The most exciting thing in all of sports is about to happen. Game 7 of the World Series is coming up after the Dodgers tied the series against the Astros. Los Angeles held on to their championship hopes with the help of Chris Taylor, Corey Seager, and a home run by Joc Pederson. The Dodgers defeated the Astros 3-1 to tie the Series at 3 games a piece, thus forcing Game 7. Just as Yasiel Puig had predicted. Who has the key to come out on top at the decisive ballgame?
Pitching
Game 7 will see Lance McCullers and Japanese import Yu Darvish take the mound. This is a Game 3 rematch. McCullers went five and a third innings while his counterpart was pulled out of the game after just one and two thirds of an innings. Keep in mind that McCullers pitched at home back in Game 3. If Darvish is not able to go deep into the ballgame, the game could turn into a real nightmare for the Dodger bullpen. As we have seen all throughout this World Series, the bullpens have not been all that solid. The Astros have the edge in the pitching department.
Batting
Work With What You Get
The Dodgers did something very important in Game 6. They were able to feed off the few mistakes Justin Verlander made in what was a solid performance on his part. The atmosphere will be tense and the Dodgers will face a strong arm on the mound. So on the Dodger side of things, that is key. Feeding off pitching mistakes. However, the Astros also have some tools of their own
Raw Power
Extra bases and home runs have been the name of the game for the Astros. We all saw it last Sunday. The Astros were not only able to tie the game multiple times, they were able to win on pure power. Carlos Correa doubled and homered, and many others also had long balls of their own. Yuli Gurriel, Jose Altuve, George Springer, and even Brian McCann, who has been relatively quiet during postseason, got in the act. If the Astros are capable of replicating their offensive efforts, even just by half, they will take the Series.
Due to the arguments by both teams, it is a very even match on the offensive side of things.
Momentum
Things get specially interesting here. Here is where mind games come into play. One must imagine that being the Astros, it had to feel somewhat discouraging to lose Game 6. They had the championship in front of them for at least half of the game. On the other hand, the Dodgers just got a burst of energy. A fresh oxygen tank right when the old one was starting to run empty. Combine this with their late rallies and fifty thousand loud fans letting their presence be known and the Dodgers could very well carry their boost of energy to win the Commissioner’s Trophy. Dodger Stadium has never hosted a World Series Game 7. Nevertheless, its first one could turn out to be historic.
Winner takes it all.