The Houston Astros won their first World Series in franchise history with a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.
Houston struck early, scoring two runs in the first inning off Dodgers’ starter Yu Darvish, then chasing him in the second after scoring three more runs, including a two-run homer by center fielder George Springer.
It was Springer’s fifth home run of the Fall Classic, tying a World Series record shared by Reggie Jackson of the 1977 New York Yankees and Chase Utley of the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies. (Utley is now on the Dodgers.)
He also set a World Series record with 29 total bases.
That performance earned him the World Series MVP award.
The Astros’ victory came after an epic World Series that went the full seven games. Two games were pitching duels that ended in 3-1 scores, while two went into extra innings, including a 13-12 Game 5 slugfest on Sunday night.
There was also some controversy along the way.
Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel made a racist gesture at Darvish after hitting a home run off the pitcher in Game 3 last week.
When Gurriel came to bat against Darvish in the first inning of Wednesday night’s Game 7, he paused and took off his helmet in a gesture of apology.
“He’s still sorry,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said prior to the game. “He’s still regretful. He’s still remorseful. He’s still got a penalty to pay.”
Gurriel will serve a five-game suspension next season over the incident.
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