LIVE Updates: World Series Game 3 (L.A. Dodgers @ Houston Astros) (Series tied at 1)

Photo courtesy of Major League Baseball

FINAL SCORE:

LAD 3 4 2

HOU 5 12 0

W: McCullers Jr.

L: Darvish

S: Peacock

Top of the 9th (LAD 3-5 HOU):

- Brad Peacock earns the right to pitch in the ninth inning per Brent Strom and A.J. Hinch. Peacock has a chance to earn an 11-out save, the first of his career. Just in case, Will Harris (and not closer Ken Giles) is warming up for the Astros.

- Brad Peacock strikes out Yasiel Puig to start the ninth inning. That's his fourth strikeout in three innings pitched.

- Chase Utley grounds out, Peacock to Gurriel for the second out of the ninth. Peacock has pitched 3.1 innings.

- Brad Peacock, in a masterclass of relieving, earns an 11-out save for a Houston victory by the score of 5-3. Peacock's final line: 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, Save Earned.

Bottom of the 8th (LAD 3-5 HOU):

- Ross Stripling, after just barely avoiding a shot by up the middle by Carlos Correa, gets through the eighth inning for the Dodgers, leaving the score 5-3. Brad Peacock seems to be going into the ninth for the Astros, as no one from the bullpen has emerged.

Top of the 8th (LAD 3-5 HOU):

- Chris Devenski is warming up in the Astros bullpen. Brad Peacock has been throwing a relieving gem for A.J. Hinch. Peacock has two complete innings, allowing just one walk and striking out two Dodgers.

- The Dodgers have been threatening for the most part of the game. However, they have failed to capitalize against the Astros pitchers. The same goes for Houston, even more so, as with the near miss of George Springer's shot to center, the Astros have stranded 22 on base. The Dodgers on the other hand have still stranded 10 on base.

- Brad Peacock has thrown an absolute gem. Striking out three over 2.2 hitless innings, Peacock more than makes up for allowing two Dodger runs charged to start Lance McCullers Jr. in his first inning. A.J. Hinch must be relieved, no pun intended, to see that his former starter has become a solid arm out of the bullpen after being plagued with inconsistency in the earlier rounds of the postseason. Contrary to his managerial counterpart Dave Roberts, Hinch has kept his relievers in the game for the most part, using just McCullers and Peacock in this game, compared to Roberts using a total of six pitchers, including two pitchers (Morrow and Cingrani) who pitched less than a complete inning. Roberts' tactics may have cost the Dodgers thus far, relying on each of his pitchers to bring their best stuff in stressful situations, which has allowed two deciding runs for Houston to cross the plate.

Bottom of the 7th (LAD 3-5 HOU):

- Yuli Gurriel opens up the seventh with yet another solid hit against a right hander, Brandon Morrow. Astros look to pounce on the chance of adding onto their 5-3 lead.

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: BRANDON MORROW kicked out after letting by a leadoff double to Yuli Gurriel. Tony Cingrani enters the game. Man on second, none out.

- Cody Bellinger lays out for a great catch on a bunt laid down by Josh Reddick. Yuli Gurriel didn't move so there was no double play. One out, man still on second.

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: TONY CINGRANI leaves the game after eight pitches, having the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the seventh. Ross Stripling, who threw four pitches in Game 2, enters the game.

- George Springer did a bit of a bat flip as he thought he hit a crucial grand slam off Ross Stripling. However, to the dismay of Astros fans, Chris Taylor comes up with a well-hit fly ball a step away from the center field wall. Ross Stripling was seen laughing, most likely a nervous laugh, as he and the Dodgers returned to the dugout, still with a chance of overcoming the Astros.

Top of the 7th (LAD 3-5 HOU):

Substitution: YASMANI GRANDAL replaces Austin Barnes at catcher and seventh batter in the Dodger lineup.

Substitution: ANDRE ETHIER replaces Kike Hernandez at left field and the ninth batter in the Dodger lineup.

- Brad Peacock shows his reliability by turning in a solid seventh inning for the Astros.

Bottom of the 6th (LAD 3-5 HOU):

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: TONY WATSON comes out after pitching 1.0 innings. Brandon Morrow comes into the game. One out in the bottom half of the inning, no one on base.

- Final line for Tony Watson: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (unearned), 1 K

- Justin Turner commits an error on a spin throw. George Springer reaches base as Turner's throw takes Cody Bellinger off the first base bag.

- Hard-throwing right-hander Brandon Morrow allowed a walk to Alex Bregman but strikes out both Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa to keep the Astros from scoring in the sixth.

Top of the 6th (LAD 1-5 HOU):

- A leadoff walk allowed by Lance McCullers Jr. allows Brad Peacock to start warming up in the bullpen again. That's McCullers' fourth walk allowed.

- The Dodgers starting to apply pressure to McCullers Jr. and the Astros. Justin Turner doubles sharply to left. Corey Seager advances to third. Francisco Liriano starts working in the bullpen beside Peacock. Brent Strom comes out to talk to his pitcher instead of A.J. Hinch yanking McCullers.

- McCullers collects his third strikeout, a huge first out as he fools Cody Bellinger.

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: LANCE MCCULLERS JR. ends his night after his big strikeout against Cody Bellinger. Brad Peacock enters the game for the Astros. Two men in scoring position, one out in the top of the sixth as Yasiel Puig awaits in the batter's box.

SCORING PLAY: YASIEL PUIG hits a ground ball that plates COREY SEAGER. Run scored charged to Lance McCullers Jr. 5-2 Astros lead.

Substitution: CHASE UTLEY replaces Logan Forsthye at second base and as the sixth hitter in the Dodger lineup.

SCORING PLAY: BRAD PEACOCK throws a wild pitch. JUSTIN TURNER scores. Run charged to Lance McCullers Jr. Astros lead 5-3.

- Brad Peacock allows both Dodger runners to score, which means Lance McCullers Jr.'s final line is: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K (all against Cody Bellinger). Peacock gets out of the inning but not before the Dodgers put themselves firmly back in the game.

Bottom of the 5th (LAD 1-4 HOU):

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: KENTA MAEDA comes out of the game after pitching shutout 2.2 innings, allowing one hit, one walk and striking out two in an impressive, crucial effort for the Dodgers who trail. Lefty Tony Watson comes into the game.

- Not much more could have possibly been asked for Kenta Maeda. A dominant performance has kept the game as is and has the Dodgers still fighting for a chance to win this game.

- Josh Reddick is having much more success against his former team, the Dodgers, as opposed to the Yankees in the ALCS. Reddick tied the record for having 22 consecutive hitless at-bats to start a playoff series. Reddick finished the ALCS batting just 1 for 25 (.040). Meanwhile, Reddick has hit 4 for 10 in this World Series.

SCORING PLAY: EVAN GATTIS hits an infield hit, pitcher TONY WATSON attempts to throw him out at first but throws it past Cody Bellinger at first. JOSH REDDICK scores on the error (E1 against Cingrani) and the Astros lead 5-1.

- Tony Watson entered the game for the Dodgers and seemed to be en route to closing out the fifth inning. However, after a Josh Reddick single, Evan Gattis hit an infield single that Watson fielded, threw to first baseman Cody Bellinger that almost finished with Bellinger's arm being taken out by Gattis. The threw became an error that sent the ball toward right field and Josh Reddick capitalized by scoring.

Top of the 5th (LAD 1-4 HOU):

- Joc Pederson hustles and slides into second with a double to center, the Dodgers have a man in scoring position with one out in the fifth.

- George Springer dives for an amazing catch in center field that saves a run for Lance McCullers Jr. and the Astros in the fifth inning.

Bottom of the 4th (LAD 1-4 HOU):

- Kenta Maeda looking impressive in the fourth. After the light hit by McCann, Maeda took care of business, striking out George Springer and Alex Bregman before getting a force out on a Jose Altuve light grounder. Maeda may be pushing himself to prove to Dave Roberts he can take the mound both out of the 'pen and in the starting rotation come later in the series.

- A Brian McCann floater over Corey Seager opens the bottom of the fourth inning as the Astros continue to be fortuitous in their hitting. They have not had a 1-2-3 inning at the plate since the fifth inning of Game 2.

Top of the 4th (LAD 1-4 HOU):

- Terrible mistake by Yasiel Puig. The Cuban right fielder anticipated a catch by Alex Bregman as he hustled for first. Once he saw that Bregman had the ball kick off his glove, he tried racing for second. However, after slight hesitation, Jose Altuve made a catch from a throw by Carlos Correa and made a diving tag to Puig as he tried to swim move his way into scoring position.

- Lance McCullers Jr. finds his rhythm again in the fourth. Striking out Cody Bellinger for the second time tonight and getting an unconventional out against Yasiel Puig, McCullers concluded his fourth inning by making Logan Forsythe fly out to right fielder Josh Reddick. A solid performance following a dangerous third inning.

Bottom of the 3rd (LAD 1-4 HOU):

- Kenta Maeda starts the third inning, as he'll be asked to keep his Dodgers in this ballgame.

- Thankfully for the Dodgers, an uneventful half inning. Kenta Maeda did seem to feel frustrated after allowing a two-out walk but he recomposed himself and found a way to end the third inning.

Top of the 3rd (LAD 0-4 HOU):

- The Astros have had their routine success at home. In the postseason, they've hit .276 at Minute Maid Park, compared to .219 on the road.

They've averaged 5.2 runs per game at home in the postseason. They scored four runs in second inning alone.

- Lance McCullers Jr. is struggling, allowing two walks to start the inning, including a four-pitch walk.

- Lance McCullers Jr. has allowed three consecutive walks. Bases are loaded for Corey Seager.

SCORING PLAY: COREY SEAGER grounds into a double play (Altuve-Correa-McCullers Jr.), Kike Hernandez to third as JOC PEDERSON scores. Astros lead 4-1.

- Lance McCullers Jr. wanted at least one out and he turns two, much to the delight of the Astro faithful and A.J. Hinch who sent Brad Peacock to the bullpen.

- Lance McCullers Jr. works his out of the the third inning with minimal damage to the Astros lead. 4-1 Astros at the midway point of the third inning.

- Tough break for the Dodgers. After getting three straight walks, they would hope for a better result than one run crossing the plate and Lance McCullers Jr. still pitching. Corey Seager's double play may mark the tempo for the next inning or two unless the Dodgers strike again.

Bottom of the 2nd (LAD 0-0 HOU):

- Expect to see the curveball a lot from Lance McCullers Jr., the league's most frequent user of the bender (47.3%).

Remember, McCullers used 23 consecutive curveballs to end Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees in Houston to get the Astros to the World Series. Expect McCullers to use what he knows to get outs.

SCORING PLAY: YURI GURRIEL rips a solo shot to left above the short wall to give the Astros a 1-0 lead!

- As I was watching Gurriel's at bat, I was going to say he will find comfort facing Yu Darvish tonight. Gurriel had .500 OBP against righties compared to .200 against lefties. Now you'll see that OBP %, Slugging % and batting average increase after that solo shot.

- Josh Reddick follows up Gurriel's home run with a double to left by the 3rd base line, his first extra-base hit in 54 plate appearances in the playoffs.

- Yu Darvish has a history against the Astros, as he played for rivals Texas, debuting in 2012 and playing in Arlington until being traded to the Dodgers in late July of this year.

- He's trailing early on, even though he's had success against the Houston batters. Together, the team has hit .190 before tonight against the right hander.

SCORING PLAY: MARWIN GONZALEZ hits a single to the left field wall. Gattis moves to second as JOSH REDDICK scores. LAD 0-2 HOU

- Marwin Gonzalez gets a single when he should be standing at second base. Chris Taylor came so close to catching the ball at the wall that Evan Gattis couldn't read the play well enough and stayed at second base.

SCORING PLAY: BRIAN MCCANN hits a single to right center. EVAN GATTIS scores. Marwin Gonzalez advances to third base. LAD 0-3 HOU

- Kenta Maeda has started warming up in the bullpen for the Dodgers. Maeda pitched 1.1 innings in Game 2 coming in for starter Rich Hill.

SCORING PLAY: MARWIN GONZALEZ comes to the plate on a sac fly by ALEX BREGMAN. 4-0 Astros in the bottom of the 2nd inning.

- MVP candidate Jose Altuve adds on to the rally, hitting a double off the left center wall. Dave Roberts comes out of the dugout to yank his starter in the second inning.

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: YU DARVISH pitches just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Kenta Maeda enters the game.

- Astros put up four runs against starter Yu Darvish, giving Darvish his shortest start of his career: 1.2 IP, 0 K, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 ER, 1 HR

Top of the 2nd (LAD 0-0 HOU):

- Lance McCullers Jr. strikes out Cody Bellinger in three pitches. McCullers has started the game just throwing 15 pitches to the 1-4 batters.

- Kike Hernandez gets the first hit for the Dodgers with a soft hit to right field in front of Reddick.

- After Hernandez nabs a stolen base, McCullers gets Chris Taylor to ground out to Bregman to end the top half of the 2nd inning.

Bottom of the 1st (LAD 0-0 HOU):

- George Spinger, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve will start the bottom half of the 1st against former division rival Yu Darvish who used to play with the neighbor Texas Rangers.

- George Springer immediately starts the bottom half of the first with a leadoff double with a 3-1 shot to right center field.

- Quick reminder of the lineups tonight:

LAD: 1. Taylor (CF), 2. Seager (SS), 3. Turner (3B), 4. Bellinger (1B), 5. Puig (RF), 6. Forsythe (2B), 7. Barnes (C), 8. Pederson (DH), 9. Hernandez (LF)

Pitching: Yu Darvish

HOU: 1. Springer (CF), 2. Bregman (3B), 3. Altuve (2B), 4. Correa (SS), 5. Gurriel (1B), 6. Reddick (RF), 7. Gattis (DH), 8. Gonzalez (LF), 9. McCann (C)

Pitching: Lance McCullers Jr.

- Fun Fact:

Dodgers starter Yu Darvish almost had a perfect game at Minute Maid Park. On April 2, 2013, Darvish took his gem into the ninth inning and after he retired the first two batters, the last chance for the Astros hit a ball between the legs of Darvish and ended the righty's perfect game bid. The batter: Marwin Gonzalez.

- Yu Darvish manages to get through the first inning after allowing a leadoff double to George Springer. The Astros start the game 0-3 with RISP, a good sign for the Dodgers as they face a team undefeated at home during the postseason.

Top of the 1st (LAD 0-0 HOU):

- Lance McCullers starts for the Astros as he retires leadoff hitter Chris Taylor on a pop-up to Jose Altuve.

- Jose Altuve has a ball pop off his glove on the shift against Corey Seager, but he recovers and throws it to Yuli Gurriel for the second out.

- George Springer makes a running catch near the warning track to retire Justin Turner for a quick 1-2-3 inning for starter Lance McCullers. Impressive route to the ball for an important catch to get McCullers back in the dugout ASAP.