The closer lumbered down the stairs away from the diamond, three outs down, three more to go. Dodger Stadium trembled in his wake, aware of the responsibility that hung across his broad shoulders. As Kenley Jansen entered the dugout midway through Tuesday’s eighth inning, he met the most concerned spectator inside a ballpark containing 54,128 fans in the sixth game of the World Series.
“You got this?” manager Dave Roberts asked.
Jansen stared at his manager. He had blown one save and lost one game to these Houston Astros. He understood that the Dodgers resided on the brink of elimination because of it. His gaze was firm. His answer was brief, biting and unequivocal.
“Yes,” Jansen replied, and he walked away. Roberts needed to hear no more. Jansen climbed the stairs for the ninth. He refused to relinquish the baseball. And he refused to wilt, slamming the door shut in a 3-1 victory that guaranteed something that has never happened at Dodger Stadium.
World Series, Game 7.
Could you expect any less? Could you ask for any more? The baseball gods might not answer letters, but they do allow dreams to flourish.
The Dodgers kept theirs alive Tuesday, 48 hours after an excruciating Game 5 defeat, by playing like the team that ran away with the National League West and bulldozed the other contenders for the pennant. Humbled for five innings, the offense awakened in time. Chris Taylor helped conquer Astros ace Justin Verlander with a tying double in the sixth. Corey Seager gave the Dodgers the lead with a sacrifice fly. Joc Pederson unleashed his third homer of the World Series in the seventh.
The offense provided enough cushion for the pitchers. Rich Hill made a gesture to protest the delayed suspension of Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel, then gave up one run before exiting with two outs in the fifth. The Dodgers relied upon the bullpen strategy that propelled them this far — and the strategy that had backfired earlier in this series.
Earlier in the day, Roberts insisted Jansen would record only three outs. Jansen faced the heart of the Astros order in the eighth inning. Loosening up in the bullpen was Clayton Kershaw, in case Jansen experienced a long inning. Jansen completed the eighth in seven pitches. It was brief enough to convince Roberts. Jansen retired the side with fury in the ninth.
And so both Kershaw and Alex Wood will be available in relief as Yu Darvish duels with Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. on Wednesday. Kershaw intends to erase the sting from Game 5, when he failed to protect seven runs of support.
“I can give 27 innings,” Kershaw said. “Whatever they need.”
The outcome on Tuesday vindicated the process utilized by Roberts for almost the entirety of the season. Roberts guided his team to the most regular-season victories since the franchise left Brooklyn and to the World Series for the first time since 1988. Once there, the Dodgers met an opponent capable of combusting any strategy. The buttons Roberts pushed did not produce the familiar results.
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Joc Pederson celebrates a home run in the seventh inning.
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Joc Pederson celebrates his solo home run against the Astros with 3rd base coach Chris Woodward in the seventh inning.
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Joc Pederson celebrates his solo home run against the Astros in the seventh inning.
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Joc Pederson hits a solo solo home run in the seventh inning.
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Kenley Jansen celebrates at the end of the game after striking out Astros’ Carlos Betran in Game 6.
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Chris Taylor hits an RBI double against the Astros in the sixth inning.
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Cody Bellinger reacts after striking out in the eighth inning.
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Yasiel Puig, left, Joc Pederson and Chris Taylor celebrate as the Dodgers win game 6.
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Kenley Jansen reacts with his teammates after winning game 6.
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Fans celebrate as the Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1 in Game 6.
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Cody Bellinger strikes out in the eighth inning of game 6.
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Chase Utley is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run against the Astros in the sixth inning.
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Fans celebrate as they exit Dodger Stadium after the Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1 in Game 6.
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Kenley Jansen embraces Cody Bellinger after the Dodgers win game 6.
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Joc Pederson celebrates a home run in the seventh inning.
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Kenta Maeda reacts after escaping a seventh inning jam holding a 2-1 lead.
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Dodgers fans cheer in the 6th inning.
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Chase Utley is congratulated by Enrique Hernandez after scoring a run in he sixth inning.
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Chris Taylor hits an RBI single against the Astros in the sixth inning.
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Chris Taylor shakes his hands as he celebrtes an RBI double in the sixth inning.
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Chris Taylor races down the baseline after hitting a double to score the tying run against the Astros in the sixth inning.
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Kenta Maeda pitches against the Astros in Game 6.
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Justin Verlander wlaks back to the dugout after giving up the lead to the Dodgers in the sixth.
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Justin Turner tosses his bat while popping-out in the 6th inning against the Astros in Game 6.
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Fans cheer as the Dodgers pull ahead of the Astros in the sixth inning.
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Chase Utley is hit by a pitch in the sixth inning.
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Fans celebrate after the Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1 in Game 6.
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Dodgers reliever Brandon Morrow receives a pat on the back from Cody Bellinger as he waits for manager Dave Roberts to pull him from the game in the sixth inning.
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Dave Roberts calls for relief pitcher Brandon Morrow to replace starter Rich Hill, right, in the fifth inning in game 6.
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Joc Pederson reacts as he flies out in the fifth inning.
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Lakers legendary basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar waves the Dodgers flag to rally Dodgers fans.
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Astros George Springer celebrates his solo home run in the 3rd inning.
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Dodgers fans cheer in the 6th inning in Game 6.
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Houston Astros center fielder George Springerruns the bases after hitting a solo go-ahead homer in the third inning.
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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig climbs the wall but can’t reach a home run ball hit by Astros George Springer in the 3rd inning.
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Chris Taylor calls off Corey Seager on a third inning pop up from Astros batter Josh Reddick.
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Dodger fans cheer the team before the start of Game 6.
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Allen Estrada eats a Dodger dog while wearing a hot dog costume during Game 6.
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George Springer homers off Rich Hill int he third innnig.
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Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor tosses his batting helmet after striking out in the third inning.
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Yasiel Puig reacts after hitting a single in the second inning.
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LOS ANGELES, CA, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 -Justin Verlander pitches a scoreless first inning in game six of the World Series at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Rich Hill gets Astros’ Carlos Correa to hit into an inning ending grounder in the first.
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Tommy Lasorda, left and Orel Hershiser hug after throwing out the first pitch in game 6 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw walks to the bullpen at the start of Game 6.
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Maggie Ethier, right, takes a photo of her husband, Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, and their 16-month-old daughter, Everly, wearing a witch costume for Halloween before the start of Game 6.
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Fans painted with blue faces rally with fellow Dodgers fans.
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Dodgers’ fan Angel Rodriguez, of East Los Angeles shows his Dodger pride as he watches game 6.
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Jarratt Rouse, of Santa Barbara, sports his popcorn Halloween costume before the start of Game 6.
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Madison Jack, 3, of Rancho Santa Margarita, wears her Tinker Bell costume while taking in the World Series scene before the Dodgers game.
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“Great Bambino” watches as the Dodgers play the Astros in Game 6.
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Mark Morocco, of Palm Springs, shows off his Vin Scully tattoo and his Dodger dog “Great Bambino.”
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Marissa Arnold and her son, Aidan Arnold, 14, of Break, sport their painted faces on Halloween before the Dodgers game against the Astros.
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Joseph Argilagos Sr. and his son, Joseph Argilagos, of Los Angeles, sport beards.
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Yasiel Puig takes in batting practice before Game 6 of the World Series against the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium.
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts laughs during batting practice before Game 6 of the World Series against the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium.
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Dodger fans share a light moment before Game 6 of the World Series against the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium.
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An Astros fan cheers on her team as the Dodgers play the Astros in Game 6.
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Dodger fans watch batting practice before Game 6 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
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Dodger fans dressed for Halloween watch batting practice under cloudy skies before Game 6 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
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A Dodger fan takes a photo with former Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager before Game 6.
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A fan dressed as a Dodger dog before Game 6 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
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Dodger fans dresses in costume for Halloween watch the team take batting practice before Game 6 of the World Series.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Roberts prides himself on being proactive. He aims to anticipate when crises will arise, rather than intercede after the crisis becomes apparent. This leaves him open to criticism, he acknowledges. As the players took batting practice Tuesday, general manager Farhan Zaidi stressed that Roberts “has done a great job this series.”
“From a strategic standpoint, he’s proved himself to be one of the best in baseball,” Zaidi said. “We have complete faith in him.”
Early in the evening, Hill intended to make a point.
To begin the second inning, he faced Gurriel, who received a five-game suspension, to be served in 2018, for his offensive gesture toward Darvish in Game 3. The incident infuriated Hill, and so did the punishment. Hill felt baseball missed an opportunity to “make a statement” by suspending Gurriel for World Series games.
As Gurriel came to bat, Hill made what he called “my silent gesture.” He stepped off the mound to let fans boo. The jeering was thunderous, and it continued until Gurriel popped up. Hill subjected Gurriel to similar treatment in the fourth.
“The one thing was just to let the crowd speak their mind,” Hill said. “I didn’t think anything else would be as loud as that.”
Hill permitted only one hit on his first turn through the Astros batting order. The reverie ended when Houston outfielder George Springer cranked a solo homer, his fourth in six games. Against Verlander, a one-run lead felt like much more.
In the fifth inning, Roberts faced a familiar, painful choice. He had taken out Hill after only four innings in Game 2, rather than letting the Astros hitters face Hill for a third time. The decision backfired when Brandon Morrow and Jansen blew a two-run lead.
Now a similar situation arose. Hill gave up a leadoff single to catcher Brian McCann and a double to outfielder Marwin Gonzalez. McCann stopped at third base, where he remained as Hill struck out former Dodger Josh Reddick and Verlander.
Springer stepped to the plate. As Hill navigated through traffic, Morrow warmed up. Morrow had appeared in the first five games of this series, and he combusted in Game 5, giving up four runs on only six pitches. Roberts still believed in him. After Hill intentionally walked Springer, Roberts walked to the mound.
The crowd held its breath as Roberts conferred with Hill. Roberts extended his hand. Hill gave up the baseball, and in essence, responsibility for the evening to his manager. The fans howled at Roberts as he returned to the dugout. Hill hurled a fleet of cups off the water cooler.
The atmosphere improved a moment later. Morrow disarmed Astros third baseman Alex Bregman with a 99-mph fastball as Bregman rolled a grounder into Corey Seager’s glove at shortstop. Morrow vindicated his manager.
“I’ve believed in him all year long,” Roberts said. “And he came through in the biggest spot of the season.”
Verlander tired in the sixth. Austin Barnes singled. Verlander hit Chase Utley on the foot with a breaking ball. Facing Taylor, Verlander fired a 1-2 fastball at the top of the zone. Taylor swung late, but with enough strength to punch the baseball down the right-field line for an RBI double. Seager padded the lead with a fly ball to the wall.
Handed a lead, the Dodgers required nine outs from the bullpen.
Kenta Maeda recorded three in the seventh. After Pederson went deep in the bottom of the inning, in came Jansen. He left no doubt, as his cutter jumped to 97 mph in the ninth.
After the chaos of this series, in which homers soared in record numbers and bullpen decisions endured unceasing scrutiny, a winner will be crowned Wednesday. The Dodgers couldn’t wait.
“We never stopped believing in ourselves, that we can win a championship,” Jansen said. “So here we are.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series
andy.mccullough@latimes.com
Twitter: @McCulloughTimes
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