L.A. crowd eagerly boos Gurriel for racist gesture
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers fans told Yuli Gurriel just what they think of him during Game 6 of the World Series.
The crowd at Dodger Stadium ferociously booed the Houston first baseman during pregame introductions, and it got louder during his first at-bat in the second inning. Dodgers starter Rich Hill even stepped off the rubber before his first pitch to Gurriel, allowing the booing to increase.
“That was my silent gesture” to condemn Gurriel’s insult, Hill said.
The choruses of boos changed into a raucous cheer when Gurriel fouled out.
Dodgers fans clearly were disgusted by Gurriel’s behavior during Game 3 in Houston. While speaking with teammates, the Cuban made a blatantly racist gesture and used an offensive Spanish term to refer to Los Angeles starter Yu Darvish, who is Japanese.
Gurriel apologized in a statement afterward and drew a five-game suspension for next season, but was allowed to play in the World Series. Darvish is cool: Darvish didn’t think it was necessary to meet with Gurriel after the racist gesture in Game 3.
Gurriel contacted the Dodgers and told them he wanted to meet with the pitcher in person.
“I told him, ‘Hey, you don’t have to do that, because you made a comment, and like, I’m not that mad,’ ” Darvish said Tuesday through an interpreter. “So I really didn’t care much about that.” Game 6 or Game 7? Lance McCullers Jr. headed into Game 6 not knowing whether he would be attempting to close out a championship on Tuesday night or starting Game 7 on Wednesday.
Hours later, McCullers learned he will start the biggest game in Astros history.
The 24-year-old right-hander with one victory since June will start the World Series decider, manager A.J. Hinch announced after Los Angeles forced the seventh game.
“I knew (starting Game 7) was a possibility coming into the series,” McCullers said. “A.J. scheduled me for (Game 3) coming in for a reason. I think they have a lot of confidence in me. This series was destined to go seven pretty much the whole time.” Home of the stars: The Dodgers brought out the star power before Game 6.
Throwing out the ceremonial first balls were longtime manager Tommy Lasorda, 90, and 1988 NL Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser. Lasorda, a lefty who pitched for Brooklyn, underhanded his toss home. Lasorda was the skipper and Hershiser was the MVP when the Dodgers won their last Series championship by beating the A’s in 1988.
Waving big blue flags on top of the Dodgers’ dugout were Ashton Kutcher and wife Mila Kunis. On top of the Astros’ first-base dugout were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Rob Lowe. Briefly: Houston catcher Brian McCann bought a luxury suite at Staples Center on Monday night and took some teammates to see Stephen Curry and the Warriors rout the Clippers 141-113 . ... Charlie Culberson, a late-inning defensive replacement at second base, singled in the eighth inning in his only at-bat. Culberson is 3-for-5 in the Series, meaning he has as many hits as Justin Turner.