World Series Game Five, 2017

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Dodgers at Astros, 5:00 PM PT, TV: Fox

Lefty Clayton Kershaw goes for the Dodgers and lefty Dallas Keuchel goes for the Astros in a rematch of Game One starters. Kershaw went seven innings, struck out eleven and gave up one run on 83 pitches while getting the win in that game. Keuchel went 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and taking the loss.

Odd statistical note: all eight runs Kershaw has allowed this month have been via the home run.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1942 Branch Rickey, the innovator of the farm systems which helped to build a strong Redbird franchise, resigns as the Cardinals’ vice president. Three days later, the Dodgers will announce the Mahatma has been named president of the Brooklyn club, a move that will help to fill the void created by Brooklyn’s general manager Larry MacPhail’s enlistment in the army to serve in World War II.
  • 2008 The Phillies complete the first-ever suspended game in World Series history, playing three innings at Citizens Bank Park, beating the Rays, 4-3, in Game 5 to win the Fall Classic. The World Championship is only the team’s second in franchise history, and its first since 1980.

Lineup when available.


Turner’s knee must be bothering him. Fortunately Forsythe is a good replacement at 3B.

1,022 thoughts on “World Series Game Five, 2017”

  6. Really enjoyed a documentary on Hulu about “The Dana Carvey Show” — “Too Funny To Fail.”
    After the enjoyable 95 minutes, I was transported to another time, other concerns.
    ‘Oh yeah — there’s a baseball game tomorrow. (And hopefully Wednesday!)’

    • Don’t think that the MLB ever comments on individual games. I understand that they review the games and discuss/evaluate the umps privately if there are any issues

    • having not seen much of the game, I watched every video on that site. That is an absolute disgrace and now I understand the outrage.

      • I watched them again after suffering thru them live.
        Really surprised no one — especially a Dodger — was thrown out for arguing . . . they had cause.

  14. From the link Bob_in_Vegas posted below (it’s to the WaPo’s Tom Boswell’s game story/column):

    “On Sunday, we had a trio of Carbos, named Gurriel, Bellinger and Altuve.”

    It’s a reference to Bernie, who hit the three-run HR to tie Game Six in 1975, which set up Fisk’s famous 12th-inning HR.

    • Like they said, Fisk’s is better known but it wouldn’tve happened without Bernie.

  15. In wake of Game Five slugfest, more suspicions about the baseballs. There’s a link contained within to Verducci’s earlier article (Sunday morning, pre-game) about the same subject with the conclusion the balls seem slicker and with a different grain than the ones used all year.

    • I look forward to reading it.
      Even before doing that, I’ve concluded there’s either something on the ball or in the air (besides the balls!) to cause pitchers on both sides to be soooooo ineffective.

  17. Great story from Washington Post I found on msn.com – – sorry, I can’t get the link.
    Distressing historical mark for Kershaw – – most home runs given up in a postseason.
    But not surprising – – it seems he has been bitten by it in every game he has pitched.

      • I will like him a lot more if LA makes it to Game 7.
        But honestly, other than what’s-his-racist’s-name, I don’t dislike any of the Astros.
        I am in awe of Altuve. (An on-again, off-again girlfriend who might be “on” once more texted me after his 3-run shot that she wants to take out a hit on him.) And Bregman — hurting LA in the field and at the plate.
        But I LOVE the Blue!

  21. “They’re coming to our place and it’s going to take all of them to beat all twenty-five of us.”

    • Grandal, McCarthy and Fields for LA the only ones who didn’t play? Plus Rich and Yu and Alex.

    • Totally agree.
      No matter what happens, I feel soo much better than I did after Game 3.
      There are several stories to this Series, but the never-say-die attitude (for both teams) is one of them.
      The reanimation of Cody is another . . . hopefully we’ll say the same of Puig.
      Forget the boys of summer, we want them to be the boys of November!

    • Was this all on KCLA? Or whatever 570 is?
      The station in Vegas which carried the games all summer suddenly turned to the ESPN feed. They never did postgames anyway, but I want to listen to familiar voices!

    • Nomar had it right: to do that press meetup with all those reporters in English and not be embarrassed about his accent or his grammar is really impressive.

  26. We blew away the previous # of comments by close to 50%!
    Never have I been so grateful for this forum as tonight, Link — misery and joy likes company.
    Thanks once more, Link!

  30. We wanted to still be caring late in October and we got our wish!

    Now I want to still be caring in November!

  32. I was hoping, but after the second lead Kershaw had was lost, it seemed a forgone conclusion — for this game, if not the series.

      • Not down. That’s what I’m saying, it’s seemed that way since then, so not entirely a shocker.
        And I know you don’t believe in their psyches being affected as I do, but I agree with the comment about being emotionally drained — and that includes there confidence.

        That said, I feel soo much better than after Game 3 — the bats are there, the team doesn’t quit!

        • No doubt there are emotions involved, but I am of the school that they disappear with the first pitch of the next game. Always did for me.

          • You’re a better man than I, Gunga Din!
            They might go away for me, but they found ways of popping back up.

          • Back home with the LA crowd should help them forget. DS itself will be welcome in suppressing the dinger happy ‘Stros. The Juice Box yielded homers of 389, 378, 363, 349 and 328 ft that would have been flyouts in DS.

    • Hit batter and the bad calls doomed him it seems, by extending the inning (and putting a guy in scoring position).

          • Yeah. Can Morrow and Jansen and Maeda and Watson and Cingrani recover physically between now and Tuesday? On average Hill goes about 5 1/3 innings per start, I think (I haven’t looked at the nbrs).

          • That’s my thought originally, but I agree with what Bob H. said before — Rich normally doesn’t go the 3rd time around.

          • Why too quickly? Seemed the right moment with what they had in the pen at the time. That will perhaps be weighed differently if Doc doesn’t feel like they have a better arm to bring in.

  51. I am violating a house rule by letting out labradoodle sprawl on the couch with me. (Don’t tell my wife. She is out of town.)

  60. That was a super late slid by Andre. But really all Altuve had to do was move one foot away from the bag rather than try to jump over Ethier.

  62. Great movie becomes tonight’s losing team’s description: “The Longest Day.”

  73. Fox staying with the game . .. they run out of commercial breaks?
    You would think ad execs would be on the phone two hours ago seeing how this was going.

  82. OK, this is a huge exaggeration. But it is like being on death row, having the sentence commuted, reinstated again, commuted again, etc.

  109. I wish they still played these games in the daytime, so I’d be able to get to sleep at night.

    • It is definitely an historic year for the Dodgers. Hopefully they’ll end up on top.

  132. Can we get 3 walks and a double and then a single followed by back to back home runs?

  148. The maxim is good pitching beats good hitting.
    With ALL the pitchers on both sides being subpar and with all the home runs, one would definitely think there’s something to the ball being different in this Series.

  177. To paraphrase the Beatles tonight: Yesterday (after three innings), all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay….

  183. Morrow looks devAstated. Poor guy. Four llights out pitching stars have let the side down this WS at some point.

  186. Back when it was 4-0, the comments were moderate. Now we’re going to obliterate the record.

  213. Sure hope that doesn’t come back to haunt.
    In this game, what’re the chances that’s the end of scoring?

  231. Kenley is tempting to face the top of the order. Threw 3 innings last year against the Nats for the win in the final of the NLDS. If we get a lead here.

  238. We need to score. They have the top of the order coming up again. Watson might actually be our best bet, otherwise Chicken Strip or Fields or …

      • At the game Tuesday, one of my seatmates saw the Blue shift and wondered what was happening. I explained. ‘I don’t like shifts,’ she said. They got the batter out and she was leaning towards favoring them.

  246. I’m reminded of that “SNL” skit with “Palin” and “Clinton” where Tina Fey said all it takes to be a woman elected on the top ticket is wanting it. And Amy Poehler went nuts with her wanting it.

    I’m sure no one wants it more than Kershaw. And no one has the raw talent.
    But something happens in the playoffs.

    • It’s a mystery. But he still gets a ring if the Dodgers find a way to win this thing.

      • Yes.
        But it would be nice to know the invincible Kersh is out there more than 50% of the time (at least going by W/L).
        And it pains me to say that about any Dodger, but especially Kersh,. I admire him immensely as a player and a man.

  257. This would be more enjoyable if the game moved along faster. Long commercials and lots pitches. Two hours and 40 minutes and game in the top of the 6th.

  258. This is their season in one game — going great, then bad, then great again, then bad . . . time to be great again.

  274. We definitely had what we wanted — runs and Kershaw.
    Hopefully the bullpen will do it once again.

  281. That should have been his last batter. That would have been the case for any other pitcher on the team.

  282. Would you want (trust) Kershaw to come out of the pen in a hypothetical situation in a hypothetical Game 7?

  295. After his previous K, my brother texted that Puig should sit. I said he’s bad on the road, it was a terrible call . . . and his glove can save a game.

  298. We know they have a batting stand in clubhouses — is there a place for Kersh — or anyone — to pitch?

  324. I’m so pumped to come back and win this and send the crowd home sad. Let’s hit the bullpen hard boys.

  330. 11 of 12 playoff runs off Kersh from HR!
    He most definitely is affected by the HR this year..

  342. Looks like they’ll lose the review and Kersh is in trouble . . . and not looking good.

  346. Unfortunately, this is the situation KErsh was practicing when he went to the mound last night.

    • Bat is waking up. He is swinging like he did in the regular season now. Maybe thinking about catching and game plan at the expense of his swing.

  404. We are supposed to have quite a bit of wind and rain tonight and power just did a hard blink. Hard enough to make Direct TV have to reset. Might be running on generator before the night is over.

  406. Two shutdown.
    Time to score some more!
    Gluttony is bad . . . but for runs tonight, I’m going for it!

    • Ha! Not sure that Wood can go that fast if he wanted to at this point. Had a lot of 89 mph fb last night.

  411. I was confused at the game when everyone booed Reddick.
    I don’t even remember him as a Dodger — what’s the story?

  444. Can’t believe that first pitch was in his wheelhouse.
    If not there, should’ve been taking.

  458. I got some remarkably good baseball news this week. A good friend of mine who lives in Chicago, whom I met at the Dodgers Fantasy Camp in Vero Beach in 2002, is a very successful real estate attorney. He is an enormous Dodgers fan, and he told me that he has had a very good year and invited me to be his guest at Games 6 and Game 7, so I am flying to L.A. from San Jose Tuesday morning. I wish that you all could join in my good fortune. I have no idea where the seats are, but they could be on top of the right field scoreboard and I’d be happy.

      • Does that mean that someone from EF has been to every home game this post-season? Did we (you) cover each one?

        • Thanks to you all for your good wishes and kind thoughts. I will do my best to post from the Game or Games, and I will certainly be thinking of of you folks and what this blog has meant to me for so many years, first by Jon and for many years now, by Link. My first World Series game attended was Game 4 in 1965 when my father got us a pair of ducats in the left-field pavilion in Dodger Stadium. Drysdale went the distance, beating the Twins, 7-2, and Sweet Lou and Wes Parker homered. That tied the WS at two games each. After the game ended, the organist played Happy Days Are Here Again. They were.

          • Sounds like you’ll be good luck for the Blue, Scoop — happy for you! I sure hope you see two games!

  461. OK, everybody, let’s put all our good wishes, hopes and faith in and for the Dodgers together.

  463. For the record, I am very much part of the Joc Pederson bandwagon, and I will not jump off at any time until well into the 2018 season, and I hope that I don’t feel the need to do that then.

  465. Today’s Dodger lineup:
    Taylor CF
    Seager SS
    Turner DH
    Hernandez LF
    Bellinger 1B
    Forsythe 3B
    Puig RF
    Barnes C
    Culberson 2B
    (Kershaw P)

  466. As a warmup to today’s game, I did a little research on Dodgers’ World Series homers. The following list consists of those Dodgers who have hit two or more homers in a World Series (not one game but in all the games in that World Series):
    1952 — Duke Snider 4.
    1953 — Jim Gilliam, 2.
    1955 — Duke Snider 4; Roy Campanella 2.
    1959 — Chuck Essegian, 2 (both as pinch-hitter); Charlie Neal, 2.
    1965 — Ron Fairly, 2; Lou Johnson, 2.
    1977 — Reggie Smith, 3; Steve Yeager, 2.
    1978 — Davey Lopes, 3.
    1981 — Pedro Guerrero, 2; Steve Yeager, 2.
    1988 — Mickey Hatcher, 2.
    2017 — Joc Pederson, 2.
    No one hit at least 2 homers for the Dodgers in the World Series of 1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1956, 1963, 1966 or 1974. Snider is the all-time Dodger leader in World Series homers with 11.