An extra-innings game brought the Houston Astros' franchise its first Fall Classic victory Wednesday night. The game took more than four hours and featured eight home runs -- six of them after the eighth inning.
In 2017, baseball had the most home runs in its history. Before Wednesday, the Dodgers' bullpen had been near-perfect, but the Astros' offense jumped on Los Angeles' relief corps. Manager Dave Roberts' hook of Rich Hill after four innings helped lead to the downfall of the bullpen. Hill had allowed just one run.
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Astros starter Justin Verlander pitched brilliantly for six innings, allowing two hits -- a solo home run by Joc Pederson and a two-run homer by Corey Seager. Verlander, a late-July acquisition from the Tigers, had fantastic fastball command mixed with a curveball and slider. Although the Dodgers tried to be patient to find a ball that they could drive, Verlander lived on the corners of the strike zone. A walk to Chris Taylor led to Verlander's downfall, Seager's long ball.
For a while, Verlander has been one of the best right-handed starters in baseball. Although he struggled this year with the Tigers when he threw more curveballs than he did his unhittable slider, Verlander was open to the Astros' statistical analysis when they told him to use his slider more than the curve. Verlander has dominated opponents since joining Houston, a tear that included the American League Championship Series presented by Camping World, in which his performance won him the MVP Award.
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Throughout the regular season, the bullpen has been a source of strength for the Dodgers. On Wednesday, the Dodgers were solid for the first three innings of relief, but things went downhill quickly. For the first time in his career, Kenley Jansen blew a postseason save. Then, Roberts had to use Josh Fields and Brandon McCarthy, and neither pitched very well. McCarthy didn't pitch much after the All-Star break, nor was he on the roster for either the National League Division Series or the NLCS. The rust was evident Wednesday night.
The Dodgers could have folded after Fields allowed consecutive home runs to Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa. Before this postseason, Yasiel Puig has been known for not producing under pressure, but on Wednesday, in the 10th inning, he smashed a solo home run. Enrique Hernandez soon followed by singling in the tying run.

McCarthy allowed a two-run homer to George Springer, who had been slumping through the ALCS and the first game of the World Series presented by YouTube TV, but unfortunately for the Dodgers, Springer woke up in Game 2 with three hits. Charlie Culberson homered, but the deficit proved too large for the Dodgers to overcome.

The World Series now moves to Houston for a trio of games. Unlike Dodger Stadium, Minute Maid Park is climate controlled. After a crushing defeat Wednesday, the Dodgers need to score frequently, but in order to do so they must solve the mystery of Lance McCullers's curveballs. The Dodgers are a fantastic fastball-hitting team, but have difficulty with breaking balls.
Yu Darvish needs to go at least six innings to allow Roberts to use his best relievers -- Kenta Maeda, Tony Watson, Tony Cingrani, Brandon Morrow and Jansen. Even if Darvish allows more than one run, Roberts needs to believe in his ability to retire the hot-hitting Astros. Since the middle of September, Darvish has dominated his opponents.
For the entire season, the Dodgers rebounded from a difficult loss or extended a winning streak after a thrilling dramatic victory. They will need this ability Friday night against the Astros, who have not lost at home during the postseason.