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For the fourth time in 15 seasons, the Red Sox are world champions. Behind a brilliant exit from David Price and two homers from Steve Pearce, who won the home series honors, Boston defeated the Dodgers, 5-1, in the fifth game, to finish the World Series and win his first title since 2013. Here are three reflections of the last match of the year.
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You've heard about it all summer, as the Red Sox moved away from the Yankees in eastern LA and grabbed their third straight title. Talks on this issue became deafening after his first playoff start, a shock against the Yankees in the Division series. The questions continued after the second match of the ALCS, a flawless effort against Houston that did not inspire much self-confidence. Could David Price put his demons in series behind him?
Consider game 5 as the definitive answer. By limiting the Dodgers to a round in seven innings to win the World Series, Price has always left out the story that surrounds it: a choker the most crucial month, an idiot when necessary, a cap too expensive which could not be trusted. Instead, it became huge when Boston needed him most, on the mound to win both the ALCS and then the Fall Classic.
To be fair, the story around Price began to change after the last start of the ALCS, when he whitened the Astros in six innings and did not rest. Fears for Boston that this outing was a fluke probably disappeared after an equally powerful round in the second game against Los Angeles, when he allocated a pair of points over six innings. Between the two, there was an appearance of relief with courage in the marathon of the third match, but Price's next round was not supposed to take place before the sixth match, if it happened, at Fenway Park. The honor of the championship game would be Chris Sale.
Only Alex Cora, of the magic touch, reversed this script at the end of his press conference after the fourth match, announcing that Price – again on hiatus – would start in Sale's place. The logic was solid enough: no more rest for Sale, the conviction that having to hit the NL park would in any case lead to a shorter outing, better results for Price recently. But there was also something more ineffable in the call. As Cora explained to reporters, "We feel like David was good tomorrow."
Good is an understatement. Price was phenomenal, with only one mistake of the night, which was quite amusing, in his first-ever start at the bottom of the first, which David Freese propelled into gear for a solo circuit. But already with a two-point lead thanks to Pearce, the shot that could have dropped the departure of Price from the beginning has not changed much. Over the next six periods, he only allowed one walk in front of Justin Turner, a single bloop for Yasiel Puig and a triple for Freese, assisted by J.D. Martinez. This last move was the biggest threat in Los Angeles, with an exit in the third and one inning. But Turner failed on the first pitch, failing Freese, and Kiké Hernandez flew to Martinez to end the inning.
From there, Price retired, retiring for the next 12 years in a row (and even hitting the seventh-place runners, a real flex from Cora) before Chris Taylor opened the eighth with a walk and the student of the match, up to 5-1.
The office did not let lose that brilliance. The sudden dominant Joe Kelly failed Taylor and hit him in a scoreless run. And Sale finished it: the potential coach closed it in ninth place. Just like that, Price was not just a winner, he was a champion.
Close, but not Kershaw
Price is not alone in attempting to kill the post-season narrative dragon. In front of him was Clayton Kershaw, perhaps the most unfair pitcher of his generation for the October results and the way they reflected it. A dull start to the first game – in which he was hit hard and failed to qualify for the fifth – did not prevent a perception that fluctuates like that of Bitcoin. Here, then, in a playoff game, Kershaw had a chance to silence his enemies (or at least, again, given the number of his appearances in the playoffs).
Instead, things went wrong quickly. Andrew Benintendi scored a goal in the middle. The next hitter, Pearce, took a quick first-throw ball and threw it to the left – a true copy of his circuit-leaving Kenley Jansen in Match 4 which put things on par and shifted the Dodgers. Just like that, Boston had a 2-0 lead and an advantage he would not give up.
Kershaw settled well from there, retiring for the next nine and working on five innings in just 59 shots. But facing the top of the command a third time in the sixth, he blinked, leaving a slider on the plate for Mookie Betts. With no goals in his last 13 games, Betts did not miss his first career playoff game to make it 3-1. In one inning later, Martinez similarly jumped out of a skid, bringing a solo circuit to center to bring it back to three. This seventh inning was Kershaw's last victory.
It may also be the last leg of his career at the Dodgers. As lefty has planned a disengagement in his contract, and in a restricted market of autonomous players, it is almost certain to exercise it. Kershaw is slowly but surely coming out of his heyday, suffering from persistent back wounds and a fast decreasing speed, but he would have many suitors if he were to make his services available to the highest bidder. The Dodgers and their fans must hope that he will choose to stay. If nothing else, going out like that – a loser once again in the playoffs – is not a way to end his stay in Los Angeles.
And after?
For Boston, the future is bright. Betts, Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and Jackie Bradley Jr. form a young and impressive core. Martinez will be back in the middle of the order. Sale and Price form a dynamic duo at the top of the rotation. The main question in terms of free agent status will be whether Dave Dombrowski will bring back Craig Kimbrel, the near-forward striker, a future free agent who has failed in the playoffs but who remains an elite taker even he'll be 31 in May.
Anyway, the Red Sox are here to stay on the AL elite team. The competition will be fierce: the Yankees are just as starred and have a better production system than the Astros. Indians should also be better and sports are up. But nothing better, Boston can enjoy it before turning his attention: 108 victories in the regular season, a World Series championship and the fact that this 2018 edition is the best in the history of a long and rich franchise story, if not one of the best in the history of the MLB.
As for the Dodgers, they risk losing Kershaw as well as Manny Machado, the mid-season rider who has been solid during the regular season, but who has been disastrous in the playoffs, both unproductive and center-stage. negative attention. (In addition, the left-handed Hyun-jin Ryu, who had a fantastic season, will be interrupted, as well as receiver Yasmani Grandal, whose stock was ruined faster than Enron by his erratic game behind the dish this month. .)
It is harder for Los Angeles to cope with these potential defections, however, could be the psychic tribute of the consecutive World Series losses. The title drought is now 31 years old, and although the Dodgers remain an excellent team with a fantastic farming system and lots of good young talents, the windows can not stay open forever. Both seasons, they had the misfortune to face transcendent opponents in the final phase. But the luck that has helped them win six consecutive West West crowns and two pennants can also be exhausted.
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