WORLD SERIRES GAME 4

Bullpen falters as Dodgers tie series 2-2

Bullpen falters as Dodgers tie series 2-2
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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This season is officially upon us! Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.

Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.

Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.

Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.

Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.

Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.

On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.

The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.

Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.

Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!

And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!

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