Emotions run high in Astros’ victory
The Dodgers and Astros displayed enough collective emotion on Wednesday night to set a World Series record.
In a demonstrative Game 2 that showcased glove slamming, bat flipping and tongue wagging, not to mention eight passionate home run trots, the Astros survived 11 innings in a 7-6 victory that gave them a split of the first two games and momentum heading to Houston.
Perhaps the coolest customer at Dodger Stadium was Justin Verlander, the Astros’ starter who lasted six innings. It didn’t seem significant at the time, but with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulling his starter, Rich Hill, after four, the Astros ultimately had a distinct bullpen advantage.
Slowly but surely, it’s becoming OK to exhibit emotion in baseball, something that had been reserved for football, basketball and other sports. For decades and decades, baseball players were taught to keep their cool, put their heads down and not show up their opponents.
Well, it’s 2017. The World Baseball Classic mentality has morphed into Major League Baseball, and it’s perfectly fine to express any feeling any time,
especially in October when emotions can run highest. Purists might not appreciate it, but it’s how the game has evolved, and it’s how the game played out Wednesday.
The most emotional moment? Take your pick:
Joc Pederson, the pride of Palo Alto High School, parading around the bases after a fifth-inning homer.
Corey Seager hollering while still in the batter’s box, knowing his sixth-inning, oppositefield drive was gone.
Charlie Culberson’s animated dance routine after his 11th-inning homer, as if he had tied the game — he hadn’t.
Yasiel Puig missing a diving attempt in the right-field corner and reacting by spiking his glove to the turf.
Let’s not forget Hill yelling and screaming in the dugout when getting pulled before he desired.
That’s just on the Dodger side. The Astros had their own laundry list, and the most spirited sequence involved Carlos Correa, who homered in the 10th (right after Jose Altuve’s shot) and immediately flipped his bat airborne and stuck his tongue out while glancing into the Houston dugout, as if he were mocking Puig’s latest signature statement.
By the way, Puig homered to open the bottom of the 10th. Instead of one-upping Correa with a more outrageous bat flip, he stepped out of the box, reached down and gently placed his bat to the ground.
Beyond all the passion on display, the Astros won because their bullpen outlasted the Dodgers’. Roberts used all eight of his relievers — Josh Fields and Brandon McCarthy surrendered four extra-inning runs on three homers, including George Springer’s gamewinner — while Astros manager A.J. Hinch used four.
It goes back to Verlander giving the Astros six innings and Hill exiting after four. Roberts didn’t want to use anyone but his top relievers with the game on the line, and his moves looked good until closer Kenley Jansen, summoned for a six-out save, gave up a game-tying homer to Marwin Gonzalez in the ninth.
Verlander, the hottest pitcher in baseball, won his first nine starts since arriving from Detroit in a trade-deadline deal. He was making his first World Series start since Pablo Sandoval homered twice against him in the Panda’s historic three-homer game in 2012.
Verlander gave up just two hits Wednesday, but they were the Pederson and Seager homers that gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. The Astros took Verlander off the hook when tying the game in the ninth, then building a lead in the 10th that they lost and another in the 11th that they maintained.
The mention of Verlander’s name draws different reactions from both sides of the bay. In San Francisco, his name symbolizes joy and celebration. In Oakland, his name is mud.
In Verlander’s previous World Series, the Giants swept his Tigers. Sandoval all but clinched the MVP award by homering in his first two atbats against Verlander (and later hitting a third), who responded the only way he could, with a demonstrative “wow” that was captured on camera.
Three months earlier, Sandoval greeted Verlander with a three-run triple in the first inning of the All-Star Game.
A’s fans remember a different Verlander, one who beat them in the decisive Game 5 of the Division Series in both 2012 and 2013.
The pregame featured the first pitch of all first pitches with the legendary Vin Scully holding a microphone in one hand and a ball in the other and narrating the entire scene, pretending his shoulder was hurting and calling Fernando Valenzuela to throw the ball.
Fans roared their approval, and Scully, 89, a year after announcing his retirement after 67 years in the booth, walked off the field to say goodbye once more.
Now that’s emotional.