BELLS & MISSILES!

Cody’s two late doubles launch L.A. to Series tie

HOUSTON — When Cody Bellinger reached second base, he looked up into the Minute Maid Park ceiling and screamed, his hallelujahs spiraling skyward for battling team, a thankful city, and a renewed World Series. “A super sigh of relief,” he said. Emphasis on super. The Dodgers are back. A title is within reach. Two wins away, three games to get it done, and if a 22-year-old kid Bellinger can break out of an 0-for-13 World Series hitless streak with the games’ two biggest hits and his team’s baseball life on the line, doesn’t anything seem possible?

“It’s a beautiful game,” said Bellinger, and amen to that.

On a Saturday night that stunned the swaggering Houston Astros, Bellinger finished what Alex Wood brilliantly started, and together they led Dodgers to a giant 6-2 victory over the Astros in Game 4 of the World Series at Minute Maid Park, knotting the series at two games apiece.

How big? Just listen to the most understated of Dodgers breaking out of his shell. “Just a huge win for us,” said Chris Taylor. “The difference between being down three-one and two-two is everything. Now we’ve got a three-game series, and we’ve got our guy on the mound tomorrow, so we’re right where we want to be.”

Yes, the Dodgers have ace Clayton Kershaw pitching Sunday against the Astros Dallas Keuchel in Game 5, a perfect moment to complete Kershaw’s postseason renaissance.

Also, this win ensures that not only will the series go back to Los Angeles next week, but that there will be potentially deciding Game 6 at Dodger Stadium on Halloween, and won’t that be madness? Finally, this was the Astros first postseason loss in eight games at Minute Maid Park, and it has left them looking extremely mortal, especially a bullpen that has become the pain that everyone predicted. “I like where we’re at,” said Dave Roberts. “There’s been so many emotional swings, and we’re dead even right now and we’ve got our ace going tomorrow. So I know that in our clubhouse, we feel good.”

The win included redemption for the Dodgers bullpen, which completed a two-hitter, even if one of those hits was a ninth-inning homer by Alex Bregman off Kenley Jansen. For goodness sakes, the win also included even a second World Series home run by Joc Pederson to finish it. “It was a night when we all passed the baton,” said Logan Forsythe.

Heck, there was even a comeback involved, as the Astros took the lead in the sixth inning George Springer’s second home run of the series, who was pitching a no-hitter at the time, the longest in Dodger franchise postseason history. But then Bellinger, who was 0 for 13 with 8 strikeouts in the series, led off the seventh against Astros starter Charlie Morton with a double into leftcenter field. Bellinger screamed to the heavens, asked for the ball as a souvenir, and the party was just getting started.

“We’ve been doing it all year,” said Bellinger. “We’re a super resilient team.”

Forsythe, one of the sturdiest of Dodgers who entered batting

.304 in postseason, knocked him in with a single to left, only the Dodgers second hit in 18 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the series, and the game was tied. “The momentum shifts,” said Forsythe. “Let’s bring in the guys and shut it down.”

With the score still tied 1-1 in the ninth, against Astros closer Ken Giles, the guys showed up indeed. Corey Seager singled, Justin Turner walked, and Bellinger finally broke the game open by hitting another double to left-center field to score Seager, leading to late flow of Dodger runs that ended with Pederson’s blast.

This time, instead of looking up, Bellinger stared into the Dodger dugout and clapped his hands five times as if finally pounding away the pain of the Game 2 loss and reminding everyone that the offense had righted itself and the team seems prepared to take the final two steps toward a title. “Today I try to make an effort of not doing too much, and when you do that you get two hits sometimes,” Bellinger said. “It’s a crazy game.”

Yeah, the kid is back, and he’s could be getting crazy hot again.

“Every day you seem him grow a little bit more,” said Wood of his formerly struggling