Game 2 – wow! The Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers combined to hit eight home runs in an epic 11-inning thriller, with the Astros coming out on top 7-6. With five home runs alone in two extra innings of play, game two had all the drama and ups-and-downs necessary. After being down 3-1, the Astros rallied to score one in the eight followed by a Marwin Gonzalez solo shot off Kenley Jansen to tie the game in the top of the ninth. After Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa went back-to-back in the top of the 10th, the Dodgers somehow tied it in the bottom half of the 10th. However, this was to no avail as George Springer launched a two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning. The Dodgers almost staged another epic comeback but fell just one run short. Game three will likely be the turning point in the World Series – let’s take a look at this pivotal game.
Why The Dodgers Might Win
The Dodgers need to have a short memory if they’re to forget the events that unfolded in game two, which should have put them up 2-0 in the series. Instead, the series is tied at one game apiece. The Dodgers will roll with Yu Darvish in game three. On the regular season, Darvish was 10-12 with a 3.86 ERA, 3.83 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 0.28:1 BB:K ratio, and 1.31 HR/9 rate. However, Darvish has been great thus far in the postseason, having pitched 11.1 innings while allowing 8 H, 2 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, and 14 K, winning both of his starts. Darvish faced the Astros twice during the regular season, going 1-1 in 12 IP with 8 H, 4 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, and 12 K – not bad, but could be better. The Dodgers know that they should have won game two but they can’t let this impact them mentally. They’ll need to erase the events of game two and focus on the current task at hand, which they should be more than capable of handling.
Why The Astros Might Win
The Astros have all the momentum in the world heading back to Houston for game three. After staging an epic comeback, the Astros will go with Lance McCullers, who posted a 7-4 record during the regular season with a 4.25 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 0.30:1 BB:K ratio, and a sparkling 0.61 HR/9 rate. McCullers has also been solid during the postseason, having pitched 13 innings while only allowing 6 H, 3 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, and 13 K. This will be McCullers’ first start against the Dodgers this year, which should work more towards his advantage. The Astros offense has seemingly woken up, and if they can keep up their offensive production like they did in game two, they’ll be an even scarier proposition.
Outlook
Since Darvish was pitching for the Texas Rangers in the AL West, he’s faced the Astros quite a number of times. Here’s how he’s performed on one-on-one matchups against the Astros’ hitters:
- Jose Altuve .219/.342/.281 with 0 HR, 2 2B, 6 BB, and 6 K in 32 AB
- Josh Reddick .160/.185/.240 with 0 HR, 1 BB, and 9 K in 25 AB
- George Springer .333/.333/.667 with 2 HR, 0 BB, and 5 K in 18 AB
- Carlos Correa .200/.200/.467 with 1 HR, 0 BB, and 6 K in 15 AB
- Marwin Gonzalez .143/.200/.143 with 0 HR, 1 BB, and 7 K in 14 AB
- Brian McCann .182/.250/.273 with 0 HR, 0 BB, and 4 K in 11 AB
- Carlos Beltran .200/.273/.200 with 0 HR, 1 BB, and 3 K in 10 AB
- Cameron Maybin .111/.273/.222 with 0 HR, 2 BB, and 4 K in 9 AB
- Alex Bregman .222/.300/.222 with 0 HR, 1 BB, and 2 K in 9 AB
From the statistics above, Darvish has, for the most part, dominated the Astros’ hitters. On the other hand, McCullers hasn’t faced the Dodgers much at all, although in a limited sample size, he’s been hit quite hard. However, the Astros have been perfect at home this postseason and it’s tough to go against them after what they were able to do in game two, with their offense seemingly having woken up. I’d probably personally stay away from this game, but if I had to make a pick, I’d stick with the Astros. It seems like the Astros got their bats going on Wednesday and that should continue now that they’re back at home.
Pick: Astros -115
The MLB season is in coming to a conclusion, so if you’re looking at betting lines, in-game betting and World Series futures, click here to bet on MLB (or any other sports) at BetDSI!
