Empire Sports Media

Tampa Bay Rays

MLB News: The Los Angeles Dodgers win their first World Series since 1988

by

The roof was closed for game six of the MLB World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Arlington, Texas. The Series was on the line for the Rays as the Dodger led the series 3 games to 2. The pitching matchup was Tony Gonsolin against Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays. This was an elimination game for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tony Gonsolin to the mound to win it all for the Dodgers. Gonsolin who was excellent in the regular season, going 2-2 with an ERA of just 2.31. However, he has been ineffective in the postseason and is 0-2 with an inflated 9.38 ERA. In his three games, two starts, he pitched 7 2/3 inning giving up eight runs. This is due to an October 15 game against the Atlanta Braves; he gave up 5 earned runs in 4.2 innings. In the very first inning, he gave up a homer to possible MVP Randy Arozarena, Arozarena’s tenth homer of the postseason.

Blake Snell took the mound in an attempt to force a game seven on Wednesday night. Snell in the postseason is 2-2 with an ERA of 3.33. In the Wild Card round, he won his game against the Toronto Blue Jays, in the ALCS, he split two games with the Houston Astros, and in the second game of this World Series, he won against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up two runs in 4.2 innings. With Snell on the mound, the Rays bullpen will come into play. Snell seldom went more than five innings in most games.

Snell made it to the start of the six-inning keeping the Los Angeles Dodgers scoreless before being replaced by Nick Anderson after giving up a single to Austin Barnes. Anderson gave up a double to Mookie Betts as Barnes went to third on the long double to the left-field wall. Justin Turner at the plate. Anderson threw a wild pitch, and Barnes scored, tieing the game at one apiece. On a fielder’s choice, Betts came home for the Dodger 2-1 lead.

Turner hit a long one that looked out but was caught for the second out of the inning. Loup came in to close out the inning for the Rays. Brusdar Gaterol started the top of the seventh, replacing Victor Gonzalez, for the Dodgers. He got two quick outs but gave up a single and was replaced by Julio Urias. Urias, a starter for the Dodgers, got Yanky Diaz to strike out and maintain the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 lead.

At the bottom of the seventh, Pete Fairbanks took over for Loup and gave up a double to Will Smith. Cody Bellinger skied out for the first out.  Chris Taylor struck out, and Joc Pederson pinch-hitting was walked intentionally to get at Austin Barnes. Barnes flew out to Lowe to end the inning. With the score at 2-1 Dodgers, Randy Arozarena was first up for the Rays at the top of the eighth inning with Julio Urias still on the Dodgers’ mound. Arozarena flies out to Bellinger. Urias got Meadows out, and Brandon Lowe struck out, ending the Rays’ hopes in the eighth.

At the bottom of the eighth, with Fairbanks still on the mound, Mookie Betts homers to centerfield to increase the Dodger lead to 3-1. Corey Seager walked. Hernandez struck out. Fairbanks was replaced by Ryan Yarbrough with one on and one out. Max Muncy hit into a double play, and the inning was over. With the score at 3-1 Dodgers, it was last licks for the Tampa Bay Rays.

At the top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers just had to get 3 outs to win their first World Series since 1988. Julio Urias still in there got Manuel Margot popped out to Mookie Betts for out number one. Mike Brosseau pinch-hitting stuck out for out number two. With the Dodgers one out away, Willie Adames held the Rays hopes with his bat, Adames, but he stuck out for out number three, and the 2020 World Series was over. The Los Angeles Dodgers have their first World Championship since 1988.

It was a great baseball season for the Tampa Bay Rays, but in this coronavirus season that will go down in the baseball history books the Los Angeles Dodgers were victorious. It was the seventh title for the Dodgers, their sixth since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in 1957, and the first for Dave Roberts as manager. The final score was Dodgers 3 and the Tampa Bay Rays 1. The winning pitcher was Victor Gonzalez and the loser, Nick Anderson.

In the award ceremony following the game, the Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred was heavily booed as Clayton Kershaw, who has had a World Series ring evade him, manager Dave Roberts, and all the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated on the field. Corey Seager won the MVP Award for his play in the postseason.

MLB News: The World Series may be decided tonight, Rays could be eliminated

by

Tonight in Arlington, Texas, the MLB World Series could be over. The Tampa Bay Rays may be eliminated and sent home to Florida after going to the World Series for the first time since 2008. The Los Angeles Dodgers could end the series with a win and garner their first World Series win since 1988.

The game tonight will be at 8:08 pm at Globe Life Field home of the Texas Rangers during the regular season. The series will continue in the “bubble,” which has been successful with no player testing positive for the coronavirus. The game will be played under the retractable roof, protecting the limited fans in the stands from the chilly Texas weather. Game-time temperatue will be near 40 degrees. The game will be televised on the Fox Network.

The Rays pitcher Blake Snell will first take the mound in an attempt to force a game seven on Wednesday night. Snell in the postseason is 2-2 with an ERA of 3.33. In the Wild Card round, he won his game against the Toronto Blue Jays, in the ALCS, he split two games with the Houston Astros, and in the second game of this World Series, he won against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up two runs in 4.2 innings. With Snell on the mound, the Rays bullpen will come into play. Snell seldom goes beyond five innings.  He struck out nine in the game, but he allowed four straight runners to reach in the fifth inning. The Rays have a strong bullpen.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will send Tony Gonsolin to the mound to win it all for the Dodgers. Gonsolin who was excellent in the regular season, going 2-2 with an ERA of just 2.31. However, he has been ineffective in the postseason and is 0-2 with an inflated 9.38 ERA.  In his three games, two starts, he pitched 7 2/3 inning giving up eight runs.  Most of this is due to an October 15 game against the Atlanta Braves; he gave up 5 earned runs in 4.2 innings. In his one game in the World Series, he gave up one home run in the top of the second inning and was replaced. Gonsolin will have to locate his pitches very carefully against a team that is not going to go out of the strike zone.

If the Tampa Bay Rays can win the MLB World Series game six and force a game seven, it will be tomorrow night just after 8 pm; the result of that game will decide who wins the Fall Classic and become the World Series Champions. If that game seven is forced, the pitchers for the game will be a last-minute decision.

MLB World Series Recap: With the Dodger’s win the Rays face elimination Tuesday night

by

Last night’s MLB World Series game was not a good night for Tampa Bay Ray’s Tyler Glasnow; the first batter he faced, Mookie Betts doubled, and then Corey Seager singled, driving in Betts for the 1-0 leas in the first inning. Seager stole third, Cody Bellinger singled, and it was 2-0. Although Glasnow allowed the Dodger lead in the first, it wasn’t an easy night for either pitcher.

At the top of the 2nd inning, the Dodger’s Joc Pedersen homered into the left-field bullpen for the 3-0 lead. With Clayton Kershaw on the mound for the Dodgers and one on, Yandy Diaz had a long double to far-right field. Ray’s star Randy Arozarena singled, driving a run, drawing the Rays to one run behind the Dodgers.

In the 4th, with no outs and men on the corners and the Dodgers 3-2 lead, Kevin Kiermaier at the plate, Manuel Margot, took off for home and was called out for the final out of the inning. At the top of the fifth inning, Max Muncy hit his third home run of the season far into the first deck of left field for the 4-2 Dodger lead after Tyler Glasnow put way eight Rays in a row. At the bottom of the frame, Clayton Kershaw still in there, struck out two Rays and got a fly out to finish off the inning.

The rest of the game remained scoreless for both teams, with the final score of 4-2 Dodgers. In the game, Randy Arozarena’s hit was his 27th hit of the postseason and all-time record in postseason hitting. Kershaw got the win, and Tyler Glasnow the loss.

Today will be a day off for both teams as the home field advantage switches back to the Dodgers. This game six coming on Tuesday night will be an elimination game for the Tampa Bay Rays. The probable pitchers will be Blake Snell for the Rays and Tony Gonsolin for the Dodgers. The game will be just aft 8 pm at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

 

MLB World Series Game Recap: If you missed it, you missed the most amazing World Series game (video)

by

With the roof open at Globe Life Field, game four of the World Series continued between the MLB Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays, with the Dodgers up a game on the series.  In the very first inning, Justin Turner hit a home run to center for the Los Angeles lead in the game. Rays reliever Yarbrough closed out the inning but not before giving up that home run.

At the top of the third inning, Corey Seager hit another home run for the Dodgers to far center field, the second home run against the Rays opener Yarbrough. The New York Yankee killer Randy Arozarena hit his 9th home run of the postseason letting the Rays get on the board, Dodgers 2 and the Rays 1.

The Tampa Bay Rays getting on the board was just the beginning of a game that would have many emotional swings back and forth. The Dodgers used six pitchers, and the Rays used seven in the game. Neither starter went very far into the game, Julio Urias who had had a 0.56 ERA before the game, went only 4.2 innings, and the Ray’s Ryan Yarbrough only went 3.1 innings.

At the bottom of the fourth inning, Randy Arozarena hit his 9th homer of the postseason for the all-time record number of home runs in baseball postseason history. At the top of the fifth, the Ray’s, Muncy had an RBI single,  That was followed by a mammoth home run by Hunter Renfroe. Enrique Hernandez had an RBI double, and it was 3-2 Dodgers.

The real action didn’t start until the beginning of the sixth inning with the score at Dodgers 3-2. At the top of the frame, when the Dodgers tacked on another run. Dodgers 4-2. But at the bottom of the inning, the Rays picked up three runs, making it 4-5 Rays. At the top of the seventh, Joc Pederson with the bases loaded hits the biggest hit of his career, singling and putting the Dodgers back on top 6-5 in the seventh inning. At the bottom of the seventh, Kevin Kiermaier tied up the game with a homer to center for the 6-6 game.

The Los Angeles Dodgers took the lead back in the top of the eighth inning, and it would stay that way until the bottom of the ninth inning. That is when things got crazy. What then transpired made this Game 4 the signature game of the series. With two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning, Brett Phillips who wasn’t even on the roster in the ALCS, pinch-hit and laced a single to center field off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, bringing in the tying run, but Dodger centerfielder Chris Taylor kicked the ball. Randy Arozarena, who was on his way to second base, never stopped running after he passed third base he stumbling and fell to the ground, meanwhile Taylor was throwing the ball to home, but Arozarena got up and dashed home sliding into home plate, face first for the Rays, last-second win. The Ray’s manager Kevin Cash had this to say about the amazing end to the game.

“The moment the ball left Phillips’ bat, we knew we had a tie ballgame, and then everything that happened afterward, Randy’s not used to having to run like that,” Cash said. “Normally he’s used to just trotting. So it threw him off for a little bit getting tripped up there between third and home. But Phillips, man, give that guy a lot of credit. I don’t know when the last time he got an at-bat was. Pretty impressive what he just did against one of the game’s best closers.

“Happened so fast, I didn’t know what to do. Gave a bunch of hugs, just in disbelief.”

The final score was 8-7 Tampa Bay. Kenley Jensen took the loss for the Dodgers and John Curtiss the win for the Rays. The Rays scored seven of their runs with two outs.

The Tampa Bay Rays win ties up the series at two games apiece going into Game 5, on Sunday night. The game tonight will be a matchup of the Game 1 starters, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers against the Ray’s Tyler Glasnow. Whoever wins the game will put the other team in an elimination situation on Tuesday night, when the home field advantage switches back to the Dodgers. The game will be on the FOX Network.

The following video is the full bottom of the ninth inning.

 

 

MLB News: Game 3 of the World Series, Morton fails as the Dodgers take the 2 to 1 game lead in the Series.

by

On a not so beautiful night in Arlington, Texas, it was Game 3 of the 2020 MLB World Series. Charlie Morton of the Tampa Bay Rays met up with the Los Angeles Dodgers Walker Buehler. For the first time in the World Series, there were fans in the stands, in a closed Stadium as the Globe Life Field roof was closed due to inclement weather. The Dodgers won the game 6-2.

Charlie Morton took the mound in the first inning as the home field advantage reverted to the Tampa Bay Rays for the next three games, after a day off Thursday. The teams were evened out at one game apiece in the series. Morton faced Justin Martin in the first, and Martin hit a home run to the left for the Dodgers one-run lead in the game. Morton got out of the inning, giving up just the one home run. At the bottom of the inning, Walker Buehler got the call from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Buehler made it look easy, striking out two in the inning. He struck out the New York Yankee Killer Randy Arozarena to close out the inning. After one inning, it was the Dodgers 1 and the Rays nothing.

At the top of the second inning, Cody Bellinger, who dislocated his shoulder in game two, flew out for the first out of the inning. Morton hit Corey Seager with a pitch then allowed Turner a double, Muncy singled, and it was 3-0 Dodgers in the third inning.  In the fourth, the Dodgers threatened again with men on the corners and only one out. Austin Barnes made a perfect bunt and drove in another run for the Dodgers 4-0 lead.   Mookie Betts singled, driving in Turner for the 5-0 Dodger lead. Mookie Betts then stole second. The Rays left Morton in to finish out the inning. Buehler pitched a perfect bottom of the inning.

Surprisingly the Rays put Morton back out for the top of the fifth inning. Muncy walked, and that was Morton’s night haven given up five earned runs in just four innings. The Rays replaced Morton with John Curtiss. Curtiss slammed the door on the remaining Dodgers. At the bottom, Beuhler gave hit first hit of the game to Manuel Margot, a double. Willie Adames hit a double driving in Margot, and the Rays were on the board. Dodgers 5 Rays 1.

At the top of the sixth, Austin Barns homered for the Dodgers off Curtiss for the 6-1 Dodger lead. Mookie Betts stole his second base on the night. Seager walked, but both were left on base. At the bottom of the frame, Austin Meadows got a single, the third hit off Buehler on the night. 26-year-old Walker Buehler struck out the next two Dodgers with a total of 10 strikeouts. At the top of the seventh, Ryan Sherriff took over for the Tampa Bay Rays. The game remained at 6-1 until the top of the ninth innning when Randy Arozarena hit a home tacking on a run for the Rays.

Walker Buehler was the winning pitcher and Charlie Mornton took the loss. The final score was 6-2 Dodgers, and the Dodgers advanced to a game ahead of the Rays in the in the best of seven series. Buehler pitched masterfully in the game. After the game Austin Barnes said ” That might have been the best I’ve ever seen his stuff.” Tomorrow night in game four of the World Series the Dodgers Julio Urias, who is 4-0 in the postseason with an ERA of .056, will face a yet unknown Ray pitcher at the time of this writing. The game will most likely be a pullpen game for the Rays.

 

 

 

 

 

MLB News: Tampa Bay Rays get revenge with win over the Dodgers, evening the series at a game apiece

by

The Tampa Bay Rays took on the Los Angeles Dodgers last night behind one game in the MLB 2020 World Series. They put out co-ace Blake Snell to win it for the Rays; Snell is a left-hand hitter killer. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent out Tony Gonsolin in the hopes of continuing their winning ways. The Rays evened the series with the 6-4 win.

One out in the first inning Brandon Lowe hit a solo homer off Gosolin for the Tampa Rays early lead in the game. Then Joey Wendle drove in two with a double in the fourth as Tampa took a 3-0 lead, driving starter Tony Gonsolin out of the game. Dustin May took over for him, he allowed one on and then another homer for Brandon Lowe, and it was 5-0 Rays. Meanwhile, Blake Snell was dominant, with the Dodgers being hitless through four innings.

Snell showed his stuff as he got nine strikeouts through just the fifth innings. But Snell gave up a two-run home to Chris Taylor as the Los Angeles Dodgers got on the board and made it 5-2 Tampa Bay. A walk followed that to Mookie Betts as the Tampa Bay Rays got the bullpen warming up. Snell this year has seldom gone more than five innings in a game. Snell this gave up a hit to the hot Corey Seager moving Adames to second, and that was Snell’s night as Nick Anderson replaced him with two on base and the tying run at the plate in Justin Turner. Anderson struck out Turner ending the threat, but the Dodgers got within three.

Joe Kelly took over for the Dodgers in the sixth.  He gave up a single to Ray’s Ji-Man Choi. Manuel Margot singled, moving Choi to third. Joey Wendle had a sac fly scoring Choi for the Tampa Bay 6-2 lead. Margot stole second as Muncy overthrew to fist. Willie Adames struck out on a Kelly 98 mph fastball. Kevin Kiermaier grounded out, ending the inning, but the Dodgers got another run closer.

At the bottom of the frame, with Anderson still in, he gave up a homer to Will Smith drawing the Dodgers ever closer at 6-3 Rays. Now with a three-run ballgame, Cody Bellinger grounded out. Rios struck out, maintaining Ray’s three-run lead.

Entering the seventh inning Alex Wood took the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zunino grounded out. Diaz singled to Mookie Betts, Lowe who hit two homers grounded back to the Wood, Mike Brosseau pinch-hitting, struck out ending the half. At the bottom of the seventh, Pete Fairbanks, who got the save in the ALCS, took to the mound and got Pederson to fly out. Taylor struck out, and Betts fly out for a perfect inning for Fairbanks. Rays 6 and the Dodgers 3.

The eighth inning featured Wood back on the mound for the Dodgers. Margot struck out, Joey Wendle to who had two homers in the game, popped out for the second out of the eighth. Willie Adames doubled for his first World Series hit. He was left on base by Kevin Kiermaier for another good inning for Wood. At the bottom of the frame, Cory Seager homered to right, bringing the Dodgers to within two of the Rays. Justin Turner doubled, Muncy flew out, Smith lined out but knocking out Fairbanks as Aaron Loup came in to close out the inning.

Entering the ninth inning with McGee pitching and one on Brandon Lowe stuck out, followed by the Yankee killer Randy Arozarena singling, making it two on with two outs. Renfro running for  Diaz. Mike Brosseau grounded out, leaving seven on base for the Rays. In the bottom with last licks for the Dodgers, With Loup back on the mound, Rios struck out. Austin Barnes flew out, and Loup was replaced by the Rays closer Deigo Castillo who had been warming to get the final out. Austin Taylor struck out, and that was the game as the Rays got their revenge and tied up the World Series at one game apiece.

Tomorrow night is a game night off; Friday’s game will be at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. It will feature a matchup between Ray’s veteran Charlie Morton facing the Dodger’s Walker Buehler at 8:08 pm on the Fox Network. Joey Wendle was the star in the game with two homers, and three runs were driven in. Nick Anderon took the win, and Gonsolin taking the loss. Deigo Castillo got the save in the 6-4 win for the Tampa Bay Rays.

 

 

MLB News: The Los Angeles Dodgers/Tampa Bay Rays World Series gets underway tonight

by

With the New York Yankees out of MLB and licking their wounds along with the Houston Astros, many fans are still interested in the Fall Classic. Those interested want to see close games with a series that goes the full seven games, with outstanding pitching and long ball heroes. I can’t promise you any of these things, but for sure, it will be an exciting series with two teams that are very energized.

The Tampa Bay Rays haven’t been to the World Series since 2008, and the Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t won a World Series since 1988. The game tonight will be almost freaky as the cameras pan around, and you see and hear the cheers, and moans of real fans in the stands, albeit limited.

Tonight’s game and all the World Series games will be at the brand new Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers, in Arlington, Texas. The game time will be 8:09 pm, and the game-time temperature will be about  80 degrees and will stay in the upper ’70s throughout the game. The skies will be clear, and a perfect night for baseball in the open Globe Life Field. The game will be broadcast on the Fox Network.

First out on the mound will be pitching ace Clayton Kershaw as the first two games, the Dodgers will be the home team. Kershaw on the year was 6-2 with an ERA of 2.16. In the postseason, he was 2-1 with an ERA of 3.32. Kershaw is a seasoned veteran in the World Series with four starts in his career and one relief appearance. Kershaw relies mainly on a slider and a low ’90s four-seam fastball with some backspin. The 32-year-old, 6′ 4″ 225 pounder has re-invented his pitching in the last two years by adding a changeup to his repertoire.

The Tampa Bay Rays will start their strike-throwing Tyler Glasnow, who has pretty much cemented his place as the Rays ace over Blake Snell. Glasnow won his Wild Card Game against the Blue Jays, beat the New York Yankees on October 6, but lost his short rest to the Yankees on the 9th even though he didn’t have an earned run. In his last outing against the Houston Astros, he lost, giving up four runs in six innings.

Glasnow’s shortcoming is that he is basically a two-pitch pitcher; he throws a high ’90s four-seamer and a mid-’80s curveball.  He rarely throws a change-up. Despite being a two-pitch pitcher, he had 91 strikeouts in the regular season and had the fourth-most strikeouts in all of the baseball’s postseason with 25K’s.

I give the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kershaw the edge in Game 1.

 

MLB News: Astros hopes dashed as Tampa Bay Rays win the ALCS

by

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, now the Houston Astros have lost to them in the ALCS. So one of the teams with the cheapest payrolls will be in the World Series. We don’t know who they will be playing as the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves are tied at three games apiece after the Dodgers evened it up with a 3-1 win Saturday afternoon in Texas. They will have an elimination game tonight at 8:15 with the game seven on FS1.

In the ALDS, the Tampa Bay Ray’s Randy Arozarena was a Yankee killer. He continued his torrid play in the ALCS against the Astros and was named Series MVP. The Rays won yesterday’s game 4-2, dashing the hopes of the Houston Astros of going to their second World Series appearance.  The Astros, born the Colt 45’s of the National League, became the Houston Astros in 2013 moved to the American League. Since then, they have won two AL Pennants in 2017 and 2019, both against the New York Yankees.

The Tampa Bay Rays had their way with the New York Yankees in this shortened pandemic season. They won eight games of the ten meetings on the year. They then won the East Division over the Yankees. The Yankees went on to the ALDS Wild Card round and swept the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees had to face the Rays in the ALDS that the Yankees lost, ending their season. That set up the Rays Astros matchup in the ALCS.

The Tampa Bay Rays continued to play great baseball, winning the first three games in a row, putting the Astros in an elimination game. In only the second time in MLB history, the Astros won the next three games, forcing a game seven at Petco Park in San Diego.

Yesterday’s win over the Astros, advancing them to the World Series, came with the Rays Charlie Morton on the mound against Lance McCullers Jr. Morton got the win and McCullers Jr. the loss, with Pete Fairbanks getting the save for the Rays. The Rays will now face today’s NL game winner and play the World Series’s first game on Tuesday at 8:09 pm and will be broadcast on the Fox Network. The game will be played at Gold

MLB News: Houston Astros make historic comeback with win over the Rays

by

For New York Yankee fans that are still interested in the MLB season, most of you would like to see the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays both lose and not go to the World Series. Well, that isn’t going to happen. In the ALCS the Houston Astros fell three games behind in the series and faced elimination last night. Then the near impossible happened the Astros completed their comeback from 0-3 to beat the Rays and even the series at 3 games apiece and force a game seven.

The Houston Astros feat was only the second time in MLB history that a team would come back from 0-3 in an ALCS series. The Astros beat the Rays last night 7-4 at Petco Park in San Diego. The Astros can now look forward to winning tonight’s game and going back to their home state of Texas to compete in World Series in front of a socially distant group of home town fans. The games at Globe Life Field and been played with a limited number of fans in the stands. The games at Petco has been fanless.

Some New York Yankees fans will be hoping that the Houston Astros lose tonight and go back to Houston with their tails between their legs. The Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees in the 2019 ALCS. Because of the win, Jose Altuve was named AL MVP, while the Yankees Aaron Judge came in second. Later MLB found that the Astros electronically cheated in the 2019 season and postseason. The General Manager and team manager were both suspended, but the Houston Astros owner fired them.

Other Yankee fans that are not all that down on the Houston Astros, may hope that the Rays lose the ALCS contest because of the unsportsmanlike antics they displayed after winning the series from the New York Yankees. They after the Tv cameras were off, walked out of the dugout, many smoking cigars while blaring “New York, New York, from the dugout.

Still, there are other AL MLB fans that don’t care who wins as long as it is an American League team, and will route for the winner to beat the National League team in the World Series. Tonight’s must-win game for both teams will be broadcast on TBS at 8:37 pm EDT. The Rays have the edge as they start the 2-0 Charlie Morton, who has an ERA of 0.90 in the postseason. He will start against Astro’s Lance McCullers Jr. who is 0-1 with a 3.93 ERA.

The other game that could be a deciding game will be the National League’s Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves are up in the series 3-2. The Dodgers will have to win the late afternoon game to force a game seven, that will decide who goes to the World Series.  The game is at 4:38 pm EDT on FS1.

 

MLB News: Los Angeles Dodgers score record 11 runs in first inning in win over the Braves

by

The postseason is over after losing game five of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays for the New York Yankees, but there are still things going on in MLB. Last night the Los Angeles Dodgers, two games behind in the NLCS, in their quest for a World Series appearance, scored a record 11 runs in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves. No team has ever scored 11 runs in the first inning of postseason play.

The final score in the game was Dodgers 15 and the Braves 3. Before the Dodger win, the Dodgers were two games behind the Braves, now 1-2 in the seven-game NLCS. They got the win with 5 homers, 13 hits, and 15 runs scored, all in the game’s first 3 innings. The game was held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and was the first series of the year to have fans socially distanced in the stands. During the first inning, many Atlanta fans left for local restaurants.

On the MLB American League side, the Tampa Bay Rays may walk away with the America League Championship tonight as it will be an elimination game for the Houston Astros.  The Rays won the first game in San Diego at Petco Park 2-1. The Rays won game 2, 4-2, and the third game 5-2, putting the Astros in an elimination situation. But the Astros won last night’s game 4-3, starving off elimination, which they again face tonight. The Ray already won the ALCS series from the New York Yankees three games to two, with the Yankees losing the deciding game by just one run.

In other baseball news the Wall Street Journal reported that Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane will soon have a stake in the Boston Red Sox through his company RedBall Acquisition Corp. Since you can’t be involved in running two MLB teams at once, it appears Beane will instead leave baseball entirely — joining Red Sox owner John Henry’s business efforts across other sports (most notably soccer — Henry owns the Liverpool club). During Beane’s time with the Athletics he brought the team to seven division titles since 1998.