short.
Clayton Kershaw bounced to short.
Chris Taylor walked.
I have to say that the Fox broadcast crew of Joe Buck and John Smoltz have been preety neutral as far as favoritism goes.
Justin Turner HOMERS TO LEFT! 3-1 Dodgers.
World Series brings fond memories of late father for this Dodgers fan
Ronnie Medina held up a sign with the World Series logo, the Dodgers logo and the words “I Am Here.”
Medina, 49, still couldn’t believe it, even as he stood in the stadium, surrounded by sweaty, excited Dodgers fans.
He was a kid who skipped school, hopped on a city bus and attended the parade for the 1981 World Series-winning Dodgers. And now he was here, in person, soaking it in.
The Dodgers will always remind Medina of his late father.
“I don’t have my dad anymore, but I feel like this is my connection to him,” he said.
His dad worked for a gas company downtown. When Medina reached 5th grade, he got to make his way to the stadium alone. His dad would meet him around the 7th inning, after he got off work.
His dad would delight in Medina’s knowing all the box scores, all the stats, all the players.
His dad had taken him to his first game at Dodger Stadium when he was about 3. He still has the ticket stub.
In fact, when he turned 12, his dad gave him a cigar box stuffed with all the ticket stubs of all the games they attended. He cherishes it.
“It was like being with my best friend,” he said. “He took a lot of pleasure out of my interest. Every special moment at Dodger Stadium, it brings back all the special people I shared it with.”
Medina, who lives in Bellflower, is a retired Marine who served overseas in the Gulf War and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While he was abroad, he’d reach out to the Armed Forces Network and get ahold of VCR tales of Dodger games. He’d watch on a tiny black and white TV, but Vin Scully’s voice was unmistakable.
Sitting at the World Series on Tuesday, he knew he’d start crying at some point.
Fans cheer Dodgers on during Game 1
Game 1 favors the Dodgers once the bullpens get involved
If this game – pitching duel between Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel currently tied 1-1 in the sixth inning – is decided by the bullpens, the advantage will swing to the Dodgers in a big way.
The Dodgers have had the best relief corps in the playoffs, going 3-0 with 0.94 ERA in 28.2 innings. Houston is 1-2 with a 5.03 ERA in 34 innings.
The difference was nearly as wide in the regular season, too, with the Dodger bullpen going 32-19 with a 3.38 ERA in 559 2/3 innings; Houston was 30-22 with a 4.27 ERA in 546 1/3 innings.
Clayton Kershaw remains in control of Astros
Top of the sixth.
Dallas Keuchel struck out looking. Ten strikeouts for Kershaw.
George Springer struck out swinging. Third time he has struck out, and 11 strikeouts for Kershaw.
Alex Bregman grounded to short.
This fan has the Dodgers covered
Alberto Valenzuela, a fourth-grade teacher from Huntington Park, has got quite a helmet on his head at the World Series.
The plastic child’s helmet is covered in glued-on Dodgers player photos, a Vin Scully picture, a Dodger Blue toy car, a tiny banner, figurine of former Dodger Ishmael Valdez. A photo of Kirk Gibson, of course, is also attached.
Valenzuela made the helmet over a decade ago. He wears it to all the games he goes to.
“Everyone says, ‘Why don’t you make a new one?’” he said. “I tell them, I will when they win the World Series.”
He already bought his new helmet. He figures he’ll be getting crafty soon because he’s so confident in his team.
Valenzuela grew up a Dodgers fan. He was so proud to share a name with Fernando Valenzuela.
“People would say, ‘Oh, he’s your cousin!’ I’d say, ‘Yeah.’ And I’d play along.”
Tuesday was his first World Series game.
“After 29 years,” he said, “It feels awesome. I bleed Dodger Blue. Just like Tommy Lasorda.”
Dodgers, Astros tied 1-1 after five innings
Bottom of the fifth.
Enrique Hernandez struck out swinging.
Corey Seager singled to center.
Logan Forsythe grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. That’s three double plays turned by the Astros in Game 1.
Dodgers 1, Astros 1
Astros are retired in order in top of fifth
Top of the fifth.
Brian McCann grounded into the shift, second to first.
Marwin Gonzalez grounded to third.
Josh “Big Baby” Reddick struck out looking. The Big Baby complained afterward.
Behind the scenes on Jose Altuve’s strikeout
After Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman led off the fourth inning with a solo shot to left off of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw to tie the score, 1-1, plate umpire Phil Cuzzi called Jose Altuve out on strikes.
Altuve had started his walk to first base after a 3-and-2 pitch he thought missed, but Cuzzi called him back. The Houston second baseman then demonstrated to Cuzzi that the first pitch of his at-bat was high and the last pitch low.
MLB’s PITCHf/x technology judged the first pitch a strike, at the top of the zone, and the last pitch a ball below the zone. Because he is baseball’s smallest player at a listed 5-6, Altuve’s zone is notoriously difficult to discern.
Through four innings, Kershaw has eight strikeouts, four of them looking.
Dodgers don’t score in bottom of fourth
Bottom of the fourth.
Justin Turner fouled to first.
Cody Bellinger grounded to first.
Yasiel Puig grounded to short.
After that great start, the Dodger Stadium crowd has grown much quieter.
Two Dodgers fans with deep connections to the team
Robert Medina pulled off his blue Dodgers cap to show the scar running along his scalp.
A few years ago, the 39-year-old oilfield driller had an aneurysm at work. It felt like he got shot in the head, but he was so worried he’d be demoted that he waited a week to go to the doctor, who told him he should be dead.
But that was then. On Tuesday, Medina was at the Game 1 of the World Series in his Clayton Kershaw jersey, living one of the best days of his life.
“This is my dream,” he said. “I told my wife, ‘I want to do this before I die.’”
He was standing on Stadium Way six hours before the game started, among the first people lined up for the game.
Just to get the full experience of traveling with fans to the game, he drove from his home in Bakersfield and hopped on a train in North Hollywood; the passengers chanted, “Go, Dodgers!” Someone saw his jersey, heard he was going to the game and grabbed his arm.
“I just want to touch you right now,” the man told him.
He caught a ride at Union Station with a stadium worker.
Medina stood outside the stadium, before fans were allowed in, with 70-year-old Norman Davis of Chino Hills, and the men got to talking.
“I felt like, all these games, all these years, why do I get so emotionally invested in it?” Medina said. “Why do I invest so much time and so much money into it? This is why.”
It was Medina’s first World Series game. Davis had been to the Series in 1965 and 1988.
“I couldn’t wait another almost 30 years for this,” Davis said of the Dodgers’ World Series drought. “I’ll be in somebody’s Dustbuster.”
Davis said his cousin was former Dodgers Tommy Davis, a two-time National League batting champion who played for the team in the late 1950s and the 1960s.
Norman Davis said he’s remained a Dodgers fan for so long because of its history. As a black man, he said, he cherishes that his team had Jackie Robinson.
“It’s the history of the Dodgers,” he said. “Since they let in the first black player in the league.”
Robinson, he said, called his cousin when he was about to sign with the Yankees and told him to join the Dodgers instead. So he did.
Norman Davis keeps a photo of himself by Robinson’s new statue outside Dodger Stadium on his phone. He was there for its dedication.
He hopes to eventually see more black players in the game he loves so much. He’s confident he will.
Like so many fans, he sported his new World Series gear on Tuesday. It was 103 degrees, but he wore a sweatshirt with the Series logo on it. It was worth it, he said.
That’s a lot of home runs
The fourth-inning home run by Alex Bregman was the seventh Clayton Kershaw has allowed in 21+ postseason innings. In 2016, he gave up just 8 in 149 regular-season innings.
Not too surprisingly, Josh Reddick gets loudly booed; here’s why
Fifty feet from home plate, Jose Altuve’s bat hit ground. The baseball touched down 314 feet farther, in the third row of right-field seats. He had swung hard, and he had not let go. The smallest man on the field carried his weapon until he was certain that his home run was a home run, that his Houston Astros had a two-run lead in the fifth inning, that their season was a step closer to lasting at least another week.
Then, he flipped it. He flipped it with so much joy, and a bit of vengeance.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Altuve said. “I was just running. But that bat flip was for my team. I love my team.”
Buoyed by their star and two standout pitching performances, the Astros shut out the New York Yankees, 4-0, on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park, surviving a hardscrabble American League Championship Series and securing their spot in the 2017 World Series.
Several Astros said Altuve’s celebration was meant as a response to Yankee reliever Tommy Kahnle‘s fist pumps as he walked off the mound earlier in this series.
“He got beat, and he showed him up a little bit,” said right fielder Josh Reddick, a trade-deadline acquisition by the Dodgers last season. “There’s nothing wrong with that. We felt like he was showing us up over there at Yankee Stadium.”
Alex Bregman homers to tie the score, 1-1, in top of fourth
Top of fourth.
Alex Bregman homered to left to tie the score.
Jose Altuve struck out looking and complained to the ump about the call.
Carlos Correa struck out looking. Seven strikeouts for Kershaw.
Yuli Gurriel struck out swinging.
Dodgers have 1-0 lead after three innings
Bottom of the third.
Austin Barnes singled to left. The leadoff man has been on every inning for the Dodgers so far.
Clayton Kershaw sacrificed, Barnes takes second. Perfect bunt for Dodgers.
Chris Taylor, he of the first-inning homer, lined to short. Jose Altuve double Barnes off of second.
Still 1-0 Dodgers.
Astros go down quietly in top of third
Top of the third.
Marwin Gonzalez struck out looking on a nasty curveball.
Josh Reddick gets booed heavily as he comes to the plate. He said before Game 1 that he is looking forward the beating the Dodgers because Dodger fans booed him last season.
Reddick singled to right.
Dallas Keuchel (AL teams don’t get to use the DH in NL home game) struck out trying to bunt.
George Springer struck out swinging.
Kershaw has five strikeouts through three innings.
Dallas Keuchel on pitching in the heat with his long beard: ‘I like to sweat’
Houston starter Dallas Keuchel was asked Monday if he thought of trimming his long, red woodsman-style beard as a concession to the high temperatures.
“It’s that dry heat,” he answered. “So it’s going to be hotter than normal. But at the same time, I like to sweat.
“I mean it’s the World Series. So if it’s a little bit hotter than usual, that’s fine with me. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
The first-pitch homer Keuchel surrendered to Dodger center fielder Chris Taylor was the fourth leadoff homer in Game 1 in World Series history.
The previous Game 1 leadoff homer was hit by Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar off the Mets’ Matt Harvey in 2015.
Watch Chris Taylor’s first-inning home run
Dodgers lead, 1-0, after two innings
Bottom of the second.
Enrique Hernandez singled sharply to left. He is locked in right now.
Corey Seager grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
Logan Forsythe flied to center.
1-0 Dodgers.
Astros still scoreless after top of second
Top of the second.
Carlos Correa flied to center on the first pitch.
Yuli Gurriel struck out looking.
Brian McCann grounded into the shift, second to first.
Kershaw has made only 19 pitches.
Fans light up after Taylor’s homer
Heat doesn’t concern Dave Roberts
It was 103 for Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch in Tuesday’s World Series opener. That’s degrees, not miles per hour, making it the hottest World Series game ever.
But manager Dave Roberts said before the Series that warm weather would not be a problem for Kershaw not for his team, which plays in the Southern California heat all summer while the Astros play their home games beneath a retractable roof.
“In Los Angeles I think that our estimation of hot is still relative to being in Southern California by the coast,” he said. “The guy taking the baseball for us, I don’t think that he’s concerned about a little spike in heat, so we feel good.”
Chris Taylor homers to deep left to give Dodgers a 1-0 lead
Bottom of the first.
Chris Taylor homered to DEEP left, 1-0 Dodgers. The Dodger Stadium crowd is electric.
Justin Turner struck out swinging.
Cody Bellinger grounded to second.
Yasiel Puig grounded to short.
Watch the World Series flyover
Astros retired in order in top of the first
World Series Game 1. Clayton Kershaw vs. Dallas Keuchel. First World Series at Dodger Stadium since 1988. Temperature in 103 at game time, so the ball should fly.
Here we go.
George Springer struck out swinging.
Alex Bregman flied to left.
Jose Altuve grounded to short.
Vin Scully is in the house!
It’s time for Dodger baseball
Dylan Hernandez predicts Astros in five
Sunset Blvd. is a parking lot
Kenley Jansen talks to Don Newcombe
Bill Plaschke’s prediction: Dodgers in five
The temperature feels like it’s 120 degrees here at Dodger Stadium, but the Dodgers are even hotter.
While Houston Astros have gone through both the legendary Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to advance to this World Series, they won’t be able to scale Dodger history.
The Dodgers will win this series in five games, and it might not even feel that close.
The Astros baseball-best offense will be no match for the Dodgers deep starting pitching and historically good bullpen. The Dodgers offense will wear out the Astros pitching like it wore out the staffs of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs.
Clayton Kershaw has waited a lifetime for this moment, he’s not going to blow it tonight in Game 1. The other three Dodger starters have been as good as anybody the Astros have faced in this postseason.
Then once those starters get through six innings, they can confidently give the ball to a bullpen that is on a 23-inning scoreless streak and actually held the Chicago Cubs hitless in one 29 at-bat stretch in the National League Championship Series. Kenley Jansen took less money to return to the Dodgers for this, he and his fellow relievers are not going to suddenly be intimidated on this stage.
The Dodgers offense will make the two front-line, Cy-Young winning Astros starters work like they’ve never worked this October. Opposing pitchers have thrown more than 50 more pitches per game than the Dodgers, whose offense will be relentlessly patient and picky.
And once they get to the Astros bullpen, well, who is going get Houston it’s final six outs? Can their inconsistent bullpen count on anyone?
Dodgers in five, and it starts tonight.
Justin Verlander reveals his approach for batting in the postseason
Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch excitedly relayed to reporters Tuesday that Justin Verlander had knocked a home run during the team’s Monday batting-practice session. Verlander did not feel the same way about the prospect of hitting during his start in Game 2 of the World Series, Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
“Hitting, it’s fun during the regular season,” Verlander said. “You kind of get to break up the monotony a little bit. We have fun with it. But the World Series is a different animal. You can change the outcome of the game whether you get a bunt down or whether you can squeak out a hit.”
Because of that, Verlander said, the Astros’ pitchers were at a “pretty severe disadvantage” as compared to the Dodgers’, who hit in most of their starts this year. He said he was therefore going to take a steadfastly simple approach to his Wednesday opportunities.
“I’m not going to try to get a home run,” Verlander said. “I hope I’m 0-for-0 with four sac bunts. That’s the ideal plan. But I guess when you’re up there, if the situation calls for it, you try to do the best you can.”
Verlander produced one single in six plate appearances this season. In 53 career plate appearances, he has singled four times, never walked, and never managed an extra-base hit.
From Kershaw to Seager, these fans have their favorite Dodger
Fans waiting for Game 1 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Houston Astros answer the question, “Who’s your favorite Dodger?”
Will these two (one an Astros fan, one a Dodgers fan) remain friends?
Armando Morales had more of a rooting interest than most in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. If the Astros won his friend, Gilbert Valenzuela, a die-hard Astro fan, promised to buy two tickets to Tuesday’s opening game of the World Series, paying off a bet the two men made during the all-star break.
It turned out to be a costly bet for Valenzuela, who paid $1,800 for two seats on the reserved level, high above the right-field line.
“He was supposed to pay for parking. But he’s too cheap,” Valenzuela, who drove over from Las Vegas, complained with a nod toward his friend.
“I’m here for free,” said Morales, 40, of Rancho Cucamonga.
Morales was wearing a crisp white Fernando Valenzuela jersey while Valenzuela was wearing a throwback Jeff Bagwell Astro jersey. The two promised to remain civil and shake hands, no matter how the game goes.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Morales said. “Cause the Dodgers are going to win.”
A couple of sections over, Daryl Wade was part of a group of 125 Astro employees who were guests of the team at Tuesday’s game. The entire group was decked out in Astro orange, making the section look like a pumpkin patch.
“There’s a whole other group coming tomorrow,” said Wade, who runs the Astros’ youth academy.
Jackie Robinson’s family will throw out first pitch tonight
The heat doesn’t stop these Dodger fans
It was more than four hours before Game 1 of the World Series, 103 degrees, and there they stood, lining up already at the corner of Stadium Way and Vin Scully Avenue.
They are the diehards. The people who love the Dodgers. And even the people who just love baseball, that slow-moving game they grew up with and hope their kids cherish, too.
Gaby Baez, a longshoreman from Torrance, stood with her 26-year-old son, Edward LaFouge, and her 12-year-old nephew, Ricky Martinez. They were sweating in the morning heat but said they didn’t mind, especially when it came to seeing history.
“This is nothing! I live in Las Vegas!” said LaFouge, a kinesiology student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who flew in this morning to catch the game.
“In other states, it’s cold and raining,” Baez said. “I guess this is what we pay for, to live in California. I’d rather be hot than cold.”
All three wore brand-new World Series t-shirts. Baez wiped the tears of joy out of her eyes and went and bought them as soon as the Dodgers clinched the National League Division Series in Chicago last week.
Baez has been bringing both boys to the stadium since they were toddlers. She grew up in L.A. and came to games as a kid.
“They’re just — the Dodgers,” she said, trying to find the words for why she loves them so. “We’ve been through a lot of disappointments together.”
She loves that the experience of going to the ballgame and the stadium itself are so much the same as in her youth. The biggest difference, she said, is the security, the feeling like you’re going through the airport, walking through metal detectors and having your bags checked.
LaFouge, who’s studying to be an athletic trainer, said he’s waited 26 years — his whole life — for this game. He watched some of the Astros and Yankees games with a fraternity brother who lives in New York. If the Yankees had won, they wouldn’t have talked to each other for a week, he said, laughing.
Martinez, a 7th grader, got to skip class today.
“Today’s a holiday!” Baez said. “I told him no school today.”
He just grinned. He was very happy.
Danny Rochester, 31, of Rochester, N.Y., stood next to them, in a Rochester Red Wings Minor League jersey.
Asked why he was attending the game, he said, “Baseball. I’ve always wanted to go to a World Series game.”
He loves everything about the game. The fans, the roar of the crowd. The history.
“It’s America’s pastime,” he said.
Corey Seager to bat sixth today, will bat second tomorrow
Here is Houston’s Game 1 lineup
Here’s tonight’s rally towel
Seager returns to Dodgers’ starting lineup for Game 1 of the World Series
Here’s the Dodgers’ World Series roster
Here’s one way to get to Dodger Stadium
World Series Game 1 is all about Clayton Kershaw
It’s still about Clayton Kershaw. Of course, it’s still about Clayton Kershaw.
The Dodgers might not need him to go full Bulldog and pitch all nine innings in Game 1 of the World Series, but they need him to win.
It’s hard to envision the Dodgers taking this series without a victory in a game started by Kershaw.
There are really no excuses. Unlike the previous four postseasons, Kershaw hasn’t been called on to start on short rest. He will enter this game on his regular five-day cycle and he hasn’t pitched more than 6 1/3 innings in each of his three playoff starts. He threw 100 or fewer pitches in each of them.
The Astros’ lineup is better than either of the two lineups Kershaw previously faced this postseason, but he’s paid the big bucks to win games like this.
The Dodgers have constructed their roster in a way that decreases their reliance on Kershaw. Now, it’s up to Kershaw to repay the team by doing what is asked of him, which is to pitch five or six solid innings.
The world has changed since 1988
A lot has happened since Oct. 16, 1988, the last time Dodger Stadium played host to a World Series game:
Technology: The internet, the cellphone, satellite TV, the Xbox, email, DVDs and the GPS were all invented or popularized.
Presidents: The chief resident at the White House went from a movie star in Ronald Reagan to a reality TV star in Donald Trump.
Celebrities: Since Oct. 16, 1988, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Kylie (and Kendall) Jenner, Neymar, Jennifer Lawrence and 12 of the players on the Dodger roster were born.
Music: The No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 40 went from Phil Collins’ “A Groovy Kind of Love” to “Rockstar” by Post Malone.
Sports: The U.S. staged a World Cup and both the Winter and Summer Olympics; the English Premier League was formed; and the NHL expanded to 31 teams.
People: The U.S. population grew by 81 million to more than 325 million.
Conflict: The U.S. fought two wars in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
Baseball: Twenty-three teams – including four that didn’t exist in 1988 – have played host to World Series games.
Dodgers leave outfielder Curtis Granderson off World Series roster
After eight strikeouts in 15 postseason at-bats, Dodgers outfielder Curtis Granderson has been left off the World Series roster. The team made a pair of switches from their National League Championship Series roster, removing Granderson and catcher Kyle Farmer, while adding shortstop Corey Seager and pitcher Brandon McCarthy.
Seager missed the series against the Cubs due to a lower back sprain. The Dodgers kept utility infielder Charlie Culberson, who hit .455 in Seager’s place, on the World Series roster. A lack of left-handed relievers in Houston’s bullpen reduces the viability of Farmer, a right-handed hitter.
McCarthy has not pitched since Oct. 1 and has appeared in only five games since the All-Star Break.
Here is the roster breakdown:
The tiny island of Curacao has seen 13 natives play in the major leagues. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is one of them
Verney Jansen pauses his Ford F250 pickup in front of a brown stucco house in a neat middle-class neighborhood of two- and three-bedroom cookie-cutter homes.
But there’s a history that sets this particular residence apart. It is where Verney’s baby brother, Kenley, the Dodgers’ all-star closer, recorded the most important save of his career.
The younger Jansen was a former catcher with a big arm and an uncertain future when he made his major league debut in Los Angeles in the middle of the 2010 season. The same night, nearly 3,500 miles away, his family was about to lose the house in which he grew up.
This house. The brown house. The one across from the dusty dirt lot, 74 Kokolishi street.
A stroke had cost his father his construction company and defending a lawsuit related to the business had robbed the family of what little money it had left.
“Some days we didn’t have food on the table,” Verney Jansen says softly. “It was tough, man.”
Roberts vs. Hinch: Friends square off as managers in the World Series
In the fall of 2015, as he prepared to interview for the post as Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts reached out to a friends and mentors for advice. One of the men he contacted was A.J. Hinch, who had just completed his first season managing the Houston Astros.
Hinch understood the dynamics of running a baseball club for a sabermetrically inclined front office. The Astros had risen from the ashes under the leadership of general manager Jeff Luhnow. Hinch operated as a translator for the information as it flowed from the front office to the diamond. Hinch figured the Dodgers’ baseball operations department of Andrew Friedman would seek a similar figure in a manager.
“He had a feel for Andrew and the guys, and was gauging my openness to analytics,” Roberts said. “He just wanted to make sure that knowing these guys, I knew it was really important.”
Roberts heeded the message. He got the job. And nearly two years later, he prepared to duel with his friend Hinch in the World Series, which will begin Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
Tommy Lasorda is ready for one more World Series title
There had been a camera trained on Tommy Lasorda, no surprise to anyone who followed the Dodgers with even the slightest degree of interest.
Kirk Gibson blew off an immediate interview on the field, disappearing down the dugout steps. So NBC cut to the replays, with the two images that endure to this day.
Gibson jerked his right elbow backward, twice, as he rounded second base.
“Watch Lasorda,” said Joe Garagiola, the NBC analyst.
And there was Lasorda, the manager, thrusting both arms toward the sky, deliriously taking a couple of steps onto the field, throwing up his arms again, hopping and skipping and huffing and puffing, his arms going up and down every couple of steps as if he were a marionette.
When Clayton Kershaw delivers the first pitch of the World Series on Tuesday, it will mark 29 years, eight days, 20 hours and about 30 minutes since the Gibson home run, that legendary exclamation point on Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Not that Los Angeles has been counting.
You’re probably going to want a print copy of today’s paper ...
From Gibson to Turner: The life-changing power of sports in a city’s collective memory
When I think about Kirk Gibson’s famous World Series home run, I don’t visualize Gibson pumping his fist or hear Vin Scully’s perfect call.
I picture my father.
The Dodgers’ long-awaited return to the World Series has resulted in a series of retrospective stories and columns, Bill Plaschke relaying a behinds-the scenes reconstruction of Gibson’s home run from Game 1 of the 1988 Series and me revisiting Orel Hershiser’s legendary season.
The legacy of that season extends beyond that, however. It was as much about the people embracing in the stands and the celebrations that erupted in households around Southern California.
Households like mine.
The Dodgers’ road to the World Series: highlights from the NLCS
The Dodgers defeated the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs, four games to one, in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. Here’s what happened:
GAME 1: Dodgers 5, Chicago 2
Headline: Chris Taylor delivers decisive hit in Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over Cubs
Andy McCullough: On the first night of the National League Championship Series, the Dodgers overcame a somnolent start and the psychic blow of losing their All-Star shortstop to capture a 5-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead in front of a sold-out crowd of 54,289 at Dodger Stadium. Unbowed by the absence of Corey Seager, the lineup outlasted Cubs starter Jose Quintana and bullied the Cubs bullpen. They turned a foreboding afternoon into a blissful night.
The Dodgers’ road to the World Series: highlights from the NLDS
The Dodgers swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series. Here’s what happened:
GAME 1: Dodgers 9, Arizona 5
Headline: Dodgers regain their summer swagger
Andy McCullough: In the first game of the first round of 2017 playoffs, the Dodgers pulped the Diamondbacks in a 9-5 victory, galvanized a crowd of 54,707 at Dodger Stadium and re-staked their claim for National League preeminence.
Jose Altuve, all 5 feet 6 inches of him, stands tall for the Astros
As long and pronounced as the path has been, the Houston Astros’ ascent to the World Series was expected. Three years ago, Sports Illustrated proclaimed them the 2017 World Series champions. Before the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers co-opted it, the organization popularized the phrase “trust the process” — after their attendance fell by half, players griped and embarrassments abounded.
Still, their strategy was clear: They’d collect first-round talents, play them together, and win with a payroll less than that of other big-market rivals. After three pitiful years, they have been good since 2015, and now they are on the cusp of a championship.
But the chief reason the Astros are where they are today is not because of a product of that rebuilding process. It is because of a slight, 5-foot-6 second baseman who signed for $15,000 four general managers ago and was a long shot to make the major leagues.
Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ current general manager, remembers the first time he saw Jose Altuve play. It was the summer of 2008, in the Appalachian League, when Altuve was 18 and Luhnow was the St. Louis Cardinals’ vice president of scouting and player development.
Altuve was small, sure, but he also repeatedly put bat to ball, and he was a fiery competitor. Luhnow liked him.
Yasiel Puig has starred in a one-man reality show this postseason
The red light of a television camera beckoned, and so Yasiel Puig obliged. He unclenched his jaws and unfurled the hardest-working muscle on the 2017 Dodgers. As the team celebrated bouncing the Chicago Cubs out of the National League Championship Series last week, Puig wagged his tongue for the viewers in Los Angeles before issuing a proclamation.
“Four more,” Puig said. “Four more.”
He meant victories, the number necessary to secure the Dodgers’ first World Series championship since 1988. Along the way, there assuredly will be more than four shots of Puig flashing his tongue.
Conceived in a moment of exuberance after a first-round triple, it has become a signature gesture of this postseason. The television broadcasts showed Puig wagging his tongue in the dugout ad nauseam. After a triple in the NLCS, straight-laced Chris Taylor lolled his tongue. On the mound at Wrigley Field after Game 5, the Dodgers gathered for a team picture with their tongues out.
Charlie Culberson is looking forward to his first World Series
Curtis Granderson on playing in his third World Series
Austin Barnes on getting mentally prepared for the World Series
Dave Roberts discusses World Series preparation
Times reporters break down the World Series
Dodgers vs. Astros: How the teams match up for the World Series
The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the best-of-seven World Series at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at how the teams match up:
Projected lineups
POS.; DODGERS; AVG.; HR; RBI; COMMENT
C; Austin Barnes; .289; 8; 38; Started four of five games in NLCS, displacing Yasmani Grandal.
1B; Cody Bellinger; 2.67; 39; 97; Still dangerous, even in slumps, with two playoff homers.
An active Corey Seager is happy to be back
On Sunday, for the first time in almost two weeks, Corey Seager was an active baseball player. He took batting practice. He took ground balls. He took a seat before a group of reporters, happily.
“I haven’t smiled in a while,” Seager said. “It’s nice to smile again.”
The back strain that sidelined Seager for the National League Championship Series appears healed. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he is “very confident” Seager will be back at shortstop for Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.
“He said he felt as good he has in weeks,” Roberts said.
Seager remained in Los Angeles for treatment while the Dodgers were in Chicago for the final three games of the NLCS. He has moved out of his summer rental home, so he watched the Dodgers clinch their World Series berth from a Los Angeles hotel room.
Before Kirk Gibson’s famous homer, he had to swing along with Mitch
You’ve marveled at the swing, laughed at the brake lights, cheered with the fist pumps.
During the 28 years the Dodgers were absent from the World Series, you think you have watched every second of the greatest moment from the last time they were here, from the video of Kirk Gibson’s 1988 walk-off home run that inspired a championship.
The play has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube. The call from Vin Scully has been committed to memory. The photograph of Tommy Lasorda running out of the dugout with his arms raised has been framed and immortalized.
You think you’ve seen all of it.
But now that they’re finally back in the World Series beginning Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, there is something else you should know before your vision moves beyond the most enduring sports play in this city’s history.
You never saw the batboy.
Dodgers’ berth in World Series enhances Orel Hershiser’s legacy
There will never be another Bulldog. If that wasn’t clear already, it is now.
So much for the idea that Orel Hershiser’s place in Dodgers history would be diminished when the franchise made its long-awaited return to the World Series.
If anything, the opposite has happened. The well-rounded strength of these Dodgers has served as a reminder of what their predecessors 29 years ago were lacking, of the incredible heights Hershiser had to reach to make them champions in 1988.
Instead of being reduced to historical footnotes, his accomplishments are more awe-inspiring than they have ever been. The starts on abbreviated rest. The complete games. The absolute dominance.
Hershiser, 59, feels uncomfortable about this kind of talk.