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BOSTON – Max Muncy watched Matt Kemp touch a harmless grounder on the left side and started leaving the circle of the bridge, the final exit becoming inevitable. He grabbed the barrel of his bat with his left hand, looked in the direction of the central field and disappeared into a visiting canoe that was beginning to empty.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost 4-2 on Wednesday night, are facing a 2-0 World Series deficit against a Boston Red Sox team that could be one of the best in the world. 39, history of baseball. They will return to Los Angeles with hope, aware of all the adversity that they have already overcome. But this series – this season – could have ended with two games at Fenway Park.
David Price and J.D. Martinez respected their big contracts by helping Boston win the Game 2 World Series.
At a frigid Fenway Park, Boston roasted the Dodgers for the lead in the world series.
From the Wild Cards round to the World Series, we'll be covering the 2018 playoffs.
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The worst: the Dodgers have not lost their best.
The Red Sox started a left-hander in each of the first two games, with Chris Sale first and David Price second. Thus, the Dodgers, who have experienced relentless battles all along their course to win a sixth consecutive division title, have played roster matches quite right both nights, the first event of its kind in history. World Series.
Enrique Hernandez, who started the World Series with three hits and 12 draws in 30 draws in the playoffs, played six games against the plate in the first two games. Max Muncy, owner of the fifth highest baseball OPS this season, only got three.
Brian Dozier, a .182 / .300 / .350 batter from early August until the end of September, also played six games. Cody Bellinger, rookie of the year in the National League and most valuable player in the National League championship series, only got three.
When Muncy, Bellinger, Joc Pederson and Yasmani Grandal were all out on Tuesday, the Dodgers became the first team in history to start a World Series game with their four regular season leaders on the bench, according to researches. from the Elias Sports Office. Wednesday, it's still happened.
"It's hard to have guys like Pederson, Muncy, Bellinger on the bench," admitted Dave Roberts, the Dodgers coach, "but that's one thing we've done a lot in September and during the playoffs, and that's proven, and these guys are still playing and staying in. When guys are here, they just have to be productive. "
The Dodgers had openings in each of the first two games, but they were unable to break through.
They forced Sale to spend 86 shots in the first four innings of the first match, but only finished 1 in 7 with runners in goal position. They placed five of their nine batters on the base the second time in order against Price in the second game, but the last 16 Dodgers were removed in order by Price and the Boston market.
Grandal Sitting, who has clearly struggled on defense and is 7-70 years old in his playoff career, makes sense. Sitting Pederson, whose points position was 381 points higher against the right-handers this year, is totally justified.
But you can reasonably argue that Bellinger should be part of the Dodgers lineup, because even if his production against left-handed – .681 OPS – does not jump to the page, he could well be the second best overall player on the list. Muncy, meanwhile, finished the regular season with a .891 OPS against lefties, trailing only Christian Yelich, Freddie Freeman and Robinson Cano among the left-handed batters. His meetings were disconcerting.
"Yes, I mean, we both want to be part of the training," said Bellinger, taking a break to gather his thoughts. "I do not know, we both want to be part of the training every day."
According to Elias research, the Dodgers took advantage of their unparalleled depth and versatility to rank sixth with a platoon advantage with a platoon in 2018. But they were noticeably worse against left-handed than right-handed ones. a situation that had more to do with the staff than the configuration of the alignment queue. That's why they acquired Dozier and David Freese, even though they held each of the positions for which L.A. already had considerable depth.
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Chris Taylor talks about the importance of playing in front of the local crowd and credits the Red Sox pitchers.
But the Dodgers could have had the best of both worlds in those first two games. They could have relied on the benefits of the match-up they wanted starting with Kemp in the left field, Freese to first base and Taylor to the second. And they could have integrated two of their best players, starting with Muncy the designated batter and Bellinger in the middle of the field, where he is close to the defensive elite.
They did not have to sell themselves for the game entirely. It was easier to get by with the NLCS, against a team of Milwaukee brewers who were constantly turning to their paddock at the beginning of the games. But the Red Sox use their starting pitchers in a conventional way, which means more sleeves passing without appearances on the touch pad by impact bats.
From the first launch of each series to the last of Game 7, you can follow the full post-season MLB on ESPN Radio. Listening »
Dozier, who led the last two nights, is 0-in-4 in the series, but he drew two goals, and Roberts said he liked the "quality" of his forwards.
Roberts said Hernandez, 0-on-6 with three strikeouts, had lost his advantage, but added: "There are just some players I believe in, and I think it's on this listing."
"We have a lot of good players," Roberts said after the second game, "and we still have a long way to go."
But the backs of the Dodgers are against the wall like never before. Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have won 84% of the time. And few of these teams were as good as the Red Sox, who won 108 regular season games and then surpassed 100 wins. The New York Yankees and defending champion Houston Astros in the first two rounds.
The Dodgers are going home now, which is good.
The best part: they will probably face a right-handed starting pitcher in round-trip matches, which means that Muncy, Bellinger and Pederson should have a say.
"They will be excited to be able to participate and get started," Taylor said. "I know they're hungry for bats."
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