Lift Off!

There was Marwin Gonzalez, who hit a stunning game-tying homer in the ninth inning off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. There was George Springer, the struggling outfielder who delivered the biggest homer in Astros history in the 11th to break a tie. And there was reliever Chris Devenski, who struck out Yasiel Puig for the final out of one of the most epic games in World Series history.

The Astros, three outs from a daunting deficit in the Fall Classic, pulled off two improbable rallies against Los Angeles’ vaunted bullpen and shocked a Dodger Stadium crowd with a 7-6, 11-inning victory to even the Series at one game apiece.

The back-and-forth thriller featured eight homers, which is the most in a World Series game, including five extra-inning home runs, which is the most in any contest in MLB history, regular season or postseason.

“That’s an incredible game on so many levels, so many ranges of emotion,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “If you like October baseball, if you like any kind of baseball, that’s one of the most incredible games you’ll ever be a part of.”

When Devenski got Puig to swing through a 3-2 changeup for the final out, Houston breathed a huge sigh of relief and earned the first World Series victory in club history. After a travel day on Thursday, the World Series presented by YouTube TV resumes with Game 3 on Friday night at Minute Maid Park, where the Astros are undefeated (6-0) this postseason.

“I mean, honestly, it was an exciting baseball game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s two teams that competed for 27 outs. And, yeah, it was an emotional roller coaster. There were some big plays defensively, some big pitches made, obviously some big hits and big homers. And the focus was there. Guys were playing hard on both sides. And unfortunately we came up short.”

MLB.com