WORLD SERIRES GAME 4

Bullpen falters as Dodgers tie series 2-2

Chris Campise
Oct 28, 2017, 10:56 pm
The Dodgers crushed the Astros bullpen. Getty Images

The Astros' bullpen once again fails the team after a quiet offensive night, allowing the Dodgers to put up five runs in a ninth inning that started in a 1-1 tie. The series is now tied 2-2.

George Springer and Alex Bregman hit solo home runs for Houston, but it was Ken Giles and Jose Musgrove who blew the game in the top of the ninth in the 6-2 loss to the Dodgers. It was the first loss at home for the Astros this postseason.

Game 4 got underway with a leadoff single by Chris Taylor off of Charlie Morton in the top of the first. Morton was able to work around it, though, thanks to Brian McCann getting the third out of the inning by throwing Taylor out trying to steal second. Alex Wood started strong with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half to keep the first inning scoreless.

In the top of the second, Morton was able to put the Dodgers down in order on just 9 pitches with a flyout and two groundouts. Wood worked around a leadoff walk of Carlos Correa getting a double play and groundout to keep the game tied 0-0 going into the third.

Morton continued to look strong early, getting another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third including two strikeouts. Wood issued a one-out walk to Marwin Gonzalez in the bottom of the inning but worked around it getting a strikeout and groundout to send the scoreless game to the fourth.

Morton continued to cruise in the top of the fourth, getting two strikeouts and a groundout on 8 pitches to retire the Dodgers in order. Wood was also efficient in the bottom of the inning, getting another 1-2-3 inning as the pitcher's duel continued, leaving the game at 0-0 going into the fifth.

In the fifth, Morton continued to shine, getting two more strikeouts to bring his total to seven during another three up, three down half inning. Wood kept pace in the bottom of the inning, putting the Astros down in order again sending the scoreless and combined one-hit game to the sixth inning.

Morton had a pitch get away from him in the top of the sixth, hitting Austin Barnes to put the leadoff batter on base for the Dodgers. Barnes moved to third on a one-out single by Kike Hernandez but was thrown out as Alex Bregman played a ground ball perfectly to freeze Hernandez trying to run home, followed by a flyout to end the threat and keep the Dodgers off the board. George Springer not only recorded the first hit of the night for the Astros in the bottom of the inning but put the first run on the board with a two-out solo home run to the Crawford Boxes, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead and ending the night for Wood. Brandon Morrow took over on the mound for the Dodgers and was able to get the last out of the inning, sending the 1-0 game to the seventh.

Bregman started the top of the seventh with yet another great play, knocking down a ground ball from Justin Turner and lasering a throw to first base for the first out. Cody Bellinger hit a one-out double to the left-center corner, ending Charlie Morton's great night and bringing in Will Harris. Harris was able to get a flyout for the second out but gave up an RBI single to Logan Forsythe to tie the game 1-1 before getting a groundout for the third out. Morrow returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh and had a three up, three down half inning to keep the game tied.

Chris Devenski was next out of the Astros' bullpen and pitched the top of the eighth, a 1-2-3 half inning to keep the game tied. Tony Watson pitched the bottom of the inning for the Dodgers and he too was able to record a hitless inning, sending the game to the ninth knotted up at 1.

Ken Giles went to the mound for the top of the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Corey Seager, then walked Justin Turner to put runners on first and second with no outs. Cody Bellinger was up next and gave the Dodgers their first lead of the night on an RBI single to make it 2-1 and give the struggling Giles the hook in favor of Joe Musgrove. Musgrove entered with runners on second and third with no outs and gave up a one-out sac fly to Barnes to make it a 3-1 game before allowing Los Angeles to blow the game open on a three-run homer by Joc Pederson to extend the lead to 6-1. Kenley Jansen pitched the bottom of the night for the Dodgers and despite a two-out solo home run by Alex Bregman was able to finish the 6-2 loss for the Astros.

Game 5: First pitch of Game 5 is scheduled for 7:20 PM tomorrow night from Minute Maid Park. The pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 1 which put Dallas Keuchel for the Astros against Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers. Kershaw won the battle in Game 1, going seven innings of three-hit, one run baseball in the Dodgers' win while Keuchel allowed three runs over six and two-thirds. Kershaw is one of the best pitchers in baseball, period, but Keuchel is historically dominant at home. The Astros will look to regain the series lead with a win in the last home game tomorrow night and head to Los Angeles in need of one more to win the series.

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THE BIG HURT

Astros fans beware: legal theft becoming more common at sporting events

This is getting out of hand. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Allsport/Getty Images.

Dr. Rick warns his patients, young homeowners who are turning into their parents, you can expect to pay more for snacks and drinks at a movie theater. It's the same deal at a professional sports venue. Three years ago, I put a down payment on a cheeseburger at Toyota Center ... I still have three more payments to go before I get it.

But this is ridiculous. The PGA Championship, the lesser (least) of golf's majors, is charging $18 for a beer, a 25-ounce Michelob Ultra, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. It's $19 for a Stella Artois. You can buy a six-pack for less at the supermarket. Aren't there laws against price gouging, like during a hurricane? Isn't Tulsa where the Golden Hurricanes play? Get FEMA in here. Did tournament directors get together and ponder, how can we piss off our fans? Sure, it's Tulsa and there's not much else to do, but that's no excuse.

Charging $18 for a beer makes the concession stands at Minute Maid Park look like a Sunday morning farmer's market. A 25-ounce domestic beer during an Astros game is $13.49. A 25-ounce premium beer is $14.45. Yeah, that's high for a beer, but at Minute Maid Park there are lots of hands in the till. Aramark wants to make a profit, the taxman has big mitts, and the Astros want their cut, too. Look, you want to sign Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez to an extension or not? Then drink up and don't complain. Some quiet grumbling and head-shaking is permitted, however.

You know the PGA Championship is charging too much for a beer when even the rich pampered players take notice. "18 (!!!!!) for a beer ... uhhh what," former PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas tweeted. "Good thing I don't drink a lot."

Like he will be in line for a beer at a public concession booth, anyway.

Of course there will be fans sneaking in beer in baggies strapped to their ankles, like stuffing your pockets with store-bought Snickers before going to the movies. It doesn't have to be this way. The Masters, the most prestigious golf event, charges only $5 for both domestic and imported beer. I know it's a gimmick, part of The Masters mystique along with pimento sandwiches for $1.50, but still it's a welcome gesture. You never lose when you treat the public fairly. When Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in Atlanta, Falcons owner Arthur Blank insisted that food vendors charge the same inside the stadium as they do at their regular restaurants. Same thing when Denver International Airport opened, fast food restaurants couldn't jack up their prices to their captive customers. Here? There needs to be a loan window outside the Cinnabon booth at Bush-Intercontinental.

Except for the Masters in Augusta, golf's majors aren't tied to a city. A major comes to a city maybe every few years or in most cases never. There's no need to ride into a city like the James Gang, rob the local bank, and high tail it out of town. Golf should be the last professional sport to stick it to fans. While the game has made strides to open its arms to lower-income youths, golf remains an elitist, extremely expensive sport for regular folk. Equipment is expensive, private courses are exclusive and country clubs are exclusionary. Public courses are less expensive but still expensive and crowded. Plus there's never been a professional sport more dangerously dominated by one person than golf. I can imagine network executives on their knees praying that Tiger Woods makes the cut and plays on weekends. Otherwise, TV ratings go straight into the toilet, you know, like whatever team Mattress Mack is betting on. (I joke because I love, and frankly a little scared.)

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