For all we know, they could still be playing this game. For all we know, the Los Angeles Dodgers might still be staring, glassy-eyed, chins hanging over the dugout railing watching 25 Houston Astros jumping in celebratory unison around the infield. But, that would all be in some alternate universe, where it seemed, at times, World Series Game 5 was played.

Improbably, the Astros somehow yanked this victory from the ravenous jaws of defeat, coming from behind three times to escape to LA with a 13-12 heart-racing win in 10 innings, Sunday night at Minute Maid Park. In fact, if the next contest was in Houston, the game giveaway might have to be defibrillators to all fans. Instead, after an off-day Monday, the series moves to Dodger Stadium for Game 6, Tuesday, and if necessary, Wednesday for Game 7.

Think Game 2, won by Houston, 7-6, in 11 innings, was wild? Think Game 2 was the measure by which all future World Series games would be judged, at least from an entertainment standpoint? Nope. Multiply by eight, the number of runs Houston’s bullpen gifted the Dodgers in….uh, support of the Astros’ starter, Dallas Keuchel, who was ambushed for three runs by LA’s offense before most fans had taken their seats.

“Just when I thought I could describe Game 2 as my favorite game of all time, I think Game 5 exceeded that and more,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said moments after heartbeats slowed. “It’s hard to put into words all the twists and turns in that game, the emotion, doing it at home, in front of our home crowd. Just exactly what you expect to come to the park with Keuchel and Kershaw pitching.”

Special K Serial

In a rematch of Game 1’s kickoff, Keuchel’s opposite number, fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw, was in relative control until there was one out in the 4th, with Los Angeles enjoying a 4-0 lead. With George Springer on first with one of Kershaw’s eventual three walks, Jose Altuve singled to left after Alex Bregman (from whom more was heard later) flew out.

Carlos Correa confirmed Kershaw’s impending shakiness with a double to left, scoring Springer, cutting into the Dodgers’ lead, 4-1. Yuli Gurriel erased all doubt about the Dodger ace by crushing a Kershaw offering deep into the night, pushing home Altuve and Correa, and tying the score at four. Call this the first hint that Sunday night’s game was not going to be your father’s World Series game, with each starter gamely going nine, and relievers’ presence in the stadium only being represented on the scorecard.

As has seemingly been the custom in this series, a double-digit array of bullpen residents were employed by both teams, and true to form, this one used a total of a dozen, six by each team. This time, though, both teams’ bullpens could be graded toward the failing mark, an ignominy more frequently worn by the Astros in this series, a glaring “emperor has no clothes” dilemma screaming to be addressed in the offseason by Houston brass.

“How many times must the offense rescue Houston’s faulty bullpen?” “How many times ya got?”

Another hallmark of this series has been Hinch’s obvious hesitancy to use anyone normally seen skulking in the Houston bullpen, trusting, instead, the more reliable starters in the Astros’ employ. Sunday, first out of the ‘pen was starter Collin McHugh, relieving Keuchel to start the fifth. Luke Gregerson actually preceded McHugh, logging one out to close the fourth inning. Keuchel’s 3.2 innings pitched marked his shortest career home start. The Dodgers utilized their game plan flawlessly, patiently waiting for a DK mistake, extending counts, and hoping to dispense with Keuchel early to, again, expose the largely ineffective Houston bullpen.

McHugh served up a three-run homer on a fat curve to Cody Bellinger, but more damning were the two walks he offered up to open the 5th. The resulting 7-4 Dodger lead must have seemed like 70-4 to their manager, Dave Roberts, so accustomed as he’s been to handing a healthy middle-inning lead to his handful of capable, well-chronicled excellent relievers. But, in Houston’s funhouse of smoke and mirrors, things aren’t always what they seem.

As if on twisted cue, Kershaw, himself, walked two Astros after confidently getting the first two outs in the bottom of the 5th. Kenta Maeda came on to relieve and got to a full count on Altuve. The Astros’ presumptive AL MVP winner smashed a long ball to left, heartbreakingly arching foul. Altuve then took a Maeda fastball, straightened it out, and hit it within inches of the homer-counting gas pump on the left centerfield home run porch, tying the game at seven.

FOX network cameras caught several minutes of ace starter Justin Verlander (Tuesday’s Game 6 starter for Houston) chatting with Altuve in the dugout around the bottom of the 6th. What could these two likely future Hall-of-Famers possibly be discussing at such a length? Probably not the events about to unfold in the next few innings.

First, the Redemption

A Superman-inspired Springer bobblehead was a popular Minute Maid Park game giveaway toward the end of the regular season. Fans were horrified when yet another Springer parallel-to-Earth dive (sans cape, this time) resulted in a Bellinger triple, instead of a superhuman snag, as Springer’s glove came up short by about a foot. This rare poor judgment by Springer plated the Dodgers’ 8th run, as they went ahead by one.

“That’s a very lonely feeling to know that I made a bad decision,” Springer said later. “I’ll own up to it. I should have stopped. I got told by [bench coach] Alex Cora, by Hinch, [third-base coach] Gary Pettis, ‘It’s over. Just go have a good, quality at-bat and we’ll see what happens.’ To go from that low to that high is very, very emotional. I don’t really know how to describe it.”

Springer let his bat do the talking, as redemption came in the rapid form of a monster blast to left off newly-inserted reliever Brandon Morrow, tying the game at eight. Interestingly, Morrow had pitched in all five games of the series, and Dodgers manager Roberts had told reporters that he wanted to avoid using him in Game 5.

Morrow, who had called the dugout to inform Roberts he could pitch, explained: “I saw where the game was at when I was getting loose. I felt OK. It was probably selfish on my part to go down and push to let him know that I’m ready and want to get in. Obviously, we’re very plan oriented and I should have stuck with that and not deviated from that.”

Related: Bullpen strategies discussed and compared in Game 3: Astros Rain on L.A.’s Parade of Pitchers

After Springer’s 7th inning homer, Bregman singled and scored on a double by Altuve to give the Astros their first lead, 9-8. Carlos Correa followed with a roof-scraping fly ball to left that somehow managed to sneak into the first rows of the Crawford Boxes for a two-run shot that put Houston ahead, 11-8. His blast’s launch angle of 48 degrees was the highest on a homer in MLB for 2017. Correa echoed the feelings of most who witnessed this time capsule-worthy affair: “This was crazier than Game 2. It was back and forth. Nonstop. It was unbelievable. The best game ever, for sure.”

The Dodgers scored in the top of the 8th because…well, why wouldn’t they? With an 11-9 edge going into the bottom of the inning, Houston catcher, Brian McCann, smashed his own homer into the right field stands, putting his team up, 12-9.

Chris Devenski, relieving for the Astros in the 9th, walked and struck out the first two Dodgers, and served up a two-run home run to Yasiel Puig, because, as Devo revealed later, “Somehow the stars are aligning.” Apparently. And, of course, for this game to become epic, the Dodgers were destined to tie this game at 12, forcing extra frames. In fact, in possibly the most bizarre stat in a game filled with stats fitting that description was this one: After nine innings, the Dodgers and Astros, both, had an identical line score of 12 runs, 13 hits, and one error.

The Likeliness of Improbability

Mercifully, Joe Musgrove pitched a near-perfect top of the 10th for the ‘Stros, setting the stage for the historic heroics of Houston’s half.

MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo filed this description of the memorable finish: “This game was supposed to be about Houston’s household names; when the Astros made two quick outs against (Dodger closer Kenley) Jansen in the 10th, it seemed unlikely that Bregman would even appear in the inning. But, a hit batsman and a walk brought him to the plate, prompting Hinch to sub pinch-runner Derek Fisher — the Majors’ 17th-fastest player according to Statcast™‘s sprint speed metric — at second base.

“Standing in the on-deck circle, Altuve ‘knew (Bregman) was ready to get the big hit.’ At first base, Springer, who had drawn the walk, watched Bregman ‘dig in the box a little bit harder.’

“Correa turned to Bregman and said, simply, ‘It’s your time.’

“With that, Bregman tapped his spikes three times with his bat, then turned to face Jansen. He eyed a first-pitch cutter down and away, shooting it onto the unguarded turf in left-center.

“‘Tried to go up and in and missed my spot,’ Jansen said, ‘and he did a great job.’

“Because Fisher was dashing around the bases at 29.8 feet per second, the play at home wasn’t close. Fisher jumped into McCann’s arms as Bregman touched first and circled back, rushing over to meet his teammates. The first walk-off hit of his career was also the fifth by a third baseman in the World Series history, and the first since David Freese in 2011.”

“I think being calm in the moment is innate,” Hinch said post-game. “I think he understands, has a confidence level, has an awareness — even like the awareness to beat them with a single. He’s not trying for the theatrics and dramatics, trying to hit a ball out of the ballpark. He’s just trying to get a good single and get a good pitch to hit.”

According to DiComo, “During Bregman’s postgame news conference early Monday morning, someone shouted, ‘We love you, Bregman!’ through an open door. He hardly seemed to notice, finishing his answer without so much as a flinch.”