The Dodgers and Astros played the quickest World Series game in 25 years
Game 1 took less than two and a half hours to complete
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros 3-1 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series (GameTracker). The Dodgers now hold a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series.
Perhaps the most memorable thing about the game -- sans Clayton Kershaw's brilliance -- was its brevity. The teams finished in two hours and 28 minutes. That's the shortest World Series game in 25 years:
At 2 hours, 28 minutes, the @Dodgers just won the fastest #WorldSeries game since Game 4 of the 1992 Fall Classic. pic.twitter.com/wkocUd4A19
— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) October 25, 2017
The quickie comes at an appropriate time. Recently, Business Insider noted that games were averaging more than 3 1/2 hours this postseason. BI also passed along an Elias Sports Bureau stat: The average length of a postseason game hadn't finished below three hours since 1990.
It's been 6 years since ANY postseason game ended under 2:30 and 11 since we had one where both teams scored a run https://t.co/3u3H1h24gT
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) October 25, 2017
Yet between Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel, the Dodgers and Astros maintained a lively pace. The two threw 167 pitches while recording a combined 13 2/3 innings. The four relievers who followed notched the other 10 outs, and did so without allowing a hit (though there was a walk issued). Factor in how the teams combined for eight double plays, and that's a recipe for a fast-mover.
Game 2 will be played Wednesday night. We'll see if it moves along as quickly.
















