■ George Springer, who has been Houston’s most consistent hitter throughout the Series, provided all of the Astros offense with a solo homer and he was the only batter for either team to have more than one hit. The center fielder is batting .375 for the Series. Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa were not able to keep up their hot hitting from Game 5 and combined to go 0 for 8.

■ The bullpens for both teams had been atrocious in recent days, but in Game 6 the Dodgers seemed rested and dominant. Four relievers combined for 4 1/3 shutout innings. As a group they allowed two hits, struck out four and allowed one walk, with Kenley Jansen slamming the door in a perfect six-out save.

Waldstein: The way this dramatic 113th edition of the World Series has gone so far, it just begged to go to a seventh game, and it will. The Los Angeles Dodgers forced the second consecutive World Series Game 7 and the third in four years. Yasiel Puig guaranteed it after Game 5, and he was right.

But it would not have happened without the Dodgers bullpen, which was magnificent, especially considering the workload and punishment it had faced in this series, most notably in a demoralizing Game 5. It was a tour de force, bounce-back performance, and Dave Roberts made all the right moves, culminating in trusting Kenley Jansen to get the six-out save.

The Astros pinned their hopes of closing out this series in six games on Justin Verlander, and he was good. But he was not great, and he needed to be. The Dodgers’ patient hitters waited him out and broke through at the first sign of weakness in the sixth inning.