World Series Live: Red Sox Retake the Lead Over Dodgers in Game 2

Sports



[ad_1]

How to watch: Fox has the broadcast at 8 p.m. Eastern, but you can stream it here.

The Red Sox are back on top, 4-2, after Hyun-jin Ryu started to falter and then the Dodgers’ bullpen let down their starter for a second consecutive game.

Ryu needed just one pitch to get a grounder to first from Ian Kinsler, and just two more pitches to retire Jackie Bradley Jr. on a pop-up to shortstop. He ran into trouble with consecutive singles from Christian Vazquez and Mookie Betts, and then made it worse by walking Andrew Benintendi to load the bases.

Dave Roberts had seen enough, and he pulled Ryu for Ryan Madson, the reliever who in Game 1 had allowed two runners he inherited from Clayton Kershaw to score.

Madson once again could not hold any of the runners he was given. He walked Steve Pearce on just five pitches, allowing Vazquez to score, and then allowed a single to J.D. Martinez that brought in the other two.

Madson got out of the inning by striking out Xander Bogaerts.

At the start of the inning, Cody Bellinger came into the game to play center field for the Dodgers, which sent Enrique Hernandez to second base and Brian Dozier to the bench.

The Dodgers bats were quiet.

Brian Dozier hit a long, hard drive to left but Andrew Benintendi made a leaping catch at the warning track to prevent what would have been an extra-base hit. David Price responded to the gift by inducing a groundout to third from Justin Turner and then getting David Freese to line out to center to end the inning.

Given a 1-run lead, Hyun-jin Ryu picked up where he left off in the third inning, thoroughly dominating the Red Sox.

Ryu got a good start when J.D. Martinez grounded out to short and then he caught Xander Bogaerts looking at a fastball low in the zone for a strikeout. That left Rafael Devers and Ryu struck him out with a curveball in the dirt.

Waldstein: Price comes back out for the fifth after his worst inning as eight Dodgers came to the plate — although he did strike out the side as he continued to be aggressive with his fastball. But now, facing the Dodgers lineup for the third time through he may have to change his patterns a bit.

Enrique Hernandez might rue missing that fastball over the plate. It was hittable and he swung right through it. After Dozier struck out, the Dodgers stranded two. Boston had Joe Kelly up in the inning and no one would have been surprised if Price came out if one more Dodgers reached.

Price has given up 9 earned runs in 16 and one-third postseason innings. That’s a 4.96 E.R.A., which is really not good enough, but in his last two outings his E.R.A. is 1.80 and the most important stat is that he has not given up a home run in his two most recent outings, after giving up three in the first two.

Ryu, meanwhile, is settling in nicely. Red Sox have not had a hit since the second inning.

David Price managed to load the bases with no outs, and the Dodgers made him pay for it, taking a 2-1 lead.

David Freese led off with a single to right and Manny Machado followed with a screaming single to center. Chris Taylor walked to load the bases and that brought up Matt Kemp, who lifted a long fly to center that was deep enough for Freese to score.

Price went to battle with Enrique Hernandez and after the nine pitches, Price finally won with a strikeout on a 93 m.p.h. fastball that Hernandez just missed.

That brought up Yasiel Puig and the Dodgers’ outfielder looped a single into center that brought Machado home to give Los Angeles its first lead of the series.

Price got out of the inning by striking out Austin Barnes, but his dominance of the first three innings was nowhere to be found.

After a difficult second inning in which Boston was hammering the ball, Hyun-jin Ryu was far better in the third. He worked around a one-out single by Mookie Betts to get out of the inning in just four batters.

Waldstein: Ryu would prefer to pitch at home. His career E.R.A. is 2.85 at home and 3.56 on the road. This season, his E.R.A. at Dodger Stadium was only 1.15 in the regular season. But that’s what happens when your team play a seven-game N.L.C.S. and can’t necessarily line up your pitching the way you want it.

By the way, hoday is a huge day in baseball history. It is recognized as the 110th anniversary of the publication of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” baseball’s own anthem, with music by Albert Von Tilzer and Lyrics by Jack Norworth.

Another scoreless inning for David Price.

He got a two-pitch out when Yasiel Puig lined out to second. He had to work considerably harder with Austin Barnes, retiring the catcher on a fly to right on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. Brian Dozier walked but Justin Turner grounded out to end the inning.

The Red Sox got on the scoreboard with a two-out run-scoring single from Ian Kinsler, who was the third batter of the inning to make hard contact against Hyun-jin Ryu. Ryu barely escaped the inning down 1-0, and Boston’s hitters have clearly adjusted to his offerings.

Ryu started the inning by allowing hard contact from J.D. Martinez, but Enrique Hernandez caught the line drive in center. Xander Bogaerts followed with another line drive, this one a double off the wall that would have been a home run in nearly any park.

Rafael Devers, who turned 22 today, struck out, but then Kinsler drove a ball to the outfield that brought in Bogaerts for the first run of the game. Jackie Bradley Jr. came up, and he also singled to the outfield, but Kinsler tried to stretch his luck and was thrown out at third base by Chris Taylor to end the inning.

Waldstein: Good looking curveball for Ryu tonight, but it is so hard to put the Red Sox batters away, as evidenced by more two-out damage from Boston. Kinsler broke the cardinal rule: you can’t make the final out of an inning at third.

Here is why it was doubly bad. With runners in scoring position and two outs in the postseason, the Red Sox are batting .405, with 7 extra-base hits and 9 walks.

It was more of the same from David Price in the second who was not challenged by the Dodgers.

Chris Taylor struck out on just three pitches, swinging way behind on a 93 m.p.h. fastball after a pair of changeups. Matt Kemp, who homered over the Green Monster on Tuesday, also struck out, watching a fastball that caught the inside corner, much to the D.H.’s dismay. And then Price ended the inning by getting Enrique Hernandez to fly out to center.

Hyun-jin Ryu matched David Price’s scoreless inning and did him one better by not allowing a base runner.

Ryu got a little help from his infield on a grounder from Mookie Betts which Manny Machado fielded cleanly but then proceeded to throw well wide of first. David Freese was able to corral the ball and tag Betts before he could reach base.

Andrew Benintendi, who was 4-for-5 in his World Series debut last night, struck out on five pitches, waving at a 75 m.p.h. curveball, and then Ryu got out of the inning when Steve Pearce popped out to first.

Waldstein: Not to harp on the weather, but it is really chilly for the fans, and as the game proceeds, the cold factor could have an impact if the Red Sox are behind and people want to get home and warm. But Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, acknowledged it is something new for the Dodgers to deal with — colder even than the San Francisco Giants’ downtown park.

“It’s difficult,” Roberts said before the game. “I mean, I think every person responds differently. But for us, this is the first time we’ve played in obviously weather like this. San Francisco a little bit, but nothing like this.”

This is not a night where you want to hit one off the knob of your bat.

David Price picked up right where he left off in the A.L.C.S., looking fairly dominant in the first.

He got an out with his first pitch when Brian Dozier grounded out to third. He needed just four pitches to strike out Justin Turner with a called strike on a 92 mile-per-hour fastball. He walked David Freese on six pitches, missing low with a fastball, but got out of the inning when Manny Machado popped out to first.

It has been raw all day in Boston and at 45 degrees and falling, the weather could be a factor in Game 2 of the World Series. David Price had a problem early in the season with numbness in his fingers and there was some debate about whether it was a carpel tunnel issue from excessive video games, or the cold conditions. Remember how cold and rainy it was in April and early May?

Price has a reputation for struggling with the cold throughout his career. But he also had a reputation for never winning a start in the postseason, and he won his last game against the Astros, and the Red Sox are 2-0 in his last two starts. So, for the first time since he joined the Red Sox three years ago, there is actually some optimism heading into one of Price’s postseason games.

Dodgers reliever Ryan Madson said the conditions are “definitely an element,” and said the warm-weather Dodgers had a heater in the bullpen in Game 1, when it was a little warmer.

“I’m going to tell the guys who didn’t pitch last night, just move around a little bit more than usual,” Madson said. “Move you knee joints.”

So if you see the Dodgers relievers doing deep-knee bends, you’ll know why. — David Waldstein

RF Mookie Betts

LF Andrew Benintendi

1B Steve Pearce

DH J.D. Martinez

SS Xander Bogaerts

3B Rafael Devers

2B Ian Kinsler

CF Jackie Bradley Jr.

[ad_2]
Source link

Tags

Powered by https://naaju.com/philippines | Designed by Naaju
© Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved