Was it a matter of the Astros testing the fans emotional side? Maybe the moment of truth arrived in time for game seven of the World Series or a well rehearse strategy orchestrated by Manager A.J. Hinch.
Whatever game plans Hinch kept secret unfazed Astro fans. It was the final outcome that erased 55-years of disappointment as it lifted the Houston Astros and the entire city of Houston into baseball’s limelight.
As game seven unfolded, Houston wasted little time chiseling out its dream of a championship. They jumped on the Los Angeles Dodgers for a pair of early runs enroot to a 5-1 commanding victory and never looked back in the best of seven series of the 2017 World Series, to clinched its first title in the franchise history at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.
It had been 55-years and no World Series title to show. That changed.
Jose Altuve’s RBI groundout scored Alex Bregman from third base to give the Astros a 2-0 lead that would hold.
MVP George Springer led off the first inning with a double and score after Bregman’s bouncer to Cody Bellinger was thrown past Darvish, who attempted to cover first base. That gave Houston a 1-0 lead.
Springer left a lasting effect on the World Series, tying Reggie Jackson (1977) and Chase Utley (2009) for the most home runs hit in the finals (5).
Charlie Morton, who pitched well in four innings of relief, picked up the win. Starter, Lance McCullers, Jr. struggled with his control. He left the game with one out in the third inning after hitting a World Series record four batters.
Yu Darvish took the loss for the Dodgers.
Springer’s two-run homer in the second inning chased Darvish from the game and gave Houston a 5-0 lead.
That put the game out of reach.
However, the four scoreless innings Clayton Kershaw pitched in relief may have seen the game from a different perspective had he started. Kershaw only had two days of rest. That may have been the deciding factor in starting Darvish, who had five days rest.
With the look of disappointment on the face of Dodger fans, the opportunity presented itself, but unlike game one through six, the Dodgers never got that timely hit and the breaks did not come often. In fact, Los Angeles left ten runners on base.
The Dodgers avoided the shutout when pinch-hitter Andre Ethier slapped a run scoring single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Still, It was not enough to keep its fans from reliving the memory of not being able to win game seven of a series.
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