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The Astros lost Game 1 of the World Series to the Dodgers despite a solid effort from ace Dallas Keuchel. This defeat means Houston is still waiting for their first World Series win. That could refer to their first World Series title, but no, here we're talking about the Astros' first win within a World Series: The organization is now 0-5 all-time in World Series games.
Houston made it to the World Series for the first — and until recently only — time back in 2005. They were swept by the White Sox, who, despite ESPN's faulty memory when it comes to the Chicago White Sox in 2005, only lost one game the entire postseason. The Astros then slid into mediocrity, openly tanked, switched leagues, built themselves back up, and then made it to the 2017 World Series ... where they promptly lost Game 1 to keep the streak going.
It's not an embarrassing or especially lengthy streak — the Rockies are 0-4 all time in the World Series thanks to a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox in their lone Fall Classic appearance, for instance. However, the Astros have existed as an organization since 1962. They've been around for nearly twice as long as the Dodgers went between winning World Series games. At this point, each loss weighs a lot more than it should.
The good news is that there is a simple solution to this, and it involves winning a World Series game, which they have at least three more chances to do in 2017. In Game 2 on Wednesday, Justin Verlander takes the hill against Rich Hi—I should have thought that sentence through before I started typing it.
Win one World Series game to end the unfortunately still-growing streak, and then win three more. Seems easy enough, right? The Dodgers might have something to say about all of that, but that's a minor detail.
- The Dodgers haven't been to the World Series since 1988, when Dodger Stadium was still relatively new. Now it's a museum, and as Grant Brisbee writes, Game 1 gave it a new exhibit.
- Dallas Keuchel vs. Clayton Kershaw was the pitching duel we all hoped it could be, and then Justin Turner took the former deep for what would eventually be a game-winning two-run dinger.
- Jackie Robinson's family threw out the first pitch of the 2017 World Series, on the anniversary of Robinson's death at the all-too-young age of 53.
- The Astros might not have won Game 1 of the World Series, but Alex Bregman showed his youth wasn't going to keep him from producing.
- In nine stats, we can explain the Dodgers' Game 1 victory over the Astros.
- Seriously though, ESPN forgot that the 2005 White Sox won the World Series, again.
- Clayton Kershaw was brilliant in his World Series debut, writes Eric Stephen.
- Maybe more importantly, Kershaw doesn't need to do everything else by himself anymore, and that's a significant reason for why the Dodgers are even here to begin with.
- Bruce Maxwell, the A's rookie catcher who kneeled during the national anthem, was refused service by a waiter in his hometown for doing so.
- Giancarlo Stanton is commenting on the possibility of his being traded, and he doesn't get it, either.
- A former Braves employee, while anonymous, defended John Coppolella. This story isn't ending anytime soon.