Boston will be challenged by LA’s starting rotation of left-handed pitchers, and I expect the games to be competitive. But LA is going to have to really take advantage of the drop-off from Sale (who’s clearly the ace) to the rest of the staff. Price isn’t that much of drop-off either when he’s in top form, but if he comes out shaky, the Dodgers have to take advantage of runners in scoring position. LA cannot leave runners on base, because Boston is almost certainly capable of scoring 5 runs or more in every game they play.
As for Kershaw, true, he gave up 5 earned, but given how productive Boston has been, I thought he pitched okay. He pitched within the game and according to the situation. He kept it close for LA’s lineup. Statistically, Kershaw looks bad, but I didn’t think it was a horrible outing, and he’ll probably be more effective in game 5 or whenever he starts next. So I wouldn’t write off LA just yet.
The Sox looked great (well, Sale wasn’t great) and I’d say it’s now two to one they win the Series, but momentum is today’s starting pitcher. People always underestimate how quickly a series can turn around. One can cite examples all day.
Game 2 is, obviously, huge; if Boston wins, they’re nine to one, at least, to win the Series. If LA wins, they would instantly be a slight favourite to win. A seven game series is that precarious.
I will tell you this though; the recent history of teams lsoing Game 1 in the World Series isn’t great. in the last 30 Series, the team that wins Game 1 is 24-6 in winning it all; the only six teams since 1987 to lose Game 1 and win the Series anyway are:
1992 - Toronto
1996 - NY Yankees
2002 - Anaheim
2009 - NY Yankees
2016 - Cubs
2017 - Astros
They lost the first two at home, in fact, being outscored 16-1. Then they won three in a row at Atlanta (in Game 4 they were down 6-0 entering the sixth) and closed it out in the sixth game back at the stadium.
That’s correct; it was the only 0-2 comeback in the last thirty years in the World Series.
If you go back a little longer, I just realized, the numbers even out a little; there was a streak of many comebacks. The Yankees came back from 0-2 in 1978, the Pirates came back from losing Game 1 in 1979, the Dodgers of course came back from 0-2 in 1981, the Orioles lost the first game in 1983 but won four straight, the 1985 Royals came back from 0-2 and 1-3 in both the ALCS and World Series, and the 1986 Mets came back from 0-2.
I remember the Leyritz game. I mainly remember because I was chuckling at some of the smug Atlanta fans who were getting tendonitis from their stupid little tomahawk chops. You could sense when the series shifted back to the Bronx they knew the gig was up - the fans, not the players. I’m sure the players, who were proud champions from the year before, were fighting the good fight and believing right up until the ball landed in Charlie Hayes’ mitt.
IIRC, the Royals were the first team to win the World Series after dropping the first two at home. Danny Jackson and Charlie Liebrandt performed well in games 1 and 2 but came up short. Except for a let-down in game 4, the Royals pitching staff dominated the Cardinals lineup after that.
The next year, the 108-win Mets dropped the first two - again at home - to Boston. We know what happened in games 6 and 7. But from 1903 to 1985 - 82 years - no team had ever dropped the first two at home and gone on to win. Yet it happened two years in a row in 1985 and '86. And it would happen again in 1996.
It’s funny, because my recollection is that no one in 1986 made mention of how amazing it was it had happened twice in a row.
Here’s a fun fact about the 1985 World Series; the Royals used six pitchers. Not in one game - in the entire World Series. Swear to God. They had four starters; in seven games they went Danny Jackson, Charlie Leibrandt, Bret Saberhagen, Bud Black, Jackson-Leibrandt-Saberhagen. They used only two relief pitchers in the entire Series, Dan Quisenberry and Joe Beckwith, and Beckwith only pitched two inning in a game they lost. Ain’t that amazing? It was a different day, but the fact the Cardinals hit .185 helped. That was the series in which Whitey Herzog quipped that “the Clydesdales spent more time on second base than our hitters.”
That was the series in which Vince Coleman’s leg got caught in the auto tarp thingy and he missed the entire series. He wasn’t a power hitter, but for a small ball club that depended heavily on advancing runners with slap singles and steals, it was a huge loss. In some ways, it’s amazing the Cardinals were able to string it out to a 7th game, hitting under .200 for the entire series. The Cardinals strength with their middle and late relief. They finished games in which they led going into the 8th and 9th - they were almost automatic. In fact, I think the Cardinals were something like 80 or 85- and 0 when leading going into the 9th that year, which included the post-season. That was until they blew a 9th inning 1-0 lead on a blown call, a dropped foul ball, and a bloop single by ex-Cardinal Dane Iorg.
More genius managing from Roberts tonight. Pulled Ryu with the lead and a low pitch count. Two batters later and we are down 2. It’s last night all over again.
Ryu certainly got himself into some trouble. I think he was pitching well enough to get out of it though. Better chance than bringing in someone cold with the bases loaded who just pitched last night, I think.
I think what was on Roberts’ mind is that Boston is going to score 5 runs per game. He pulls Ryu because he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he can turn it over to his pen and keep it at 3 or 4 runs. Problem is, the Dodgers don’t score…because they don’t manufacture runs.
The one thing that has kept the first two games remotely interesting is the Dodgers’ left-handed pitching. Walker Buehler was amazing coming into the post-season, but he hasn’t been particularly great in the playoffs, and **the Sox absolutely murder right handers. ** That’s what the Dodgers are facing now.
Honestly, folks, the 2018 Red Sox might be - might be - one of the best teams ever to play the game. The 1998 Yankees won 114 games during the regular season but the struggled bigly in the ALCS against the Tribe, going down 2-1 at one point. The Sox have never been in danger of losing their series. If they can sweep the Dodgers, we’re talking about a 108-win regular season winner that wins the title with a post-season record of 11-1. That might be the best…evah!!!
