LOS ANGELES _ Kind of had to be this way, right?
After what took place in the first five games of the 113th World Series, it just had to, had to, go seven games.
The Dodgers made it happen Tuesday night, rallying against Justin Verlander and beating the Astros, 3-1, in front of a loud Dodger Stadium gathering of 54,128 that rarely sat down. Game 7 is here Wednesday night as the Astros will try for their first championship and the Dodgers will go for their first since 1988.
Verlander, Houston's horse all postseason, retired 15 of the first 16 he faced, taking a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning. But the Dodgers got to the 34-year-old, scoring twice, the first run coming on a double by Chris Taylor and the second on Corey Seager's sacrifice fly. Verlander, who allowed two runs and three hits and struck out nine, took his first loss as an Astro.
Joc Pederson's homer off Joe Musgrove in the seventh _ which the left fielder punctuated with an arm-waving trip around the bases that made any of the bat-flipping exercises by both sides in this homer-happy Series seem tame by comparison. It gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts, who before the game said his plan was to ask for no more than three outs from tank-nearing-empty closer Kenley Jansen, asked for six.
He got them as Jansen retired six straight for the save. He has been roughed up a couple of times in the series, most recently when he took the loss in Houston's wild, 13-12 Game 5 victory.
Roberts, hammered by many for his bullpen moves in Game 5, came up aces in Game 6. He pulled Rich Hill, who allowed one run and four hits over 4 2/3 innings, and replaced him with Brandon Morrow. The right-hander, torched for four runs in Game 5, pitched a scoreless inning. His most important moment was retiring Alex Bregman with two out and two on to end the fifth and keep it a 1-0 deficit.
Tony Watson stranded two in the sixth. Kenta Maeda, who allowed Jose Altuve's three-run homer that tied Sunday's game at 7, retired Altuve with two on in the seventh on a groundout. A bang-bang play at first kept the tying run from scoring from third.
It was the most unexpected of pitchers' duels after what preceded it.
Verlander, 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA this postseason coming in, did not go to a three-ball count until two outs in the fifth against Logan Forsythe. He struck him out anyway, swinging at a 96-mph fastball.
Verlander was on early. He retired Taylor on one pitch to start an economical seven-pitch first inning. He struck out Seager looking at a 97-mph fastball and retired Justin Turner on a pop to third.
Verlander struck out Cody Bellinger swinging at a 98-mph fastball to open the second. Yasiel Puig followed with the Dodgers' first hit, a soft liner to center. Verlander dropped in a 2-and-2 curve for a called third strike on Pederson and got Forsythe to fly to right.
After Josh Reddick flied out and Verlander struck out to start the third, George Springer punched a fastball Hill left out over the plate to right for a 1-0 lead. It was the 14th homer by the Astros in the World Series, tying the 2002 Giants' record.
Verlander struck out two of three in a shutdown bottom half of the third, ending the 13-pitch inning with a called third strike on Turner. He struck out two more in the fourth, giving him seven.
Austin Barnes opened the bottom of the sixth with a solid single to left off a 2-and-0 fastball. Verlander got ahead of Chase Utley 1-and-2 but hit him on the right foot with a pitch. The crowd suddenly fully engaged again with Taylor at the plate, Verlander again got ahead 1-and-2, but Taylor took a 97-mph fastball to the opposite field, poking it to right for a double that tied it at 1.
Verlander hung a 1-and-2 breaking ball to Seager, who missed a homer by a few feet. He settled for a sacrifice fly to right that made it 2-1.
