It’s only fitting that one of the most exciting World Series ever would go the distance.
The Los Angeles Dodgers forced a seventh and deciding game in the 2017 Fall Classic with a 3-1 victory Tuesday over Houston ace Justin Verlander and the Astros. Game 7 is Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
The average ticket sold to the winner-take-all game was purchased for $1,795, according to ticket reseller StubHub. Instead of getting a seat to the game, let’s try and pick the champion and cash our own winning ticket (odds provided by bovada.lv).
For the third time in four years, the National and American League champions have pushed the best-of-seven series to the limit. Lance McCullers (0-1, 5.06 ERA) faces Yu Darvish (0-1, 21.60) in the most important game of their careers.
McCullers was the winning pitcher in Game 3 where he went 5 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs on four hits, along with four walks and three strikeouts. In the regular season, the 24-year-old was 7-4 with a 4.25 ERA.
Darvish also pitched in Game 3. His start was a nightmare. He surrendered four runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings — the shortest start of his career. The 31-year-old was 10-12 with a 3.86 ERA in the regular season. But he had been lights out in his first two playoff starts, allowing just two runs in more than 11 innings of work.
Dodgers Have Lost Once At Home In Playoffs
The Astros are the only team to beat L.A. this postseason at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are 6-1 heading into this do-or-die game after going 57-24 at home during the regular season.
Those are not good odds for the Astros, especially since Houston is 2-7 on the road this postseason. They were 53-28 away from home during the regular season.
Jose Altuve needs to have a big game for the Astros in Game 7. The Dodgers have silenced Houston’s best player for most of the series as he has six hits in six games and is hitting just .214. George Springer (.375, five home runs) is having a great World Series and Carlos Correa (.280, two home runs) has delivered as well.
The Dodgers have been having their problems at the plate. Chris Taylor (.227) has just five hits in six games, same for Corey Seager (.217). Justin Turner (.130) has three hits and Yasil Puig (.167) has only four.
It must be the pitchers. And we’ve seen a lot of them. In Games 2 and 5, the two teams used 14 pitchers. In the six games, 60 pitchers have made their way to the mound — an average of 10 hurlers a game.
One of those relievers just might be the hero in Game 7 on sport’s biggest stage.
Chris Wassel
AA, AAS
CURRENTLY
Sports Writer and Journalist
RESIDES IN
Rahway, NJ
EDUCATION
Union County College, Montclair State University
EXPERTISE
Business, Writing, Sports, Food, Grilling, Olympics, Injuries, Politics, and more
Summary
Member of FSWA, FSGA, and a variety of Sports Betting Groups.
Lead arranger of news and injury reports for Rotoballer Hockey. Also did the news lead for NASCAR on the same site coming out of COVID.
Strategy and mapping out of various sports betting and sports articles for MyNHLTradeRumors and gambling.com.
Runs a hockey and fantasy hockey podcast that teaches fantasy hockey players how to improve their skills.
Experience
Chris Wassel has 20+ years of sports journalistic experience in various disciplines..
His ability to play sports is well documented. Most people in the business just write. However, Chris will race cars and even a super Moto bike from time to time. There is that fitness and hiking/cycling aspect too.
Chris has climbed mountains from Mount Washington to Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, California. For those that do not know. Chris also dabbles in food eating contests and challenges. Having a unique background with friends including Joey Chestnut and Casey Webb, Chris has the ability to eat a whole 16-pound turkey or a 32 inch meat lover's pizza.
Since 2013, Chris has primarily focused on sports writing and fitness. On social media, he will answer any question in many different aspects. Even Chris's ability to wager on Entertainment and US Elections is well documented. He was able to predict Joe Biden's inevitable dip in approval rating below 40%.
Throughout his career, Chris has worked at a lot of places from DraftKings to USA Today and much more.
Finally, Chris has been nominated for quite a few awards from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association for Hockey Writer Of The Year. Also, there have been a number of amazing fantasy hockey championships from expert to high-stake leagues.
Education
Chris received an Associates from Union Country College for business and accounting. Chris did sports journalism work at Montclair State University covering the hockey, baseball, and football teams.
Quote from Chris Wassel
"Do Not Think, Just Do.”
Education
1999 Graduate of Union County College
1993 Graduate of Rahway High School
Professional Achievements
Media credentialed member of the New Jersey Devils since 2010
Covered several NHL Drafts including the one day event in Newark in 2013
Been on countless podcasts, TV shows, and more including Sportsnet and even NHL Network