Astros beat Dodgers with the help of lots of homers to take 3-2 World Series lead

A lot of people assumed, heading into Game 5, that it would include a great performance from one or both starters. Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel pitched Game 1 for a reason, after all.

Well those people — one of them myself and some of them very smart about baseball things! — assumed that.

Well, we were all wrong. Because once again in this World Series, it’s dinger season. And boy were they a-flyin’ in Houston on Sunday night. In a game that lasted more than five hours, there were 25 combined runs and seven total home runs.

The Dodgers scored three runs in the first inning, thanks to a Logan Forsythe single that scored both Chris Taylor and Justin Turner thanks to a Marwin Gonzalez flub in the outfield. Then Keuchel made a throwing error to first that allowed Forysthe to go to second and Enrique Hernandez to score. That, combined with how Kershaw looked early, provided some security for Dodgers fans.

LA scored again in the fourth inning when Austin Barnes singled and Forsythe came around.

That would be the end of Keuchel, at 3 ²⁄₃ innings, five hits, four runs (three earned), two walks, and four strikeouts.

But then Kershaw let up the tying runs in the fourth inning, with a Carlos Correa double that scored one and a Yuli Gurriel home run that scored three to make it 4-4. Just like that, the floodgates were open.

Kershaw exited the game after 4 ²⁄₃ innings, allowing six runs off four hits (because of the Altuve home run we’ll get to in a minute) and striking out only two with three walks. Not really what LA fans were looking for out of their ace. All of that was only the beginning of the damage in this game though.

Cody Bellinger hit a three-run home run in the top of the fifth off Collin McHugh to make it 7-4 Dodgers, but The ‘Stros got it right back in the bottom of that inning thanks to the aforementioned Altuve home run, which knotted the game at 7-all.

It stayed that way until the seventh, when Bellinger drove in another run thanks to an attempted diving catch from George Springer that went awry and resulted in Bellinger making it to third.

But Springer redeemed himself in the bottom of that inning with a solo home run that once again tied things. And then Altuve added to it with a double to score Alex Bregman, and Carlos Correa hit a two-run shot that would put Houston up 11-8.

But then Corey Seager doubled to score Joc Pederson, and it was a two-run gap again at 11-9. That is until Brian McCann hit a home run to make it 12-9.

BUT OH, IT WAS NOT EVEN OVER THEN. THAT WAS ONLY THE EIGHTH INNING.

Yasiel Puig finally took advantage of what he referred to as a “f***ing baby stadium” and hit a two-run shot to left that narrowed Houston’s lead to a single run. That looked like it would be all, but with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth Chris Taylor singled to center and Austin Barnes scored to tie it AGAIN.

ANOTHER TIE; THAT IS CORRECT: 12-12, bottom of the ninth.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth against the Astros, and things went to extra innings.

The Dodgers couldn’t score in the top of the 10th, but in the bottom of the inning, Bregman hit a walk-off single to score pinch runner Derek Fisher from second base to win it 13-12. So the Astros are up three games to two after their final home game of the year in Houston and go back to LA one win away from winning the World Series.