Rookie ignites Dodgers in 9th

Bellinger helps L.A. break open pitching duel, even series 2-2 with Houston

HOUSTON — Cody Bellinger skidded into second base like a kid on a slip-andslide, a 23-year-old rookie enjoying the World Series for the first time in four games. He leapt to his feet and banged his hands together. Inside the Dodgers dugout, moments after Bellinger’s ninth-inning double broke the deadlock and paved the way for a 6-2 victory over the Astros in Game 4 of the World Series, his teammates responded with glee.

Bellinger looked stoic. Dirt caked his uniform. Lost for so long, he found himself at an opportune time for the Dodgers, who have evened this series at 2-2. A double by Bellinger in the seventh led to his team’s first run. His next hit pulled his team ahead and opened the door for a five-run flood. After a sacrifice fly by Austin Barnes, Joc Pederson thundered a three-run homer to mute the 43,322 fans at Minute Maid Park.

In his first outing since blowing a save in Game 2, closer Kenley Jansen was not immaculate. He surrendered a solo home run to Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. It was only the Astros second hit of the game.

A pitcher’s duel heightened the tension. Alex Wood did not allow a hit until the sixth inning, when Astros outfielder George Springer hit a solo home run. Houston starter Charlie Morton suppressed the Dodgers until the seventh, when Bellinger recorded his first hit of the World Series and Logan Forsythe tied the game with an RBI single.

Wood protected an exhausted bullpen from overexposure and kept the Dodgers from falling two games behind the Astros. The offense slumbered at the outset before Game 5 TV: