Well, the game is over and so is our live blog.
What a terrible way for a great series to end. The Houston Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 tonight to claim the World Series title, with scarcely a hint of a comeback from L.A., who trailed from the first inning. In a Series defined by each team’s bullpen, this one came down to the starting pitchers.
Specifically, Yu Darvish came out with one of the most unexpectedly poor starts of the playoffs. The decision to give Darvish the start instead of, say, Clayton Kershaw (or almost anybody else!) will be endlessly debated, and with good reason. If Darvish had been handed slightly fewer innings, this season would probably have ended very differently for the Dodgers. That Dave Roberts erred in pulling Darvish too late — after six games in which he arguably pulled his starters too early — is a poisonous irony for L.A.’s fans.
The Astros won the Series on the backs of their hitters. Between a shaky bullpen and Lance McCullers leaving seven Dodgers on base, neither the starters nor the relievers seemed to have the game in hand. (Except for Charlie Morton, the onetime Pittsburgh Pirates back-of-the-rotation arm who pitched four scoreless innings to close out the game.) But just as they had throughout the matchup, the lineup came through, starting (of course) with a George Springer double. The five runs the Astros scored in the first two innings were enough to win the game in part because of the Dodgers’ remarkable futility with runners in scoring position.
The Astros are a lovable Team Of Destiny. On top of some of the most amazing young talent in the game (Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, the aforementioned George Springer) they have Carlos Beltran, a 40-year-old slugger and likely Hall of Famer who, until today, didn’t have a title to his name. It’s good to see them win. Like the Cubs and Indians last year, it seems likely that both the winners and losers of this Series will sustain their success in the next few years. It wouldn’t be surprising if they meet again in the next Fall Classic. In fact, considering how exciting (most of) this World Series was, let’s hope that they do.