Game 1 of the World Series between the Dodgers and the Astros begins tonight at 5:00 PM PST on FOX at Dodger Stadium. Yes that’s right I said Dodgers because the Los Angeles Dodgers, our Los Angeles Dodgers are in the World Series. It seems like it’s all a dream and we’ll wake up but it’s not. The Dodger’s nasty 29-year World Series drought has finally come to an end. With four more wins the Dodgers can end their last drought, the championship drought, which is also 29 years. The Dodgers are actually slight favorites in this heavyweight battle, according to TopBet.eu.
The pitching match-up is a marquee one that pits both club’s aces against each other. The Astros will have their bearded ace Dallas Keuchel on the mound. Keuchel finished 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA in the regular season while posting 7.7 strikeouts per nine. He made two starts in the ALCS against the Yankees posting a 1-1 record with a 3.09 ERA. In that series he struck out 18 and walked only 2 across 11.2 innings pitched.
Keuchel is 7-6 with a 3.13 ERA in 17 career interleague starts. He’s never faced the Dodgers and only three Dodger hitters have ever faced him. Logan Forsythe has the most plate appearances against him, batting .350 (7 for 20) with one extra-base hit. Keuchel throws a cutter and four-seamer that generates a lot of ground balls. Keuchel had a 66.8 ground ball percentage this season.
Keuchel vs. Dodgers
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | OPS |
| Logan Forsythe | 20 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .350 | .350 | .800 |
| Chase Utley | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .500 | .750 |
| Chris Taylor | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 29 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .296 | .345 | .715 |
The Dodgers will give the ball to Clayton Kershaw. The ace southpaw is looking to end droughts and establish legacies as he makes his first World Series start. Kershaw was 18-4 with a 2.31 ERA over 175 innings pitched. Kershaw struck out 10.4 per nine during the regular season and posted a 202/30 strikeout to walk line. Kershaw has made 8 career starts against the Astros and is 3-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 53 frames. He’s struck out 53 Houston batters while walking 13.
The southpaw has a 16-4 record with a 2.08 ERA in 32 career interleague starts. He’s posted a 3.63 ERA in the 2017 postseason and is coming off his pennant clinching win in game 5 of the NLCS which he threw six innings of one-run ball with 5 strikeouts. Kershaw has limited the Astros to a .240 batting average against with a .620 OPS. Jose Altuve is batting .400 (6 for 15) with 4 doubles against Kershaw. Houston does not have a home run versus Kershaw but does have 8 extra-base hits.
Kershaw vs. Astros
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | OPS |
| Cameron Maybin | 33 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | .133 | .212 | .345 |
| Carlos Beltran | 31 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | .259 | .323 | .693 |
| Jose Altuve | 15 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .400 | .400 | 1.067 |
| Evan Gattis | 13 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .308 | .641 |
| Brian McCann | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | .167 | .167 |
| Carlos Correa | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Marwin Gonzalez | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Francisco Liriano | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Josh Reddick | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| Collin McHugh | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| Total | 111 | 100 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 28 | .240 | .300 | .620 |
Seager and Turner banged up but expected to play
Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is expected to be on the roster and should play after missing the entire NLCS because of a back injury. However it is possible the Dodgers will use him as the DH when the series shifts to Minute Maid park in Houston for games 3-5 over the weekend. Justin Turner seems to be nursing an unspecified injury as well. He was held out of workouts on Sunday and was seen in the training room receiving treatment.
When asked if the unknown injury would effect him being able to play in the World Series, Turner simply answered “No”. Let’s hope the Co-NLCS MVP is healthy and ready to play. Turner shared the NLCS MVP award with Chris Taylor and hit the walk-off home run in game 2 over the Cubs to help the Dodgers win the NL pennant.
Triple-digit temperatures are expected in Los Angeles through Wednesday. However it still feels like we’re in heaven. Blue heaven. It’s all happening guys! Let’s go Dodgers!
Game Time – 5:00 PM PST – TV- FOX
Does Houston still have that slope in CF with that flag pole? What a dumb idea!