World Series Game 5: Five key moments in the Astros' unbelievable win

Remember the early pitcher’s duel that was Game 4 of the World Series? That seems like years ago now.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros decided an offensive explosion was in order during Game 5, combining for 25 runs in a wild contest. Ultimately, it was the Astros who came out on top, winning the game on an extra-innings single from Alex Bregman, and taking a 3-2 lead in the World Series.

As we’ve come to expect from these two opponents, there were far more than five moments that stood out in this game. We’ll do our best to cover them below, but given the back-and-forth nature of Game 5, you can bet there were at least 20 more moments we considered.

YULI GURRIEL TIES IT WITH THREE-RUN HOMER
With a cloud of controversy still hovering over him, Yuli Gurriel brought Minute Maid Park to its feet in the fourth inning when he crushed a game-tying three-run home run against Clayton Kershaw. The Astros started the frame down 4-0, but got off the deck thanks to the top of their order. Carlos Correa drove in the first run with a double, then Gurriel followed with his second home run of the series. The homer was the eighth allowed by Kershaw during the postseason.

BOTH TEAMS TRADE THREE-RUN HOMERS IN THE FIFTH
After the Astros rallied to tie in the fourth inning, the Dodgers counter-punched quickly thanks to Cody Bellinger. The rookie slugger finally got locked in with two doubles in Game 4, and he continued to deliver with a rocket three-run homer off Astros reliever Collin McHugh. The blast was Bellinger’s third of the postseason, but it wouldn’t hold up for long with the Astros showing their resilience again.

In the bottom of the inning, Jose Altuve struck. After Gurriel and Bellinger traded three-run bombs, potential AL MVP Jose Altuve got in on the action, launching a three-run homer of his own to tie it again in the fifth. Altuve had been quiet in the series, entering Game 5 with three hits in 19 World Series at-bats.

THE ENTIRE SEVENTH INNING
We’re cheating by including an entire inning, but forgive us. The seventh began with the game tied 7-7. Justin Turner kicked things off with a double. The Dodgers then decided to bunt with clean-up hitter Enrique Hernandez. He bunted right to the pitcher, and Turner was thrown out at third. But it wound up paying off, as Bellinger hit a line drive that George Springer misplayed in center. Hernandez hustled home, and Bellinger wound up with a triple. He was stranded there, and the Dodgers took an 8-7 lead into the bottom of the frame.

It didn’t last long. Springer made up for his misplay with a solo home run off Brandon Morrow to tie things up. His home run did not kill the rally; it started it. Alex Bregman followed that up with a single. Altuve struck again, doubling Bregman home to give Houston the lead. Carlos Correa than smashed a two-run homer to left, pushing the Astros’ lead to 11-8.

THE DODGERS RALLY IN THE NINTH
After all the Astros’ bullpen craziness, all eyes were on Chris Devenski as he took the mound with a three-run lead in the ninth inning. Usually, we would see closer Ken Giles in that spot, but manager A.J. Hinch didn’t feel comfortable using him after his struggles in Game 4.

Devenski struggled from the start, issuing a leadoff walk to Bellinger to kick things off. After striking out Logan Forsythe, Devenski gave up a two-run homer to Yasiel Puig to bring the game within one.

Austin Barnes then doubled to the gap, putting the tying run on second base for Game 4 hero Joc Pederson. With an 0-2 count, Pederson grounded out, moving Barnes to third. Chris Taylor then singled to center to tie the game.

ALEX BREGMAN WALKS IT OFF
With things tied up, the Astros once again needed a comeback in order to finally put the Dodgers away. In the bottom of the 10th, Bregman delivered just that. With pinch-runner Derek Fisher standing on second, Bregman hit a first-pitch cutter from Kenley Jansen to left to score the winning run and walk off the Dodgers. The hit gave the Astros a 3-2 lead in the World Series. They’ll now head back to Los Angeles with ace Justin Verlander on the mound in Game 6.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik