World Series 2017: Astros vs. Dodgers Game 7 Pitching Preview, Predictions

After the Los Angeles Dodgers persevered to win Game 6 of the World Series over the Houston Astros by a 3-1 score Tuesday, they will have a chance to win their first Fall Classic since 1988 in Game 7 on Wednesday.

While the Dodgers have momentum firmly on their side, the Astros have a chance to make history in their own right since a Game 7 victory would be their first-ever World Series title in just their second trip to the championship.

L.A. will rely on Yu Darvish as its starting pitcher while Houston turns to Lance McCullers Jr., although it will essentially be an all-hands-on-deck situation for both teams in the bullpen.

Here is a closer look at the Game 7 pitching matchup, as well as a prediction for who will prevail in what has been an all-time great World Series.

Yu Darvish

After getting rocked in a Game 3 loss to Houston last Friday, Darvish will have his chance at redemption in Game 7 on Wednesday.

In his last outing, Darvish allowed six hits, one walk and four earned runs in just 1.2 innings pitched, and to add insult to injury, Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel made a racially insensitive gesture in reference to him after hitting a home run.

Darvish allowed just two earned runs in 11.1 innings pitched in his first two starts of the playoffs, however, meaning the Game 3 hiccup may have simply been a blip on the radar.

The 31-year-old veteran has also already shown this season that he is capable of bouncing back from a poor performance against the Astros despite a quick turnaround.

According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Darvish fired a one-hitter over seven innings in a start against the Astros while with the Texas Rangers this season just 10 days after losing to them in a previous start:

The stakes are significantly higher this time around, but the four-time All-Star knows the Astros well, and he would be hard-pressed to perform worse than he did in Game 3.

Darvish and the Dodgers have the luxury of a stocked bullpen, meaning he won't necessarily have to go deep into the game.

Ace Clayton Kershaw and fellow starter Alex Wood will be available in relief, as will the likes of closer Kenley Jansen, setup man Brandon Morrow and others.

L.A. will likely piece things together from a pitching perspective, but Darvish will have an opportunity to set the tone and make up for his Game 3 struggles.

Lance McCullers Jr.

McCullers has done a little bit of everything for Houston during the postseason, but in Game 7 he will be asked to start and keep the Astros in the mix for at least the first few innings.

He was far from spectacular in his Game 3 World Series start, but he got the win over Darvish after allowing four hits, four walks and three earned runs in 5.1 innings.

Brad Peacock didn't allow a hit in 3.2 innings of relief in that game, which is a potential formula Houston could follow again if it opts against using a starter like Dallas Keuchel or Charlie Morton in the game, although both will be available.

It was apparent immediately after Game 6 that McCullers was ready for the task ahead of him, as he was warming up in the outfield following the Dodgers victory, as seen in this video courtesy of Fox Sports MLB:

McCullers can be a dominant force when his stuff is on, and that was on full display during the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.

He pitched 10 innings in one start and one relief appearance, allowing three hits, three walks and one run while striking out nine.

McCullers generally isn't a pitcher who goes deep into games, but the Astros have a well-rested bullpen with Chris Devenski and Ken Giles among the top options along with Keuchel, Peacock and Morton.

The 24-year-old will essentially be tasked with ensuring the Dodgers don't build up a ton of momentum in the early innings of Game 7 before handing the ball over to some with a bit more postseason experience.

Prediction

Darvish and McCullers are both potentially dominant pitchers with big-time stuff, but they are both known to lay an egg here or there, so it is difficult to predict how they will perform on the biggest possible stage.

Neither Dodgers manager Dave Roberts nor Astros manager A.J. Hinch are likely to allow their starters to suffer through much adversity before pulling them out of the game.

Because of that, Game 7 will probably be decided by which bullpen performs better, and the advantage has to go to Los Angeles in that respect.

Both bullpens have had some struggles during the World Series, but the Dodgers boast arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball in the form of Kershaw as well as a dominant closer in Jansen.

They also have a ton of confidence after beating Astros ace Justin Verlander in Game 6 as well as the all-important home-field advantage.

The Astros have a deep, talented lineup that can explode at any time, but with so much pointing in the Dodgers' favor, Houston will have to wait at least another year to win its first World Series title.

Game 7 prediction: Dodgers 5, Astros 2