LOS ANGELES — The second time Yu Darvish faced the Houston Astros in the World Series wasn’t any better than the first. In fact, it was worse.

The Los Angeles Dodgers starter in Game 7 of the World Series lasted just an inning and two-thirds, allowing five runs (four earned) on three hits — the death knell being a two-run homer in the second inning by Astros center fielder George Springer, who homered in his fourth straight game of this series.

In Game 3, Darvish also lasted 1 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits.

The Dodgers went to Brandon Morrow to finish the final out of the second, but in the third inning, they turned to their ace, Clayton Kershaw, who was pitching on three days’ rest after starting Game 5 of this series. Kershaw entered with the Dodgers in a 5-0 hole, so his job was to not let the Astros’ lead grow anymore while hoping the Dodgers offense can rebound.

Only one of those things came true. Kershaw limited the Astros for four innings, but the Dodgers couldn’t get going. The Astros took Game 7 by a score of 5-1.

Astros starter Lance McCullers didn’t last much longer than Darvish. He was pulled after 2 1/3 innings (but left with a 5-0 lead). This marks the first time in World Series history that neither starter made it out of the third inning of a Game 7.

Kershaw said after Game 6 that he was ready to pitch 27 innings in Game 7. After Darvish’s atrocious start, the more Kershaw the better for the Dodgers.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz