October 29, 2018
October 28, 2018
World Series 5: Red Sox 5, Dodgers 1
Red Sox - 200 001 110 - 5 8 0 Dodgers - 100 000 000 - 1 3 0
David Price gave a superb performance tonight: 7-3-1-2-5, 89. The Red Sox could not have asked for better. At one point, Price retired 14 Dodgers in a row and 20 of 22. Los Angeles never had a chance in Game 5.
Price is the first pitcher to work into the eighth inning of a World Series game on only one day of rest since Bob Turley of the Yankees did it in 1957. The bullpen faced six batters. None of them put the ball into play. Joe Kelly struck out three straight batters to end the eighth. Chris Sale struck out the side in the ninth.
Steve Pearce crushed a pair of home runs, including a two-run shot in the first - on Clayton Kershaw's sixth pitch of the night - to send the Red Sox on their way. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez also went deep. Pearce grew up as a Red Sox fan and he was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series. Pearce had four hits, all for extra bases: three home runs and a double. He scored five runs and knocked in eight. In 16 plate appearances, he did not strike out at all.
The Red Sox finished the regular season and postseason with a record of 119-57. They have won 16 of 19 World Series games since 2004. The 2018 Red Sox went 7-1 on the road in the postseason, the most road wins of any World Series team except the 1996 MFY (8-0). The Dodgers became the first team to lose the deciding game of the World Series on its home field in consecutive seasons since the New York Giants lost the 1936 and 1937 series at the Polo Grounds.
Principal Owner John Henry: "This is the greatest Red Sox team ever."
The Red Sox wasted no time in jumping out to a lead. Betts flied to center, but Andrew Benintendi grounded an 0-2 pitch into center field. Pearce nailed the first pitch he saw over the wall in left-center and Boston - who finished the postseason with a 10-0 record when scoring first - led 2-0.
Price's first pitch of the game - a fastball away at 92 - was hit for a home run to right-center by David Freese. He then walked Justin Turner, throwing four balls after a foul. This was not a good start. But ... Price got Enrique Hernandez to hit into a double play and he fanned Manny Machado, who had been ahead in the count 3-0. On the fourth pitch, Machado took a quick step to first (now he's in a hurry to get to the base?), but the pitch was a called strike. He took the 3-1 and started jogging down the line, but it was another called strike. Machado fouled off three more pitches before missing a high fastball.
And Price promptly settled into a groove, allowing only three baserunners over the next six innings. Yasiel Puig singled with one out in the second. David Freese got a triple in the third when Martinez lost his routine fly to right in the dusky sky. It fell behind him and the Dodgers had the tying run at third with one out. Price shrugged his shoulders, figuring he could get out of this little jam with only three pitches. #1: Turner grounded out to shortstop. #2: Hernandez took a strike. #3: Hernandez fouled out to right.
Price set the Dodgers down in order in the fourth. 9 pitches: K, F8, L4.
Price set the Dodgers down in order in the fifth. 11 pitches: K, 4-3, 1U.
Price set the Dodgers down in order in the sixth. 9 pitches: 4-3, F7, 4-3.
Price set the Dodgers down in order in the seventh. 7 pitches: L6, F7, 1-3.
From the third through the seventh - five innings - Price needed only 45 pitches. He was always deliberate and often deep in concentration, but he also seemed to be working extremely free and easy. On the mound to begin the last of the eighth, he was at 83 and the Red Sox now led 5-1, thanks to three solo homers: Betts to left in the sixth, JDM to dead center in the seventh, Pearce to left-center in the eighth.
I was really hoping for a complete game, but when Price walked Chris Taylor to start the bottom of the eighth, Alex Cora went to the bullpen. Kelly came in and struck out three pinch-hitters: Matt Kemp went down swinging on 2-2, Joc Pederson was caught looking at a full-count pitch, and Cody Bellinger whiffed on 1-2.
Sale faced the Dodgers' 2-3-4 hitters in the bottom of the ninth. As his teammates stood in the field, hearts racing, or paced anxiously in the dugout, Sale struck out Turner (cffs (he was thrown out 2-3)), Hernandez (cbbbffs), and Machado (sfbs (4-for-22, .182)). It was a small, but much appreciated, gift from the baseball gods that Machado was the final out of this glorious season.
Tweets:
Betts, CFThe Red Sox can win their fourth title in the last 15 seasons - and ninth overall - with a victory tonight. Today is the anniversary of Boston's "inevitable" 2007 World Series championship.
Benintendi, LF
Pearce, 1B
Martinez, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Holt, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vázquez, C
Price, P
David Price pitched out of the bullpen in Game 3, throwing 13 pitches and getting two outs. Clayton Kershaw allowed five runs over four innings in Game 1.
The Dodgers have blown a 4-0 lead in a World Series game for the second year in a row. Last year, the Dodgers and Astros had each won two games and Los Angeles led 4-0 in the fourth inning of Game 5. But they blew that lead - as well as leads of 7-4 and 8-7 - before losing 13-12 in 10 innings. The Dodgers returned home and won Game 6, but lost Game 7.
Last night, the Dodgers were eight outs away from tying the series 2-2. Manager Dave Roberts: "It is a tough loss. Any loss in a World Series is difficult, obviously, but now we're in a situation where we're do-or-die. ... [T]he 108 wins speaks for itself in the regular season. They're very balanced. They pitch well. They put together good at-bats. They play defense. But ... we're not out yet."
Looking at the Red Sox's batting and pitching stats, no clear player emerges as the probable MVP. Andrew Benintendi leads with five hits and five runs, but most of that came in Game 1. Mookie Betts has four hits and four runs, but he's hitting only .211. Steve Pearce had four of his team-leading five RBI last night; he also has four walks and has not struck out in 12 plate appearances. Nathan Eovaldi has been amazing, but outside of Game 3 (which he lost), he has pitched only two innings. Joe Kelly has appeared in every game and thrown five scoreless innings; he's also tied for the team lead with seven strikeouts. But can a set-up guy be an MVP?
I think a strong outing from Price tonight - 6 innings, 0-2 runs - could win him the award.
WS Contest: The Red Sox have scored 79 runs (27 in ALDS, 29 in ALCS, 23 in WS). The most pitches thrown by a Boston pitcher in a game is 97, which has been done twice by Nathan Eovaldi, both as a starter (ALDS 3) and as a reliever (WS 3)!
RS PIT Jeffrey M 87 108 Steve H 85 116 Laura K 78 107
Machado (Again) Spikes An Opposing First Baseman, Says (Again) It Wasn't Deliberate
Manny Machado's style of play has been heavily criticized during this postseason.
In the NLCS Game 2, after failing to run hard to first base on a ground ball, Machado admitted:
In Game 3, Machado made two "questionable slides" into second base. In Game 4, he collided with, and spiked the heel of, Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar while running to first.
Christian Yelich, one of Aguilar's teammates, said Machado "has a history of those types of incidents. One time is an accident. Repeating it over and over and over again, you're just a dirty player. It's a dirty play by a dirty player. ... [Y]ou can't respect someone who plays the game like that."
In Game 7 of the NLCS, Machado allegedly "grabbed his crotch and appeared to shake it at the Brewers fans".
(Machado also intentionally threw his bat at an opposing player back in 2014.)
Late in World Series Game 4, Machado stepped on the back of Steve Pearce's right heel while running out a ground ball.
Machado insisted it was an accident, saying he and Pearce are "kind of, almost best friends. ... It's late in the year; our legs are giving out on us ... Sometimes, it just happens."
There has been bad blood between Machado and the Red Sox for at least two years. On April 21, 2017, Machado spiked second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who ended up on the disabled list. Red Sox manager John Farrell called it an "extremely late slide". Pedroia said Machado had apologized via text message.
Two days later, Eduardo Rodriguez threw several pitches inside on Machado and Matt Barnes tossed a pitch behind Machado's head. Barnes was ejected and suspended. Pedroia undercut his reputation as a clubhouse leader by stating afterwards that he was on Machado's side. "I had nothing to do with that. That's not how you do that, man. I'm sorry to him and his team."
In May 2017, after Chris Sale threw behind Machado in the first inning of a game at Fenway Park, Machado ripped both Sale and the Red Sox organization as "cowardly":
In the NLCS Game 2, after failing to run hard to first base on a ground ball, Machado admitted:
"I'm not the type of player that's going to be 'Johnny Hustle,' and run down the line ... That's just not my personality, that's not my cup of tea, that's not who I am. ... I mean that's just my mentality when I'm in the game. ... I've tried changing it for eight years and I still can't figure it out but, one of these days I will."
Christian Yelich, one of Aguilar's teammates, said Machado "has a history of those types of incidents. One time is an accident. Repeating it over and over and over again, you're just a dirty player. It's a dirty play by a dirty player. ... [Y]ou can't respect someone who plays the game like that."
Intentional? pic.twitter.com/daSrbvUTlE— Ryan Walton (@RyanWaltonSBN) October 17, 2018
In Game 7 of the NLCS, Machado allegedly "grabbed his crotch and appeared to shake it at the Brewers fans".
(Machado also intentionally threw his bat at an opposing player back in 2014.)
Late in World Series Game 4, Machado stepped on the back of Steve Pearce's right heel while running out a ground ball.
It is hard to believe a player of Machado's talent could inadvertently step on the heels of two first basemen in 10 days by accident - while also inadvertently sliding hard into second base a few times for no reason.This is just a disgrace to the game pic.twitter.com/P23YoqFEQp— Kent (@RealKentMurphy) October 28, 2018
Machado insisted it was an accident, saying he and Pearce are "kind of, almost best friends. ... It's late in the year; our legs are giving out on us ... Sometimes, it just happens."
There has been bad blood between Machado and the Red Sox for at least two years. On April 21, 2017, Machado spiked second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who ended up on the disabled list. Red Sox manager John Farrell called it an "extremely late slide". Pedroia said Machado had apologized via text message.
Two days later, Eduardo Rodriguez threw several pitches inside on Machado and Matt Barnes tossed a pitch behind Machado's head. Barnes was ejected and suspended. Pedroia undercut his reputation as a clubhouse leader by stating afterwards that he was on Machado's side. "I had nothing to do with that. That's not how you do that, man. I'm sorry to him and his team."
In May 2017, after Chris Sale threw behind Machado in the first inning of a game at Fenway Park, Machado ripped both Sale and the Red Sox organization as "cowardly":
That's stuff you don't [expletive] do. To get thrown at at my [expletive] head, to get thrown at [expletive] everywhere – I've lost my respect for that organization, that coaching staff, everyone over there. If you’re going to [expletive] hit me, go ahead, [expletive] hit me. You know, don't let [expletive] keep lingering around and [expletive] around. Keep [expletive] trying to hit people. That's [expletive] bull. MLB should do something about it. [Expletive] pitchers go out there with their [expletive] balls in their hand and throwing 100 mph trying to hit people. I got a [expletive] bat too. I can go up there and crush somebody if I wanted to, but you know what, I'll get suspended for the year and the pitcher will only get suspended for two games.While Sale said before the World Series that he and the Red Sox "have bigger things to worry about", Barnes said he has not forgiven Machado.
When you take out ... a leader of a team, that's not going to sit well with anybody. ... I don't see anything happening ... but it doesn't mean that we've forgotten about it.
WS Game 4, In Which Chris Sale Reaches His Breaking Point
Chris Sale usually reveals almost no emotion on his face. There are exceptions, but most of the time, you'd be hard-pressed to know if he has struck out the last six batters or given up back-to-back home runs.
Last night, the Dodgers led 4-0 and were three innings away from tying the World Series at two games apiece. Sale had watched his teammates play for more than seven hours the night before, and lose in 18 innings, and now they had managed only one measly hit against Rich Hill for six innings. The slender lefty sat on the bench and stewed. Then he decided that he had had enough.
Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic:
Last night, the Dodgers led 4-0 and were three innings away from tying the World Series at two games apiece. Sale had watched his teammates play for more than seven hours the night before, and lose in 18 innings, and now they had managed only one measly hit against Rich Hill for six innings. The slender lefty sat on the bench and stewed. Then he decided that he had had enough.
Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic:
Enter Chris Sale — not into the game, but playing the role as a slightly unhinged hype-man.Ken Davidoff of the Post wrote that Sale's teammates "are anything but transfixed — most of them pass by Sale as one would do a sidewalk preacher in New York City". ... (That is perfect.)
The TV broadcast showed Sale, veins popping from his neck and screaming his lungs out (to no [one] in particular) as his teammates shuffled by in the dugout.
"Sir......this is a Wendy's." pic.twitter.com/ggeNTjQG2J— Cut4 (@Cut4) October 28, 2018
Eduardo Rodriguez: I was inside [the clubhouse] ... I heard him screaming to them and I know he was screaming something about "get back get in the game. Go out and do your job and let's score runs," and that worked pretty good.
Assistant hitting coach Andy Barkett: I didn't want to look at him, that's for sure. He's an intimidating dude and he was pissed. ...
Pitching coach Dana LeVangie: You ever been around somebody that has been really angry that maybe you shouldn't say anything or look at him? ...
Manager Alex Cora (smirking): Chris, in the dugout screaming? My English is very limited, so I didn't understand what he was saying ...
Rafael Devers: I was definitely there. ... It scared me a little bit because I had never seen him yell like that and the words that he was saying, I had never heard that come from him before. But ... that moment helped us get motivated for the rest of the game. ...
Brock Holt: I was down in the tunnel I heard someone yelling. And Mookie came down, he was going down to watch some video. And I said, "Who’s yelling up there?" He said, "Sale". Oh, my god, he was mad at us. I think that kind of lit a fire under everybody. We didn’t want to see him mad anymore. ...
Barkett: A player doing something like that? No. ... You've got, "Let's go. Here we go," that type of stuff. But a guy really just controlling the dugout like that, you don't see that very often. ...
Cora: For Chris to actually even talk in the dugout ... [H]e felt that he needed to say something and, like I said, I didn't understand, but whatever it was it worked.
Ace & Hype Man 🗣 pic.twitter.com/4GbVHavMFw— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) October 28, 2018
October 27, 2018
World Series 4: Red Sox 9, Dodgers 6
Red Sox - 000 000 315 - 9 8 1 Dodgers - 000 004 002 - 6 9 0
The Red Sox were baffled by Rich Hill (6.1-1-1-3-7, 91), but the Dodgers lefty was not going to pitch a complete game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts probably wishes he had left Hill out there until he either finished the contest or collapsed from exhaustion, because once Hill was gone, with one out in the seventh and a man on first, the Dodgers' 4-0 lead quickly evaporated.
Only three batters after Roberts entrusted the game to his bullpen, Mitch Moreland crushed a pinch-hit, first-pitch, three-run homer off Ryan Madson. It was measured at a suspiciously short 437 feet. Madson has now allowed all seven of his inherited runners to score in this series, the number of them setting a World Series record he likely won't be bragging about to anyone. Madson has been charged with only one run, however.
Steve Pearce knotted the game in the eighth with a solo blast off Kenley "I-Gave-Up-A-Game-Tying-Dong-To-Boston-Two-Games-In-A-Row-And-All-I'm-Going-To-Get-Is-This-World-Series-Losers-Share" Jansen. Rafael Devers broke the tie with a pinch-hit single in the ninth and Pearce put the victory on ice with a three-run double.
The Red Sox can win their fourth World Series championship in the last 15 seasons - and ninth overall - with a victory tomorrow night. David Price - not Chris Sale, as expected - will start Game 5.
As noted, the Red Sox were having no luck against Hill and his mega-nasty curveball. He walked a batter with two outs in each of the first two innings and he hit Eduardo Rodriguez in the right arm with a 2-2 pitch to begin the third. (A pitcher had not been drilled in a World Series game in fifty years. Nelson Briles of the Cardinals was hit by Detroit's Mickey Lolich in Game 5 of the 1968 World Series.) Christian Vazquez got Boston's first hit, a single to left with one out in the fifth inning. It came two pitches after he nearly hit a home run down the left field line.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez was having similar success with the Dodgers. He also issued a walk with two outs in the first and gave up a two-out single in the second and a leadoff single in the fourth. But nothing came of either baserunner. In making this start, Rodriguez was the first pitcher to relieve in a World Series game and start the next day's game since Firpo Marberry did for the 1924 Senators. Marberry got one out in Game 2 and started Game 3, lasting only three innings. The list of pitchers to do that is heavily weighed towards the Deadball Era:
As the Dodgers batted in the bottom of the sixth, neither team had advanced a runner past first base. Rodriguez hit David Freese with his first pitch of the inning. He struck out Max Muncy on three pitches, but Justin Turner doubled down the left field line, with pinch-runner Enrique Hernandez going to third. The Red Sox decided to give Manny Machado (who had whiffed on an 88 mph changeup down the heart of the plate in his previous at-bat) an intentional walk, loading the bases for Cody Bellinger.1906 Game 6: Doc White (White Sox), relieved in Game 5, started Game 6 1908 Game 2: Orval Overall (Cubs), relieved in Game 1, started Game 2 1910 Game 5: Mordecai Brown (Cubs), relieved in Game 4, started Game 5 1911 Game 6: Red Ames (Giants), relieved in Game 5, started Game 6 1924 Game 3: Firpo Marberry (Senators), relieved in Game 2, started Game 3 2018 Game 4: Eduardo Rodriguez (Red Sox), relieved in Game 3, started Game 4
Bellinger hit the ball on a hop to Pearce at first. Pearce threw home, forcing Hernandez and Vazquez's throw back to first was too close to the runner and Pearce could not get on the other side of the runner to catch it. The ball also eluded Brock Holt, who was backing up the play along the right-field line. Turner scored and Los Angeles had men at second and third with two outs. Yasiel Puig then battered a 2-1 pitch to deep left field for a three-run homer. Puig raised both hands in the air in celebration and Rodriguez - disgusted and frustrated and angry - took off his glove and slammed it into the dirt.
It felt like Alex Cora had left a possibly gassed Rodriguez in the game too long. But looking at my scorecard, I don't see any evidence for that. He hit his first batter, but got a quick strikeout. (Maybe here is where you'd pull him?) Turner doubled. Machado was intentionally walked and Rodriguez got what probably should have been an inning-ending double play. And then Puig went boom.
In the Red Sox dugout, things were not good. Alex Cora: "We felt that we had no energy, actually none whatsoever. It had to do with Rich Hill, the way he was throwing the ball." ... Then Chris Sale started yelling. "He's got two fucking pitches!", Sale hollered, holding two fingers up in case anyone did not understand how disgusted he was at his teammates' inability to hit Hill.
Rafael Devers admitted that Sale "scared me a little bit, because I had never seen him yell like that, and the words that he was saying, I had never heard that come from him before. But ... that moment helped us get motivated for the rest of the game."
Brock Holt was down in the tunnel and heard someone yelling. He asked Mookie: "'Who's yelling up there?' He said, 'Sale.' Oh, my God. He was mad at us. ... We didn't want to see him mad anymore. So we decided to start swinging the bats a little bit."
Hill walked Xander Bogaerts to start the seventh and after he struck out Eduardo Nunez for the third time, Roberts went to Scott Alexander. He faced only one batter, throwing four balls to Brock Holt. Then it was Madson's turn. Jackie Bradley batted for Vazquez and popped to second baseman Hernandez, who made a tough catch in short right field with his back to the infield. Moreland batted for Matt Barnes and wasted no time, sending the ball so deep into the outfield seats that Puig did not even move.
Suddenly, there was confidence. The Red Sox may have been trailing by a run, 4-3, but they had the Dodgers right where they wanted them. (The Dodgers may have had a sinking feeling that they were sunk.) Roberts's decision to lift Hill was undoubtedly criticized on Twitter, especially considering the final score, but who knew that The World's Most Famous Troll would put his two cents in:
Joe Kelly struck out Joc Pederson to begin the bottom of the seventh. Max Muncy singled with two outs, but Turner flied harmlessly to center.
Jansen trotted in for the eighth and I have to think the Boston hitters were smiling. Andrew Benintendi grounded to first, but Pearce homered to left-center on the first pitch he saw, a cutter that was a little more inside than right down the middle. 4-4.
I was surprised to see Kelly on the mound for the eighth, even though Craig Kimbrel had been warming up. Kelly pitched in 73 games this year, but in only six of them did he pitch more than one inning. He pitched two innings twice, both in April. Machado singled to right-center but Kelly struck out Bellinger. Puig grounded to shortstop. He ran hard for about 70 feet, then decided that was enough and slowed up. He still beat the relay from second, but it was extremely close. Kelly threw a strike to Chris Taylor, but plate umpire Chad Fairchild called it a ball. Taylor singled to left on a 2-0 pitch and Puig went to third. Yasmani Grandal pinch-hit and after taking strike two on a pitch low in the zone, he swung and missed a fastball up and away at 98. Whew.
After eight innings, the game was tied 4-4 and the prospect of extra innings was very real. Dylan Floro started the ninth for Los Angeles and Brock Holt slapped a one-out double down the left field line. Devers batted for Sandy Leon. He took two balls before grounding a single through the infield and into right-center. Holt scored, giving the Red Sox their first lead of the game.
Blake Swihart grounded to second. The Dodgers walked Mookie Betts (4-for-19 in the WS, .211) intentionally and Alex Wood faced Benintendi. Wood got ahead 0-2 but Benintendi hit a slow grounder towards third. Turner ran in on the grass and make a quick throw, but it was still too late. the bases were loaded for Pearce and Kenta Maeda came in.
Pearce swung and missed the first pitch and lined the second one to the wall in right-center. With two outs, everyone was running on contact and they scored easily. After J.D. Martinez (who had struck out three times in four trips) was given a free pass, Bogaerts worked a full count and drove Maeda's seventh pitch out of the reach of Machado's left into left center, driving in Pearce with the inning's fifth run.
Kimbrel began the ninth by walking Brian Dozier on four pitches - though the first one was a strike and the second and third balls could easily have been called strikes. Fairchild's zone had been pretty solid through the first half of the game, but it got worse in the late innings. He missed four obvious strikes in the bottom of the ninth.
Fairchild did his best to prolong the game, to give the Dodgers every chance to comeback, without making his efforts too obvious. He refused to call strikes on Kimbrel's first and third pitches to Bellinger. Because Bellinger fouled off the second pitch, that should have been a game-ending strikeout. But the Human Element forced Kimbrel to throw four more pitches. Bellinger flied to left, Benintendi squeezed the ball in his glove, and the Red Sox were one win away from the mountain top.
Betts, CFEduardo Rodriguez has pitched in two of the three World Series games, but he has thrown only nine pitches (three in Game 1 and six last night in Game 3). Rich Hill has pitched only one inning since he went five innings in Game 4 of the NLCS on October 16. That relief stint was in Game 6 on October 19.
Benintendi, LF
Pearce, 1B
Martinez, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Núñez, 3B
Holt, 2B
Vázquez, C
Rodriguez, P
Manager Alex Cora said that Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello all volunteered to start tonight's game.
Dan "CHB" Shaughnessy is nothing more than a clickbaiting troll. His Globe column this morning is headlined: "What Once Seemed Certain For The Red Sox Is Now In Doubt". And for reasons that make sense only to him, he mentioned Bill Buckner twice. He writes: "The series looked like it was over, but now it looks like it could go seven with the Dodgers lined up to used wonderboy Walker (No Days Off) Buehler in Game 7."
2-0 = "It's over. 2-1 = "Sure thing now in doubt". ... Why would it look like the series could go 7 when the Red Sox easily could win in 5? That's just wishful CHB thinking. (Maybe he can get another 'curse' brewing.*) Shaughnessy, who referred to this team as dull, emotionless automations this summer, sees the Red Sox win two of three games and tries to spin that as having their backs against the wall. (*: It's entirely possible. Fox's Joe Buck, in a short comment about the 2004 team, mentioned "breaking the curse" twice, but made no mention of Boston winning its first title in 86 years. Buck chose fiction over fact (and then repeated the ghosts-and-goblins tale).)
The only reason to even look at a Shaughnessy column is to ridicule him. If you get any amount of your baseball news from him, please, stay far away from this blog.
Last Night's Game 3 Lasted Longer Than The Entire 1939 World Series
The Dodgers' 3-2 win over the Red Sox last night in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series took longer to play than the entire 1939 World Series.
The Yankees swept four games from the Reds that fall, in games that lasted a combined 7:05. Last night's 18-inning marathon was 7:20.
Game 3 featured the second outfield assist to home in extra-innings of a World Series game (1973, Game 2).
Game 3 saw both teams make an error in the same World Series extra inning for the first time since Game 4 in 1969.
The Red Sox's 1-4 hitters went 0-for-28, the most hitless at-bats from the top of the order by any team in the live ball era, regular or postseason.
Walker Buehler become the second World Series starting pitcher ever with 7+ strikeouts and two or fewer baserunners allowed (Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956).
Game 3 was the longest postseason game in MLB history at 7:20. It surpassed the previous record of 6:23 (2014 NLDS Game 2: Giants 2, Nationals 1 (18))
Game 3 was only the seventh game (regular season or postseason) to last more than seven hours in length.
Boston and Los Angeles combined to use 46 players, a World Series record. The Mets and Atlanta used 45 players in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS.
Red Sox batters struck out 19 times, a World Series record, breaking the old mark of 17, by the 1968 Tigers in Game 1 against Bob Gibson of the Cardinals.
The Red Sox and Dodgers also set a World Series record with combined 34 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez is the second player to play catcher and first base in a World Series game, joining Oakland's Gene Tenace (Games 3, 6 and 7 of the 1973 World Series).
Nathan Eovaldi's 97 pitches were the most in a relief appearance in World Series history. He was also the first reliever to pitch six innings in a World Series game since Rick Rhoden of the Dodgers pitched seven innings in Game 4 in 1977 against the Yankees.
Eovaldi batted twice, becoming the first relief pitcher with two plate appearances in a World Series game in 31 years (Bob Forsch of the Cardinals went 0-for-2 in Game 4 of the 1987 World Series).
The Dodgers are the first team to win a World Series game after trailing in the 11th inning or later.
There were 561 pitches thrown in the game, a World Series record.
The two teams combined for 131 plate appearances and 118 official at-bats.
Also:
In the last four days, Nathan Eovaldi has pitched in three World Series games, going eight innings and allowing two runs (one unearned), three hits, and one walk. He has faced 28 batters and thrown 126 pitches.
Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley changed outfield positions seven times over the course of five innings. From BRef:
The Yankees swept four games from the Reds that fall, in games that lasted a combined 7:05. Last night's 18-inning marathon was 7:20.
Game 3 featured the second outfield assist to home in extra-innings of a World Series game (1973, Game 2).
Game 3 saw both teams make an error in the same World Series extra inning for the first time since Game 4 in 1969.
The Red Sox's 1-4 hitters went 0-for-28, the most hitless at-bats from the top of the order by any team in the live ball era, regular or postseason.
Walker Buehler become the second World Series starting pitcher ever with 7+ strikeouts and two or fewer baserunners allowed (Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956).
Game 3 was the longest postseason game in MLB history at 7:20. It surpassed the previous record of 6:23 (2014 NLDS Game 2: Giants 2, Nationals 1 (18))
Game 3 was only the seventh game (regular season or postseason) to last more than seven hours in length.
8:06 - May 8, 1984 - White Sox 7, Brewers 6 (25)
7:23 - May 31, 1964 - Giants 8, Mets 6 (23) (G2 of DH)
7:20 - October 26, 2018 - Dodgers 3, Red Sox 2 (18)
7:14 - June 3, 1989 - Astros 5, Dodgers 4 (22)
7:06 - August 24, 2013 - Diamondbacks 12, Phillies 7 (18)
7:04 - September 11, 1974 - Cardinals 4, Mets 3 (25)
7:00 - June 24, 1962 - Yankees 9, Tigers 7 (22)
Game 3 was also the longest World Series game by innings. The previous mark was 14 innings (1916 Game 2, 2005 Game 3, 2015 Game 1).Boston and Los Angeles combined to use 46 players, a World Series record. The Mets and Atlanta used 45 players in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS.
Red Sox batters struck out 19 times, a World Series record, breaking the old mark of 17, by the 1968 Tigers in Game 1 against Bob Gibson of the Cardinals.
The Red Sox and Dodgers also set a World Series record with combined 34 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez is the second player to play catcher and first base in a World Series game, joining Oakland's Gene Tenace (Games 3, 6 and 7 of the 1973 World Series).
Nathan Eovaldi's 97 pitches were the most in a relief appearance in World Series history. He was also the first reliever to pitch six innings in a World Series game since Rick Rhoden of the Dodgers pitched seven innings in Game 4 in 1977 against the Yankees.
Eovaldi batted twice, becoming the first relief pitcher with two plate appearances in a World Series game in 31 years (Bob Forsch of the Cardinals went 0-for-2 in Game 4 of the 1987 World Series).
The Dodgers are the first team to win a World Series game after trailing in the 11th inning or later.
There were 561 pitches thrown in the game, a World Series record.
The two teams combined for 131 plate appearances and 118 official at-bats.
Also:
In the last four days, Nathan Eovaldi has pitched in three World Series games, going eight innings and allowing two runs (one unearned), three hits, and one walk. He has faced 28 batters and thrown 126 pitches.
Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley changed outfield positions seven times over the course of five innings. From BRef:
Innings 1-7: J.D. Martinez LF, Bradley CF, Betts RF.Twelve different Red Sox players were in the ninth batting spot.
Bottom 8th. Matt Barnes pitching.
Joc Pederson strikes out swinging.
Justin Turner singles to LF.
Max Muncy grounds into fielder's choice, Turner out 1B-SS.
Bradley moves from CF to LF, Betts moves from RF to CF, Martinez moves from LF to RF.
Manny Machado strikes out swinging.
Bottom 9th. David Price pitching.
Bradley moves from LF to CF, Betts moves from CF to RF, Martinez moves from RF to LF.
Cody Bellinger singles to LF.
Yasiel Puig flied out to RF.
Bellinger caught stealing, P-1B-SS-P-2B.
Yasmani Grandal walks.
Craig Kimbrel pitching.
Chris Taylor walks, Grandal to 2B.
Bradley moves from CF to LF, Betts moves from RF to CF, Martinez moves from LF to RF.
Brian Dozier PH for Kenley Jansen.
Austin Barnes PR for Grandal.
Dozier fouled out to C.
Bottom 10th. Kimbrel pitching.
Eduardo Nunez moves from PH to 3B, Brock Holt moves from 2B to LF, Ian Kinsler moves from PR to 2B, Bradley moves from LF to CF, Betts moves from CF to RF.
Pederson pops out to 3B.
Turner grounds out 3B-1B.
Muncy hits ground-rule double to RF.
Bradley moves from CF to LF, Betts moves from RF to CF, Holt moves from LF to RF.
Machado pops to SS.
Bottom 11th. Heath Hembree pitching.
Holt moves from RF to LF, Bradley moves from LF to CF, Betts moves from CF to RF.
Bellinger grounds out 2B-1B.
Puig flies out to RF.
Barnes walks.
Taylor strikes out swinging.
Innings 11-18: Holt LF, Bradley CF, Betts RF.
October 26, 2018
World Series 3: Dodgers 3, Red Sox 2 (18)
Red Sox - 000 000 010 000 100 000 - 2 7 1 Dodgers - 001 000 000 000 100 001 - 3 11 1
The clock on my desk read 3:30 AM when Max Muncy hit an opposite field home run to left-center in the bottom of the eighteenth inning, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Red Sox.
This was the longest World Series game of all-time, both by time (7:20) and by innings, smashing the previous record of 14, first set in 1916 when the Red Sox bested the Dodgers. According to a tweet from Stats by STATS, this game lasted 15 minutes longer than the entire 1939 World Series, when the Yankees swept the Reds in four games in a combined 7:05 [Times: 1:33, 1:27, 2:01, 2:04]
The blast - on the 561st pitch of the game - came off Ironman Nathan Eovaldi (6-3-2-1-5, 97), who entered the game in the twelfth as the Red Sox's ninth pitcher of the night (though it was well into morning by then). Eovaldi also pitched one inning in each of the first two games. The only two Boston players who did not see action in this game were Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz, though Pomeranz was warming up when the game ended and probably would have pitched the nineteenth (and beyond?).
The Red Sox tied the game at 1-1 when Jackie Bradley homered off Kenley Jansen with two outs in the eighth. All 10 of JBJ's postseason RBI have come with two outs. Ian Kinsler was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a fly to center in the tenth.
Both teams scored in the thirteenth, aided by an opposing team error. The Red Sox left the bases loaded in their half. Eduardo Nunez nearly died in the inning. First, he was topped over by the Dodgers catcher on a loose ball and may have hurt his ankle. Then he slid headfirst into first base on an infield single. In the bottom half of the inning, he fell into the stands after running hard and catching a foul ball. Later, he caught a popup by the mound for the first out of the sixteenth and tumbled into the dirt.
Manager Alex Cora also moved his outfielders around in the eighth through the twelfth innings, depending on the batter, with Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley changing positions seven times.
Dodgers starter Walker Buehler (7-2-0-0-7, 108) is only the third pitcher in World Series history to throw seven or more scoreless innings while allowing two hits or fewer. The other two are Don Larsen (Game 5, 1956) and Fat Billy from Ohio (Game 2, 2000). Buehler retired the Red Sox in order in the first inning on 26 pitches, the most in any 1-2-3 inning in postseason history. He threw a career-high 108 pitches.
Three World Series games had gone 14 innings: 1916 Game 2 (Red Sox 2, Dodgers 1), 2005 Game 3 (White Sox 7, Astros 5), and 2015 Game 1 (Royals 5, Mets 4). ... The 1916 game was played in only 2:32!
(4:15 AM: More later ...)
(10:23 AM: Or maybe not.)
(2:35 PM: Nope.)
5:30 PM: Thousands of words could be written about last night's game. (And if they are, I want to read them.) I had hoped to comment on the horrendous pitch-calling of plate umpire Ted Barrett and the numerous calls that went against the Red Sox, especially in the later extra innings. I know Barrett blew calls that harmed the Dodgers, too, but for several innings, his strike zone suddenly tightened up when a Boston pitcher was on the mound. It's that sort of alternating strike zone that makes a serious fan s0mewhat paranoid about the honesty of the game.
But when a game ends at 3:30 and you finally go to bed around 4:15 and then get up around 8:15 and eventually head off to work a 12-hour day, there simply is no time. And it seems pointless to do that kind of examination several days after the game has been played.
Betts, RFThe Red Sox's bats are going to come out hard and kick ass. They are going to send the opposing pitcher to the showers so fast, everyone will think Friday is Walter Buehler's Day Off!
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Martinez, LF
Holt, 2B
Devers, 3B
Bradley, CF
Vázquez, C
Porcello, P
(A pop culture reference from more than 30 years ago! It's just what the big-time sportswriters do! Woo!)
Since 2004, the Red Sox are 14-2 in World Series games.
I am loathe to give Manny Machado credit for anything, but he certainly did his job at second base in the fourth inning of Game 2. The Red Sox said that Machado was stealing and relaying signs from second base to hitters. His work led to the Dodgers taking a 2-1 lead in the game.
Throughout Enrique Hernandez's nine-pitch battle with [David] Price, Machado appeared to be relaying signs and/or location to Hernandez through an exaggerated series of motions.LeVangie was adamant that Machado did absolutely nothing wrong. "If you're not hiding your stuff with a runner on second base and you're giving them a free view, that's on you, the pitcher and the catcher. It's up to the pitcher and catcher to manage that and to us to oversee it ... We see this all the time. Not just him, with everyone."
As Price was coming set, Machado, leading off from second, would place his hands on his hips. Then, just before each pitch, Machado would begin a series of motions: touching his helmet with either his right or left hand, sometimes then touching or pulling the script on his jersey afterward and other times grabbing or touching the thigh/groin area of his pants. ...
"Was it a little exaggerated? Yeah, maybe, but I saw the whole thing," [pitching coach Dana] LeVangie said of Machado's gyrations. "I had told [Boston manager] Alex [Cora] I wanted to go [to the mound] before the Puig at-bat because I wanted to talk about some things. But ... I didn't want to f--k with the momentum there because David got a huge strikeout."
Plus, catcher Christian Vazquez had taken a mound visit already in the inning ...
From second, Machado gestured again. Puig swung at the first pitch he saw, a 93 mph fastball, knocking an RBI single into center to give the Dodgers their first—and only—lead of the series. It was Machado who scored. ...
LeVangie went out after Puig's RBI single to talk with Price and Vazquez ...
"We had a conversation," LeVangie said. "I don't want to get into the depths of it, but I brought up exactly what you're talking about. I let it get in my way—because of the strikeout, I didn't go out there [earlier]. I was so pissed that I didn't."
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