MLB – Dodgers repeat agony of World Series defeat



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LOS ANGELES – It was a familiar sight for discouraged Los Angeles Dodgers fans: Clayton Kershaw, with one hand on each knee, doubled in pain as an October opponent jogged around the goals.

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Sunday night, in the fifth World Series playoff match, it was Steve Pearce, then Mookie Betts, then J.D. Martinez. Their home runs have counted for four Kershaw-sanctioned races since the start of the round at Dodger Stadium. They were largely enough to allow one dominant, David Price, to lead the Boston Red Sox to another championship and send the Dodgers into another painful winter.

Last year, the Dodgers played an epic and opposite world series against the Houston Astros and lost in seven games. This year, they were outclassed against a Red Sox team that finished the regular season with a differential of more than 229 points, losing the final by a score of 5-1. The Dodgers have only won the World Series once and the search for their first championship since 1988 continues.

The Dodgers are the first team since the Texas Rangers of 2010 and 2011 to lose two straight streaks. Three teams returned to the World Series for the third time in a row after losing twice in a row: the Detroit Tigers in 1909, the 1913 Giants in New York and the 1923 Yankees in New York. Only the Yankees won the third time.

The Dodgers have persevered almost every time they have faced adversity throughout the 2018 season, until the very end.

They started season 16-26 and then returned to the competition with 43 of their 63 games to come. They scored 3-9 in mid-August, but recovered 11 of 15. Even though they found themselves trapped in a tight division ahead of last weekend, the Dodgers won their last four regular season games, including a tiebreaker at a game. claim their sixth consecutive title of the Ligue Nationale Ouest.

They defeated young Atlanta Braves in four Division Division games. Then they survived the match-up Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Championship Series, winning the seventh road game to qualify for the second consecutive round.

Clayton Kershaw is not the only Dodger to question on the aftermath after losing the World Series two years in a row. Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images

But the Red Sox (108 wins) were too talented and too disciplined to be beaten.

The Dodgers made essential mistakes and did not get enough offensive production by dropping the first two games at Fenway Park. They survived Boston in Game 3, an 18th record, which ended on The appointment-free appointment of Max Muncy. But the Dodgers have reduced the lead by four points – for the first time in 55 chances this season – at the end of the fourth game.

In the fifth game, the Dodgers failed to resolve Price, who pitted the mound and awarded only one homer to David Freese in the first seven innings. Kershaw gave Pearce a two – run homer in first and then retired 14 of 15 before facing the Red Sox a third time in the game. At the sixth outing, Betts welcomed him with a solo circuit. To start the seventh, Martinez did the same thing. Kershaw was leaning against the dugout handrail when Pearce scored another home test against Pedro Baez in the eighth end, thus raising Boston 's lead to four.

At that time, Kershaw might have also thought about his future. At some point this week, Kershaw must decide whether to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract, which plans to pay him $ 65 million over the next two seasons. The 30-year-old southpaw will probably opt for free will, and there's a chance – as slim as it sounds – that this is his last match in the Dodgers uniform.

The same possibility exists for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has no contract beyond this season. Roberts is well respected in most circles, but he was enthusiastically welcomed when his name was announced before the fifth game. Dodgers fans were still unhappy with Roberts' decision to withdraw the club. Rich Hill in the seventh inning of the fourth game, a contest that changed the dynamics of the series.

The Red Sox have their fourth championship in 14 years. The Dodgers have zero out of 30 and must now answer some key questions.

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