WORLD SERIES GAME TWO: Pitching, two-out hits guide Red Sox to 4-2 win

The national anthem was performed in distinguished fashion for the second straight evening.  This time it was the Boston Pops along with a youth choir.  If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it.[1] [2]  Everyone nailed it.

It was fun to see members of the 2004 Red Sox throw out the ceremonial first pitch(es).  Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was on that team.  He ran out and hugged Kevin Millar, the man for whom he pinch-ran in the bottom of the ninth in Game Four en route to The Stolen Base Heard Round the World.[3]

Before I start, congratulations to Kerwin Danley, Ted Barrett, Chad Fairchild, Jeff Nelson, Jim Reynolds, Tim Timmons, and Fieldin Culbreth for being selected to umpire in the World Series.  Special note to Fairchild and Timmons, who are appearing in their first one.[4]

1st Inning

• The starting pitchers are Hyun-jin Ryu for the Dodgers and David Price for the Red Sox. Ryu is the first South Korean to be the starting pitcher of a World Series game.
• The second batter for the Dodgers was Justin Turner. With that fierce red beard of his, I half-expect to either see him carry a giant axe to the plate instead of a bat or be wearing a kilt and playing bagpipes.[5]
• Only one Dodger reached base this inning: David Freese. Mr. Postseason.
• Ryu looked great as he sat the Sox down in order.

2nd Inning

• The first hit of the game came in the bottom of this inning, when shortstop Xander Bogaerts crashed a double high off the Monster in left-center. In any other ballpark, that’s a deep home run.  In Fenway, it’s a double off the wall.  To paraphrase Joe Buck, the Monster giveth, and the Monster taketh away.
• It didn’t hurt the Red Sox, because two batters later, Ian Kinsler smoked an RBI single to left for yet another run scored with two outs.
• Chris Taylor’s throw to third and tag by Manny Machado to hose Kinsler when the subsequent hitter – Jackie Bradley, Jr. – singled nearly made me burst into applause.

4th Inning

• Yet another hit by David Freese, this time into right for the Dodgers’ first hit of the game. Betts tried to make a diving catch but couldn’t come up with the ball.  However, he did keep it in front of him, and that made a difference when Manny Machado — the next hitter — singled, putting runners on first and second with nobody out.[6]
• Freese scored anyway on a Matt Kemp sacrifice fly after the Dodgers had loaded the bases with nobody out.
• Two batters later, Yasiel Puig singled up the middle to bring Machado home from second and give them a 2-1 lead. Puig hit it HARD.
• John Smoltz stated how important it was for Ryu to shut the Red Sox out in the bottom of the fourth, and Ryu did exactly that.

5th Inning

• What a catch by Andrew Benintendi in left!
• Even when Freese makes an out, he hits the ball hard. He flied out to the warning track in deep center field to end the inning.
• A statement occurred during this inning that bothered me. They referred to Boston closer Craig Kimbrel’s rough outing against the Yankees.  Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Kimbrel’s rough outing was his fault because he “put him in a bad spot” by bringing him in the game with men on first and third with one out.  Uhhhhh…WHAT?!?  That’s EXACTLY when you bring in your best relief pitcher!  They’re paid a lot of money to get you out of that jam.  That’s how Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, and Mariano Rivera earned their keep.  That’s what elite closers do!  How hard is it, really, for a Major League pitcher to come into a game with a three-run lead and nobody on, pitch one inning, and hold the lead?  It’s tough, yes, but not nearly as tough as it is to get out of the previously mentioned jam without allowing any runs.
• How frustrating for Ryu. He got pulled with the bases loaded and two out only to see his reliever walk in a run and serve up a two-run single to give Boston a 4-2 lead.

7th Inning

• Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly looked great in this inning.
• Boston right fielder Mookie Betts hit a towering fly ball that I thought would make it into the Monster seats, but it hit the wall, limiting him to a double.
• During this inning, Fox field reporter Ken Rosenthal found a woman in the stands who was born in the year that these two franchises last met in the World Series (1916). She was attending her fourth Series game.
• Her favorite player is Betts, and his double happened immediately after the report.

8th Inning

• Red Sox reliever Nathan Eovaldi blew Cody Bellinger away with a 99-mph fastball to strike him out for the first out.[7] What made that even more difficult to hit was that the previous pitch was an 81-mph breaking ball.
• In the bottom half, JD Martinez launched a deep drive to left-center on Pedro Báez’s first pitch of the inning. Bellinger made a spectacular sliding catch to rob him of a hit.

9th Inning

• Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel is another guy with a 19th-century beard. He would fit in perfectly at a Civil War re-enactment.
• Kimbrel mowed through the top of the ninth like it was nobody’s business.
• Boston held the Dodgers to only three hits – all off of starter David Price.

It is not unheard of for a team to fall behind two games to none on the road and still win the Series.  The Dodgers did so in 1981.  The Yankees also fell behind two games to none and won the Series in 1996, but they lost the first two games at home.  Either way, the Dodgers certainly aren’t done, but the Red Sox look to be in great shape.[8]

The Series has been fun so far.  I’m looking forward to Game Three, which will be played in Los Angeles.

Until next time…

Thursday, October 25, 2018 6:04 am MST

[1] Imagine the nerves those kids must have felt.  “Oh, no biggie, you’re just singing it at the WORLD SERIES.”

[2] As of this posting, there is no YouTube video of it yet, but keep trying until there is.  It’ll be worth it.

[3] By the way, remember how I said in my previous column that Mariano Rivera only gave up 11 earned runs in postseason play?  Roberts scored one of those 11.

[4] As a soccer referee, I can tell you that it feels pretty special to receive a postseason assignment.  I can only imagine how much greater the feeling is when it’s something as big as the World Series.

[5] How awesome would it be if he can do a Scottish accent?  Can anyone reading this find out if he can?

[6] If that ball gets by Betts, the Machado single scores Freese from second.

[7] He swung right through it.  Absolute gas.

[8] I don’t foresee a sweep, but still…