The Astros’ homertastic, comeback World Series Game 5 win, explained in 10 stats

So. Many. Home Runs.

No lead was safe. No bedtime was respected. And maybe no game was ever more fun.

The Houston Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 13-12, in a wild, extra-inning Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. By overcoming multiple deficits with multiple home runs from multiple heroes, the Astros grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Here are 10 numbers that tell (some of) the story of an instant classic:

3

The Astros erased three deficits during a wild 10 innings at Minute Maid Park:

• The Dodgers took a 3-0 lead in the first. The Astros eventually tied the game, 4-4, in the fourth when Carlos Correa hit an RBI double and Yuli Gurriel hit a three-run homer.
• The Dodgers went ahead, 7-4, in the top of the fifth. The Astros tied the game, 7-7, in the bottom of the same inning. Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer.
• The Dodgers went ahead, 8-7, in the top of the seventh. The Astros tied the game, 8-8, and then took the lead in the bottom of the same inning. George Springer hit the game-tying solo homer.

The Astros were just the fifth team to come back three times and win a World Series game:

8.1

It was supposed to be pitchers’ duel: Clayton Kershaw vs. Dallas Keuchel. It was not. Kershaw lasted just 4.2 innings for the Dodgers. Los Angeles’ left-handed ace surrendered his MLB-record eighth homer of this postseason and was charged with six earned runs. Keuchel gave the Astros only 3.2 innings. Houston’s left-handed ace racked up 86 pitches while surrendering five hits, four runs (three earned) and two walks.

4

The Dodgers had several reasons to feel confident with a 4-0 lead and Clayton Kershaw on the mound. Not only had the Dodgers won eight of his last nine postseason games, but they had not lost a Kershaw start in which they scored 4+ runs since August 2015. Going back to 2012, the Dodgers were 49-1 in Kershaw starts when he pitched with a 4-run lead.

7

With the Astros trailing, 7-4, in the bottom of the fifth inning, second baseman Jose Altuve stepped up to the plate with two runners on base. Kenta Maeda had just replaced Kershaw on the mound for the Dodgers. Altuve ran the count full and sent the seventh pitch — a 94-mph fastball — of the at-bat into the center-field standing room section. It was Altuve’s seventh homer of the 2017 postseason, tying him with Daniel Murphy (2015) for the most by a second baseman in a single playoff run.

8

The strike zone of home plate umpire Bill Miller drew the ire of batters in Minute Maid Park and fans on social media. Altogether, there were eight called third strikes for Miller, who had an MLB-high 151 called K’s during the regular season.

12

The Dodgers scored 12 runs. The Dodgers also lost the game. Here are some of the biggest run-scoring hits by Los Angeles players that were ultimately overshadowed:

• Logan Forsythe hit a two-run single in the first inning.
• Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning to push the Dodgers ahead, 7-4. He added an RBI triple to push the Dodgers in front, 8-7, in the seventh.

• Corey Seager hit an RBI double in the eighth to pull the Dodgers within 11-9.
• Yasiel Puig hit a two-run homer in the ninth to pull the Dodgers within 12-11.
• Chris Taylor hit a game-tying single with two outs in the ninth to force extra innings.

It was just the second time a team scored 12 or more runs in a World Series game and also lost. The Phillies lost Game 4 of the 1993 World Series to the Blue Jays, 15-14.

5

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on reliever Brandon Morrow, again. For the fifth time in five World Series games, Morrow took the ball — after not pitching even three games in a row during the regular season. Things did not go well for him in the seventh inning. After arriving on the mound with an 8-7 lead, Morrow threw six pitches that resulted in four runs and zero outs. He surrendered home runs to Springer and Correa and an RBI double to Altuve.

29.8

Houston Astros pinch-runner Derek Fisher scored the decisive run from second base on Alex Bregman’s walk-off single in the 10th inning. Fisher, rated as the 17th-fastest baserunner in MLB, motored home at a speed of 29.8 miles per hour, according to MLB.com’s Statcast.

5:17

At five hours and 17 minutes, Game 5 was the second-longest World Series game, by time, in history. The 10-inning tilt was only shorter than Game 3 of the 2005 World Series between the White Sox and Astros. That game, also played in Houston, took 14 innings.

66.7

In a World Series tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win 66.7 percent of the time (28 of 42).