HOUSTON _ Cody Bellinger skidded into second base like a kid on a slip-and-slide, 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 Los Angeles 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 awakening late. They will turn to Clayton Kershaw for Game 5 on Sunday, as he engages in a rematch from Game 1 with Astros ace Dallas Keuchel. No matter what, the Series will return to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The afternoon started with Rob Manfred, baseball's commissioner, sorting through a mess. He met with Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel to discuss a punishment after Gurriel made an insensitive gesture mocking Yu Darvish's Japanese heritage. Manfred chose to suspend Gurriel for five games, but pushed the suspension to the 2018 regular season.
Gurriel remained in Houston's lineup on Saturday. Roberts, the son of a Japanese mother, described himself as "surprised" and "disappointed" by Gurriel's actions. Even so, he did not mind Gurriel staying eligible for the rest of the World Series.
"I expect to beat them with him in the lineup," Roberts said. "I don't want any asterisk with him not being in there. I want the best team to win, and to be decided by the 25 players on the roster."
The specter of Gurriel's actions loomed over the day. There were other consequences from Friday. Because Darvish could not complete the second inning, Roberts used reliever Kenta Maeda for nearly three innings, long enough to make Maeda unavailable for Saturday. The Dodgers required a lengthy outing from Wood. He had thrown less than five innings since Sept. 26.
Wood was wading into trouble when Gurriel came up to bat in the second inning. The crowd showered Gurriel with an ovation after shortstop Carlos Correa took a leadoff walk. Wood challenged Gurriel with a 1-1 fastball at the knees. Gurriel rolled a grounder toward third base, where Justin Turner started a double play.
The Dodgers needed Wood to keep the ball on the ground. He had excelled at this in the first half, permitting only two home runs and making the All-Star team. In the second half, opponents bashed 13 homers against him. He gave up three to the Cubs in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
The offense's malaise meant Wood needed to traverse a tightrope. Facing Astros starter Charlie Morton, the group looked feeble in the face of his darting two-seam fastballs. Morton mixed in curveballs, cutters and diving split-fingered fastballs to destabilize the Dodgers lineup.
Morton had given up a single in the game's first at-bat to Chris Taylor. Taylor got himself thrown out at second base on a delayed steal to end the inning. No Dodger would reach base again until Morton hit Barnes with a 95-mph fastball in the sixth.
In the interim, Morton looked masterful. He struck out seven through five innings. The Dodgers could not drive the baseball out of the infield in the third, fourth and fifth.
The sixth was different. By hitting Barnes, Morton opened a door for the Dodgers. A single by Enrique Hernandez widened the opening. The hit turned the lineup over, leaving runners at the corners with one out for Taylor and Corey Seager.
The Dodgers could not capitalize. Taylor pounded a splitter toward third base. Barnes broke for the plate. Astros third baseman regman snatched the baseball and fired a strike to the plate. Barnes had no chance.
The next pitch from Morton was a hanging curveball. Seager could have crushed it. Instead he flied out to left to end the frame.
Wood had matched Morton. He lacked the precision displayed by counterpart. He battled from behind in the count. Yet he kept the Astros off the base paths.
After five innings, Wood has thrown 73 pitches. When he returned for the sixth, Morrow was loose. Wood retired outfielder Marwin Gonzalez, a switch hitter, and Brian McCann, a left-handed hitter, to start the frame. As Springer walked to the plate, Roberts stayed in his dugout.
Springer treats left-handed pitchers with malice. He posted a .972 on-base plus slugging percentage against them during the regular season. Wood becomes slightly less effective when facing hitters a third time. Roberts opted to trust his starter.
Wood fell behind in the count with three straight balls. He spotted a fastball at the knees for a strike. Then he flipped a curveball that split the plate. Springer hammered the pitch. The baseball crested over the Crawford Boxes in left field to give Houston the lead.
An unlikely source helped knot the game up in the seventh. Bellinger had gone hitless in his first 13 at-bats of this series. He had struck out eight times. He appeared incapable of tracking offspeed pitches, flailing at the air.
Morton offered Bellinger a chance to atone. Morton left a curveball up in the zone. Bellinger stroked it off the wall for a double. At second base, Bellinger gestured to his dugout to retrieve the baseball to commemorate his achievement. He was joking, but the hit's importance was real.
Houston manager A.J. Hinch sent reliever Will Harris into the fray. Harris fed Forsythe a 91-mph fastball. Forsythe ripped it into center field to bring Bellinger home. Bellinger made sure the tie only lasted so long.
