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Dodgers Defeat Astros, 3-1, to Force Historic Game 7 of World Series

Chris Taylor hit a game-tying double, and Joc Pederson hit his third home run of the World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros, 3-1, on Halloween night to force a Game 7.

One more win.

The Houston Astros were 12 outs away from winning their first World Series in team history. 

The Dodgers had other ideas.

Chris Taylor hit a game-tying double, and Joc Pederson hit his third home run of the World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros, 3-1, on Halloween night to force a Game 7. 

In what started out as a trick, quickly turned into a treat, as the Dodgers erased a one-run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning by scratching two runs across by the skin of their teeth, off future Hall of Famer, Justin Verlander.

After five dominant innings to start the game, Verlander allowed a leadoff single to Austin Barnes, and then hit Chase Utley on the foot with a changeup, to put the first two runners on base with no outs.

Four pitches later, Chris Taylor doubled down the right field line to tie the game and send the Chavez Ravine crowd into a Fright Night frenzy!

"I was just focused on staying short and finding a way to put the ball in play," said Taylor of his game-tying RBI after the game. "He's [Verlander] got electric stuff. So I wanted to be as short as possible, not try to do too much or overswing. And find a way to get the bat on the ball and hope for the best."

One batter later, Corey Seager knocked in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field that scored Utley from third.

At 38-years-old, Utley became the oldest player in World Series history to score the go-ahead run since Enos Slaughter in 1957.

Verlander would escape the inning, but it turned out to be his last of the game, as he exited the contest for a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh.

"We had nine outs left and we were down. It's no more complicated than that," Astros' manager A.J. Hinch said of the decision to take out Verlander. "I thought he was good, especially early. I thought he was obviously cruising. He had the one hiccup in the middle of the game, but that was about it."

Verlander took the loss—his first as a Houston Astro—allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts in six strong innings.

Entering the game, Verlander was 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP in 10 starts (5 in the postseason) with the Astros.

Joc Pederson added an important insurance run when he homered off Joe Musgrove for the second time in three games in the bottom of the seventh.

"I don't think it's hit me yet," Pederson said of the home run. "I think you dream about that as a kid. You kind of black out in a situation like that."

Pederson sent a four-seam fastball into the left field pavilion to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

Pederson, who was sent down to Triple-A in August, only had two home runs in 43 games for the Dodgers in the second half of the season. He now has three in the World Series alone, joining Duke Snider, Reggie Smith, and Davey Lopes as the only Dodgers to do it.

"I guess that was the first time being demoted," Pederson said about being sent down to the Minors in early August. "The league showed me a lot, the stuff I needed to work on. So, yeah, it was very humbling, and I needed to go learn how to hit, basically. So I've still got a lot of work to do, but it's encouraging to see some of the process and all the hard work turn into some results in the game."

George Springer turned Dodger Stadium into a House of Horrors earlier in the game, when he homered off Rich Hill to give Houston a 1-0 lead.

The homer was Springer's fourth of the World Series, tying Lenny Dykstra for the most by a leadoff hitter in the history of the Fall Classic.

Springer also joined Gene Tenace (1972) as the only players in World Series history to hit four game-tying or go-ahead home runs as he silenced the Dodgers crowd, sending their spirits crashing back to earth, if only for a fleeting instant.

Hill did not factor in the decision, but pitched well in his final start of the season. The left-hander allowed one run on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts in just 4 and 2/3 innings.

Kenley Jansen redeemed two earlier defeats in the series, by not allowing a hit in two shutout innings to earn the save. 

The two total home runs in the game extended the World Series record to a whopping 24 hit in a single Fall Classic. 

Andre Ethier made a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning, and set the Dodgers all-time franchise record with 50 postseason games played.

The Dodgers will look to become just the 21st team in World Series history to come back from a 3-2 deficit to win the Fall Classic.

Wednesday will mark just the 39th time in the 113-year history of the World Series that the Fall Classic will be decided by a Game 7. 

Suprisingly, in those games, the home team has only won 18 times.

Up Next:

The two most exciting words in sports will occur on Wednesday as Dodger Stadium will host the first ever Game 7 in the park's 55-year history. RHP Yu Darvish will seek redemption when he heads to the mound for the Dodgers opposite RHP Lance McCullers for the Astros. First pitch is scheduled for 5:20PM PST.

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