Dodgers ready to bounce back
Los Angeles bank on Japanese ace Darvish, Astros hope to turn up the noise with closed roof
>> HOUSTON: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is confident his team will be able to recover from their shattering World Series Game Two defeat as they head to Houston needing a win to keep the series alive.
Roberts’ men were left reeling on Wednesday after the Astros offence tore into the Dodgers’ feared bullpen to score an epic 7-6 victory in the 11th inning at Dodger Stadium.
The Astros victory left the best-ofseven series finely balanced at one game apiece.
But with Games Three, Four and Five hosted by Houston, starting this morning (Thai time), the Dodgers must now claim at least one win on the road if their dreams of a first World Series crown since 1988 are to remain intact.
That may be easier said than done, with the Astros unbeaten at home during the post-season this year, with a perfect record of played six, won six.
Roberts, however, said his team had already proven over the course of the season they were capable of bouncing back.
“All year long we’ve done a nice job of recovering, turning the page, whether it’s a big win or tough loss,” Roberts said. “And our guys play to the end... I have no doubt we’ll come refocused.
“The preparation, the focus on each day to win each day, I think that will be there. Whether we’re up 2-0 or tied 1-1 going into Houston, I don’t think that’s going to change our mindset.
“We’ve got a very resilient group, a lot of guys that have been around a long time. We’ll be ready to go.”
The Dodgers will look to get back into the series in Game Three with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish on the mound.
Darvish, who joined the Dodgers this year from the Texas Rangers, has an impressive career record when deployed as a starting pitcher in Houston, winning four times with one defeat with a 2.16 earned run average.
The question remains however of whether Wednesday’s loss, and the ransacking of the Dodgers’ bullpen by the Astros hitting line-up, left lasting psychological damage.
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander said the manner of the Houston victory — wiping out a 3-1 Dodgers lead in the eighth inning before aggressively pounding the pitching unit — could be a “game-changer”.
“It’s huge,” he said.
“I think the ability to win this game tonight, I mean you can’t quantify how much that means.
“We play so well at home. These guys play so well at home. For everything to be going right for the Dodgers tonight, late into their bullpen and for us to come back and win that game — that’s a game-changer.”
Meanwhile, t he Astros plan to keep the roof closed at their Minute Maid Park for Game Three of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a bid to feed off the electric atmosphere created by their fans.
The Astros are also 6-0 at home in postseason games this year.
“We want it closed. We’ve got to have it closed,” Astros reliever Chris Devenski said.
“I feel the electricity when it’s closed and it is so much better. And we love playing here.
“We have so much excitement being here and the electricity and the vibe. And I feel like we feed off of it.”
Astros manager AJ Hinch said the roof would be closed to prevent rain from getting on the field but acknowledged the closed environment amplified the volume of the team’s passionate, orange-clad fans.
Rain is forecast for Houston in Game Three.
“It was one of the loudest stadiums the last series and I expect it to be the same,” Hinch said of the series against the New York Yankees, in which they lost three on the road and won all four at home.
“It is a great environment at home. I think that’s what makes people feel good.”
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman was also keen for the roof to remain closed. “But no matter if it’s opened or closed, we’re going to take it one pitch at a time,” he added.
“It was one of the loudest stadiums the last series and I expect it to be the same,” Hinch said of the series against the New York Yankees, in which they lost three on the road and won all four at home.
“It is a great environment at home. I think that’s what makes people feel good.”