The Houston Astros hosted just the third World Series game in franchise history on Friday night, and quickly gave the fans at Minute Maid Park reason to cheer. Houston hit Yu Darvish hard and chased the right-hander with two outs in the second inning.
While Darvish managed to strand a leadoff double in the first inning, he never managed to stop the onslaught in the second inning. Yulieski Gurriel led off with a line-drive home run into the Crawford Boxes in left field to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.
Josh Reddick followed with a double, Evan Gattis walked, and Marwin Gonzalez hit an RBI single. Brian McCann drove in another run with a base hit to right field, and Alex Bregman’s sacrifice fly extended the Astros’ lead to 4-0.
Aside from the rough outing he endured, Darvish was the subject of a racial gesture aimed toward him during Reddick’s at-bat.
It was done by Gurriel while he was sitting in the dugout, which FOX television cameras caught, although there was no mention of it during the broadcast:
Yuli Gurriel mocking Yu Darvish? #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/xp3tpzeQlm
— Andrew Doughty (@Adoughty88) October 28, 2017
Gurriel later doubled off Brandon Morrow and the Astros went on for a 5-3 win that gave them a series lead. According to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, Gurriel is due to meet with MLB and he may face punishment:
I've been told MLB will interview Gurriel about the dugout gesture toward Darvish and consider discipline.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) October 28, 2017
The 33-year-old completed his second season with the Astros since defecting from Cuba. The Dodgers reportedly had some interest in signing Gurriel, and even hosted him for a workout at Dodger Stadium.
Should he be suspended, the Astros would be without a key bat in their lineup for at least one game, which could prove pivotal considering the possible outcomes in Game 4.
