LOS ANGELES _ Joc Pederson flapped his arms, repeatedly pointed to the Dodgers' dugout, and did what looked like the Electric Slide as he rounded third base, encouraging his teammates to join his Tuesday night dance party at Chavez Ravine.
Welcome to Baseball 2017, and welcome (back) to Game 7 of the World Series.
As soon as Pederson's seventh-inning blast cleared the left-field fence, and virtually secured the 3-1 victory that saved the Dodgers' championship dreams, he treated the ecstatic crowd to an unprecedented romp around the bases.
To heck with the unwritten rules. Pederson probably never felt his feet touch the ground. After what he's done this postseason _ three doubles, three homers, five RBIs _ why not treat himself to a little extra SoCal love? And now it's the Dodgers, with the World Series tied and Game 7 at home, who have swiped the edge from the Astros, who saw Justin Verlander lose for the first time (9-1) in 11 starts since his Aug. 31 trade from the Tigers.
In the aftermath of Sunday night's epic slugfest in Houston that left both teams drained, Yasiel Puig guaranteed there would be a Game 7. At the time, he didn't say who would win it. But with Verlander out of the way, and the Dodgers' bullpen apparently resurrected, we'd give the edge to L.A., based on the momentum shift on display Tuesday night.
Kenley Jansen _ the closer responsible for helping the Dodgers flush two of their three losses _ recovered in time for a six-out save as the Dodgers burned four pitchers in relief of Rich Hill.
The Astros not only had a 3-2 Series lead, they had Verlander, the one starter capable of keeping the bullpen door closed past the fifth inning. Verlander had yet to lose in an Astros uniform _ he was 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA _ and had a career 0.46 ERA in potential clinching games, the lowest all-time (minimum 15 innings).
"I think this stage is set," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said before Game 6. "We have nobody better to have there."
That was quickly evident. Verlander was in series-clinching form, striking out seven through five scoreless innings, the only hit coming on Yasiel Puig's one-out single in the second. As revved up as the 54,128 fans at Chavez Ravine had been before first pitch, Verlander owned the place until the Dodgers finally stirred to life in the sixth.
They didn't do much. But Verlander hurt himself by nicking Chase Utley with a changeup that gave the Dodgers their first runner in scoring position. Chris Taylor's double down the right-field line tied the score at 1. Corey Seager's sacrifice fly put L.A. ahead, 2-1, and _ almost as important _ ensured that Verlander would be done after six.
The Dodgers, on the brink of elimination, couldn't afford to be patient, or let Hill pitch his way out of any developing trouble _ even with an exhausted bullpen. Everyone knew that going in, especially Hill, whose four-inning stint way back in Game 2 was the early hook that set in motion L.A.'s eventual relief issues.
"I want him to go as long as he can go," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Go as hard as he can go for as long as he can go."
That turned out to be 42/3 innings, as Roberts showed up to retrieve the baseball from Hill after an intentional walk to Springer loaded the bases. Hill's only real mistake was the home run to George Springer, and after 68 pitches, nobody was happy to see him pulled.
The fans booed Roberts _ a few decibels below Yuli Gurriel's harsh treatment _ and Hill, who's prone to the occasional dugout outburst, wiped out a row of cups, splashing water everywhere, when he got back to the bench. Despite Hill's frustration, and the long road ahead, Roberts going to Brandon Morrow in that spot may have saved the series for L.A.
It was Morrow's 13th appearance in the team's 14 postseason games, and he was coming off Sunday night's beating, when the Astros ripped him for four runs, including a pair of homers. The off day apparently did him some good, however, as Morrow needed only two pitches to get the inning-ending groundout from Alex Bregman.
So now a World Series that deserved to go the distance will get its Game 7.
