Houston Astros Are World Series Champions

For the first time in franchise history, the Houston Astros are World Series champions.

Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, the Astros earned a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. Houston led the series 3-2, then lost Game 6 before bouncing back for a win in Game 7. This is the first World Series title for the Astros -- they've been around since 1962 -- and their second pennant.

Here are some things to know about Game 7:

Springer was historically great

What a performance by George Springer. 
Springer started Game 7 with a double into the left field corner, and he later scored on Cody Bellinger's error. One inning later, Springer gave his team a 5-0 lead with a no-doubt two-run homer to center field. 
Remember when Springer went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts in Game 1? Yeah, me neither. He finished the series with a .379/.471/1.000 batting line. Some more notes about his World Series performance:
His five home runs tie the World Series record held by Reggie Jackson (1977) and Chase Utley (2009).
His eight extra-base hits and 29 total bases are new World Series records.He is the first player in history to go deep in four straight World Series games.
He is the first player in history to record an extra-base hit in six straight World Series games.
Springer went 3 for 26 (.115) in the ALCS and 0 for 4 with those four strikeouts in Game 1 of the World Series. Then he became a man possessed. An unbelievable performance, this was.

Darvish was historically terrible
The Dodgers went out and traded for Yu Darvish at the deadline this year to help get them over the top. He wasn't brought in to help them win the NL West title. That was already in the bag. They wanted him to help them win a World Series.
Instead, Darvish did perhaps more damage to the team's World Series cause than any other player this series. The Astros tagged him for five runs (four earned) on three hits and one walk (and one Bellinger error) in 1 2/3 innings in Game 7. Darvish made two starts in the series and recorded 10 outs. 
Game 3 was the first time in Darvish's big-league career that he failed to a) complete at least three innings, and b) strike out at least one batter. The second time was Game 7. Brutal.
Darvish joins Art Ditmar as the only pitchers in history to make two starts in a single World Series, and fail to complete two innings of work in either of them. Ditmar allowed six runs in 1 2/3 total innings in his two World Series starts for the 1960 Yankees.
Furthermore, Darvish is only the second pitcher in history with two career postseason starts of four-plus runs allowed in fewer than two full innings. And he had those two starts in the same World Series. Yikes. Bullet Bob Turley had two such starts as well. One in the 1955 World Series, and another in 1958 World Series, both with the Yankees.

McCullers made some history too
Neither starting pitcher was all that effective in Game 7. The Astros and Lance McCullers Jr. are fortunate the Dodgers were unable to come though with The Big Hit the first few innings. McCullers faced 13 batters in Game 7 and seven reached base. And yet, no runs.
McCullers plunked four -- four! -- batters in his 2 1/3 innings. None of the four hit-by-pitches were intentional, of course. He hit Justin Turner twice, plus Yasiel Puig and Enrique Hernandez once each. McCullers is the first pitcher to hit four batters in a World Series game, or any postseason game for that matter.
Also, his short start led to this fun little World Series nugget: He was the first pitcher since Jack Morris in 1991 to start a World Series Game 7 and not allow a run.
Since 1991, there has been a Game 7 played in the World Series eight times: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2017. That's 16 chances for a starter to have a scoreless outing. Only McCullers did it. It helped that he bowed out after 2 1/3 innings and that the Dodgers couldn't buy a hit with runners in scoring position.

Some other quick notes

• Clayton Kershaw was great in relief.
• The Dodgers wasted many early chances.
• Houston's bullpen finally came through.
• Cody Bellinger set two new strikeout records.
• Fans at Minute Maid Park went nuts.
• Carlos Correa proposed to his girlfriend after winning the World Series. Of course, she said yes. Learn more about that sweet moment on CBS Sports.