Manouk Akopyan’s report from Dodger Stadium:
Final thoughts
David Price was still the biggest story here though. It’s impossible to imagine a player doing more to turn around his narrative in a postseason as much as Price did over the course of the last few weeks. He finally won his first playoff start to clinch the ALCS and then went on two win two more, including a World Series clincher when up against none other than Clayton Kershaw.
That’s what I’ll remember the most. That will finish up our liveblogging of the 2018 World Series but we’ll have more coverage in the coming days. Thanks to everybody who followed along with us throughout the last five games, especially those who helped contribute. Ciao!
Steve Pearce is named MVP
Well deserved. Pearce made the biggest offensive difference with his three home runs in five games, and I’m not going to be mad about a role player getting the award and Chevy. Plus, as the announcers kept mentioning, he was indeed a Red Sox fan growing up.
Alright, who’s the MVP? My predictions on this being a seven-game series and David Price hitting a home run didn’t pan out but I still feel good about the “getting the MVP after winning two games in the series.” I’m guessing that he splits it with Steve Pearce.
And anyone who guessed that Pearce would be in the running to be World Series MVP during the regular season is absolutely a witch
Alex Cora’s up next. There are “Cora” chants from the Red Sox fans who managed to infiltrate Dodgers Stadium. “I think (Boston) is going as crazy as Puerto Rico is.” He just asked ownership if he could take the trophy to Puerto Rico. He never forgets his homeland.
Trophy presentation time. Owner John Henry just called this “the greatest team in Red Sox history.”
I hope that the fact the Dodgers ended up winning just one game in the World Series doesn’t take anything away from what they accomplished this year This was a very good team, they just ran into a better one. (And, no, not all of it can be blamed on Dave Roberts.)
Email from Chris O’Brien:
Being a Red Sox fan is a weird thing. Everywhere the team travels its popular. In some places there’s more Sox fans than hometown fans.
But...The Sox still are seen as an underdog in the media.
The media predicted they’d be beaten by the Yankees, then they predicted they’d be beaten by the Astros, then after losing one game against the Dodgers, some in the media were predicting a Dodgers comeback.
As the Sox wrap up this amazing season I hope that the media will finally, finally give the 2018 Red Sox the respect they deserve.
I’ve watched most Red Sox games since 1997, and until now the 2013 Sox - the ‘this is our f*cking city’ Sox - were the most enjoyable team I’d ever witnessed. Not any more. This is easily the best Sox team I’ve seen. The most well rounded.
They deserve all the praise they get, and probably a bit more.
I won’t say that they were ever underdogs, but I will definitely agree that this was the most fun, most likable and probably the best Red Sox team I’ve ever seen.
And Machado was the last out. Poetry.
— iamthelaw (@QuerywhoIam) October 29, 2018
That was definitely the movie version ending.
Sale to finish it off for Boston. Second time the Red Sox have blantany trolled the Dodgers tonight. First time was Price at-bat. @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) October 29, 2018
It felt unfair at times, yes.
The Boston Red Sox have won the 2018 World Series!
The Red Sox have won their fourth championship of the century. It’s a remarkable accomplishment, particularly since they had to go through three very dangerous teams.
Red Sox win!
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, FINAL
It’s down to Manny Machado, the villain of these playoffs. He swings and misses. 0-1. He fouls the next pitch off. 0-2. The next pitch is… outside. He swings and misses on Sale’s next pitch and the Red Sox have won!
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 9th
Enrique Hernandez is up next. He takes a strike. 0-1. Sale’s next pitch is a little away. 1-1. Sale misses with another fastball. 2-1. The next one is up away, he falls behind Hernandez 3-1. Hernandez fouls it off. Full count. He fouls the next one off. Still a full count. And Hernandez gets thoroughly fooled on a slider for strike three. The Red Sox are one out away from a championship.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 9th
Justin Turner is up first. Sale’s first pitch is a 95 mph fastball that Turner takes for a strike. He fouls off the next two pitches, Sale is throwing gas. He’s down 0-2. Turner swings and misses again, The Dodgers are down to their last two outs.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 9th
It is indeed Chris Sale. I guess this is the “perfect situation” Cora was referring to before the start of the game.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, top 9th
And Devers grounds ou to prove my point. The Dodgers have three outs to pull off a miracle comeback and they might have to do it against one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, top 9th
Kenley Jansen is in the game pitching for the Dodgers. Bogaerts is at the plate. He takes the first two pitches for balls and then looks at a strike. 2-1. He waves at Jansen’s next offering. 2-2 and then takes ball 3. Full count. The next pitch, that’s outside. Bogarets trots his way to first.
There’s bunch of defensive changes for the Dodgers after last inning’s barrage of pinch-hitters, but it’s likely not going to matter.
And Holt grounds into a double play, so there’s only out out left in the top of the inning anyways.
@HunterFelt I want to time travel back to June and tell Red Sox nation that Price and Kelly would combine to possibly win game 5 of the World Series and watch everyone laugh
— Rory Murphy (@Rory_Tealeaf) October 29, 2018
It’ll be interesting to see who pitches the 9th. It might just end up being Chris Sale.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 8th
Cody Bellinger is the third straight pinch-hitter here, Dodgers are emptying the reserves. Kelly’s first pitch is just outside. Bellinger looks at a strike and then fouls the next one. He’s down 1-2. He swings and foul-tips the next pitch and he’s out. That’s three straight strikeouts from Joe Kelly and the Dodgers have just three more outs to play with. We head to the ninth!
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 8th
Joc Pederson is here to pinch-hit. Kelly falls behind 2-0. The crowd gets louder trying to will him on base. Pederson takes a home run cut and gets nothing. 2-1 and he doesn’t connect on a second, more half-hearted swing. 2-2. Kelly bounces the next one. 3-2. Pederson fouls off the next. Joe Kelly throws a 97 mph pitch by him that he takes for strike three. He wins the battle and it’s down to four outs.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 8th
Kelly’s first pitch to Matt Kemp is a ball. Kemp swings and misses at his next pitch. Kemp fouls off another, that’s 1-2. He takes a ball, that evens the count. And Kemp swings and misses and that’s it for him. That’s five more outs to go, if you’re counting.
Oh hey, Chris Sale is indeed in the bullpen.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 8th
Joe Kelly is up, which means its hold on to your seatbelts time in Red Sox Nation (although he’s been aces in the postseason.)
Guys; gave up after bottom 7th; Saw nothing that sez BoSox aren't in control.
— Glenn E (@Teng_Solanne) October 29, 2018
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, bottom 8th
@HunterFelt Price hasn't just taken that monkey off his back....he's smashed it in two, then set fire to it. Superb performance from him
— Rory Murphy (@Rory_Tealeaf) October 29, 2018
And he’s back out there. The Red Sox are six outs away from their fourth championship of the century. Chris Taylor is at-bat.
Price’s first two pitches are balls, but he gets a strike called on his third offering. Taylor swings and misses. 2-2. Price throws a ball. 3-2. And he misses on the next one, the Dodgers get a desperately needed base runner. Matt Kemp is up next.
And Alex Cora takes out Price who has been masterful, retiring 14 of his last 16 batters. He gets an ovation from his efforts… from the fans here at Dodgers Stadium. Wow.
Email from Paul Carter:
Hello Hunter,Red Sox fan here. 108 regular season wins. Price being lights out this postseason. Top of the order coming good tonight. Coming back and wiping out both the Yankees and Astros after being trolled by Judge and Bregman... Even the tough Game 3 defeat with Eovaldi’s heroics... Providing tonight ends up the way I hope, this has just been the most joyously feelgood season.I’m also a Newcastle United fan so joy is not something I take for granted.Thanks for the live blog!
This has been the most effortlessly confident Red Sox team I can remember, the days of the Curse are long gone.
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, top 8th
Martinez strikes out but, man, does this seem over for LA.
Home run (Pearce) Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers
Red Sox 5-1 Dodgers, top 8th
Okay now this is just stupid. Steve Pearce launches his second home run of the game, gotta think he and David Price are co-MVPs if this one holds up.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 8th
Benintendi fouls out.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 8th
Kershaw is out, Pedro Baez is in for the Dodgers. Betts is at-bat. He takes a ball and then fouls one off and then looks at a strike. Baez is ahead 1-2. He takes ball two. He fouls the next one off and then hits one to the warning track. Hernandez makes the catch.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, bottom 7th
Puig grounds out. The Dodgers have six outs.
Allowing David Price, who has pitched in G2,G3,G5, to bat in the seventh inning with two and two out in a huge game with a three run lead really shows you who is in full psychological control of this World Series. @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) October 29, 2018
No pitcher has had more talk about his mental state than David Price has in the last few months. It’s a safe to say he has silenced that during this World Series.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, bottom 7th
Now? Now we’re very much in counting outs territory. The Sox are nine outs away. The Red Sox bullpen is buzzing but Price is still out there for the moment. Machado does him a favor by promptly grounding out. That’s eight out. And Muncy flies out. A sense of inevitability is in the air. Seven out.
7th inning stretch
I can’t forget my one liveblogging tradition:
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 7th
David Price is back out there! My dream stays alive.
He takes the first two pitches, a ball and a strike. It’s possible he might just be taking from here on out. Ball two. 2-1. He makes contact, but it’s a ground ball out to end the inning. The Dodgers now need three runs in three innings just to stay alive.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 7th
Kershaw is still in the game, facing Vazquez who has hit like four near-extra-base-hits in his last six at-bats. He gets him to strike out this time for the second out.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 7th
Dodgers bullpen is getting ready. Kershaw keeps showing signs of tiring. Devers hits a base hit. Runners on first and second with one out.
@HunterFelt Hey Hunter, we're at 30,000 feet hanging on your every update. Imagine yourself barreling through the clouds to say, hey Sox Fans, this may be your night!
— Sheila Hamilton (@SheilaHamilton) October 29, 2018
Things are getting real here on the ground.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 7th
Holts up now. The Dodgers finally start getting the bullpen going. Take your time guys, it’s only an elimination game in the World Series. Holt makes good contact on a ground ball. The Dodgers infield manages to get Bogaerts out but Holt is safe at first.
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 7th
Bogaerts hits a rocket for a single. Kershaw’s losing it, the Dodgers have to get someone warming NOW.
HOME RUN (Martinez) Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers
Red Sox 4-1 Dodgers, top 7th
JD Martinez is up, hoping that his bat warms up here. And IT IS RED HOT! He launched one to dead center, That might be the dagger.
Red Sox 3-1 Dodgers, bottom 6th
Here comes Hernandez who hits what should be a base hit but Brock Holt quickly reacts, snares it and throws to first for the out. Price is through six innings and has only thrown 76 pitches.
Red Sox 3-1 Dodgers, bottom 6th
Turner gets good wood on a Price pitch, but Benintendi is able to make the play in left field. That’s out two.
Red Sox 3-1 Dodgers, bottom 6th
Price faces Freese at the bottom of the 6th. This time around, Price gets him out on a routine ground ball.
Red Sox 3-1 Dodgers, top 6th
Kershaw gets Benintendi to ground out and Pearce to line out to end the inning, but the damage has been done.
Home run! (Betts) Red Sox 3-1 Dodgers
Red Sox 3-1 Dodgers, top 6th
Well there goes Mookie Betts’ cold streak. He sees a slider and launches it out for a home run! A two run lead for the Red Sox!
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 6th
Kershaw’s been pitching a gem despite not having his best velocity. David Price is hitting for himself as well. He grounds out on one-pitch.
So, yeah, there goes my David Price hits a home run prediction, most likely.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 5th
Kershaw is batting for himself, as one would expect. He grounds out. Only 67 pitches for Price, who might be making his most impressive start of the playoffs here.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 5th
Barnes grounds out in a blink of an eye. It keeps getting later.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 5th
Halfway through this game and it feels like nothing has really started yet, like it’s not going to be decided until the starters are out.
David Price, for now, is still out there, facing Taylor. He gets ahead 1-2. Taylor takes a close pitch for a ball, that evens the count and then strikes out on a swing that isn’t quite checked. That’s Price’s fifth strikeout.
Roger Kirkby:
When do you start counting outs? 2 when Boston are batting.
When do you start counting outs...
First inning. 27, 26, 25,...
— ⲀlisoⲡⲰ ⚾☕🍣 🇪🇺🇬🇧♿️🌈👭🔶🌊📚🇯🇴 (@AlisonW) October 29, 2018
Now.
— 🏴 Mɩcʜɑɛʟ 🇸🇪 (@mooselighthouse) October 29, 2018
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 5th
Christian Vazquez makes great contact on a Kershaw pitch but it’s right to Taylor. That’s a 1-2-3 inning for Kershaw.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 5th
Kershaw gets Devers to strike out on three pitches. He definitely looks like himself now, let’s see if that ends up mattering for LA.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 5th
Kershaw is facing Brock Holt to start the fifth. Holt lines out to a somewhat tumbling Freese. One down.
When do you start counting outs? @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) October 29, 2018
My tradition is to wait until you’re in finger-counting range. It’s getting closer and closer.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 4th
Puig lines out and that’s a quick 1-2-3 inning for Price who is looking, if I may say, right.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 4th
Max Muncy connects on a pitch and drives it but it lands harmlessly in Mookie’s glove.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 4th
Manny Machado up, he falls behind 0-2, takes a ball and then strikes out on a ball extraordinarily off the plate. One down.
Updated
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 4th
Bogaerts hits right into a double play. Yep, Kershaw is Kershaw again. But he’s still on hook for a loss here.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 4th
JD Martinez up next. He hits one over Machado for a base hit.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 4th
The Dodgers get Pearce to ground out, to the relief of their fans everywhere.
Email from Roger Kirkby:
The ESPN radio guys say this is the first time a city has had a Football, Basketball, Hockey and Baseball game on the same day.
That sounds... not right, but it’s definitely rare.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
Hernandez hits one foul and Martinez makes this catch to personally make sure that his error didn’t end up costing the Red Sox a run. That’s the end of the third and a huge missed opportunity for the Dodgers.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
Turner grounds out and Freese can’t score for third! Two out now and a big, big out for the Red Sox to prevent this game from being tied.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
Freese hits another flyball, one that Martinez SHOULD be able to make a play on, but he loses it in the sky. It lands for a one-out triple. Perfect opportunity for the Dodgers.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
Kershaw is up next to hit for himself, Roberts is not pulling him yet. He grounds out to Devers.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 3rd
Andrew Benintendi grounds out. Looks like Kershaw has settled down a bit. Now let’s see if the Dodgers can do any damage against Price.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 3rd
Mookie Betts, the probable AL MVP, has had a pretty quiet World Series. He gives the ball a ride here, but it stays in the yard. Hernandez makes the catch. One down.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 3rd
David Price is up. It would be a good time for that home run I predicted. Granted, against Kershaw it might be a tall order.
Instead, he strikes out. He’ll get it next time.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 2nd
And Austin Barnes strikes out to end the threat, if you wanna call it that.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 2nd
Chris Taylor up with a runner on first. Taylor works a full count, they’re making Price work here. Dodgers fans get loud but Taylor pops it up. Mookie makes the catch and it’s two down in the second.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 2nd
Yasiel Puig manages to hit on where they ain’t and it eventually drops into the outfield for a hit.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 2nd
Time to see if David Price settles down after a somewhat rocky first. Max Muncy is up, he takes a ball and then fouls three straight pitches before he strikeouts on a breaking pitch.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 2nd
Christian Vazquez falls being 0-2 almost immediately. Kershaw’s definitely looking better here. He takes a close pitch that gets called a ball, to the dislike of the umpires in the stands (as we in the biz call them) and then a second pitch outside. Vazquez finally flies out to end the top of the second.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 2nd
Rafael Devers strikes out, something he’s fairly prone to do.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, top 2nd
Brock Holt is up to start the second, he hits a shallow flyball out.
On Steve Pearce:
When the Red Sox acquired Steve Pearce, the Blue Jays paid down his salary so Boston owed just $1.5M for the remainder of the season. To get him, the Sox gave up Santiago Espinal, a AA second baseman who will turn 24 this winter. Perhaps the single best trade of the 2018 season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 29, 2018
Great bounce back inning for the Dodgers. They get one run back immediately. Plus, Price doesn’t have the command he did in his previous two starts. They can build on this.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 1st
Manny Machado comes up with two out and the bases empty, which is about when you want to face him. Price falls behind again, throwing three straight out of the strike zone. Machado takes a strike. Then he takes a second strike, although Machado takes a step to first base, thinking he’s earned a walk. 3-2. Machado pops one foul into the stands. He fouls the next one off again. Pretty good at-bat here early. And he fouls the next one off. Neither side giving in. On the eighth pitch, Machado swings and misses to end the inning.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 1st
Enrique Hernadnez hits into a double play to clear the bases. That’s more like it from Price.
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 1st
Price falls behind Justin Turner 3-1 and then ends up walking him. Not the start Boston wanted from Price so far. Location noticeably off.
Home run (Freese) Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers
Red Sox 2-1 Dodgers, bottom 1st
And THAT is how you respond. David Freese, he of clutch postseason home run fame, hits yet another one off of David Price to start of the bottom of the first inning.
Red Sox 2-0 Dodgers, top 1st
So that’s two down. Xander Bogaerts is up now, he strikes out but the Red Sox have instantly taken a lead. This could be very demoralizing for LA, let’s see how they respond.
Red Sox 2-0 Dodgers, top 1st
JD Martinez his a long flyball out. That’s not exactly a reassuring out for the Dodgers.
2 run home run (Pearce) Red Sox 2-0 Dodgers
Red Sox 2-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Steve Pearce swings at the first pitch and hits it out of the part! The Red Sox already have a 2-0 lead and Pearce is now has a serious case for being World Series MVP.
Red Sox 0-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Andrew Benintendi falls behind 0-2 and then hits a single past Max Muncy on second. Red Sox already have their first baserunner.
Red Sox 0-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Betts flies out on the second pitch.
First pitch
Red Sox 0-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch to Mookie Betts is… swung at and fouled off. Strike one.
Note: Nathan Eovaldi, after his pitching staff saving performance in the Game 3 ultra-marathon, is in the bullpen tonight. Just FYI.
First pitch coming up in moments.
Loud boos when Dave Roberts name was just announced pregame. The Dodgers faithful seem to have lost some faith.
— Chad Jennings (@chadjennings22) October 29, 2018
Won’t lie, I feel bad for the guy but it’s been a brutal series for the Dodgers manager by any objective measure. If Boston wins tonight, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll still be with the team next season.
I'm having a hard time finding a media member anywhere -- Boston, Los Angeles or national -- who thinks the Dodgers are going to win tonight. I'm at least leaving the possibility open. Don't hate me. You can't predict baseball.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) October 28, 2018
Game 4 was the ultimate “Nope, this is not happening” game for a lot of Dodgers fans. It probably didn’t help that their one win in the series so far took 18 innings and required Ian Kinsler to make three billion costly mistakes for Boston. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if it ends up being a one-sided shellacking.
Predictions
I had this series going seven games. I also had David Price getting two wins as a starting pitcher (and, uh, hitting a home run). It’s not possible for both of these things to happen so I’m going with the David Price prediction.
Your thoughts? Email them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt. Is it over tonight or are we shipping back to Boston?
It’s interesting to note that both managers had moments of bad judgment yesterday, although obviously one team suffered more from them. Red Sox manager Alex Cora left starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the game despite the fact that he was clearly tiring, something which led directly to the Dodgers taking their 4-0 lead. After the game, even Cora admitted his mistake.
Los Angeles Dodgers lineup
1. David Freese, 1B
2. Justin Turner, 3B
3. Enrique Hernandez, C
4. Manny Machado, SS
5. Max Muncy, 2B
6. Yasiel Puig, RF
7. Chris Taylor, LF
8. Austin Barnes, C
9. Clayton Kershaw, P
Boston Red Sox lineup
Devers is in for Nunez. Jackie Bradley Jr, the MVP of the ALCS is on the bench. Expect to see just about everybody this game thanks to NL rules
1. Mookie Betts, CF
2. Andrew Benintendi, LF
3. Steve Pearce, 1B
4. J.D. Martinez, RF
5. Xander Bogaerts, SS
6. Brock Holt, 2B
7. Rafael Devers, 3B
8. Christian Vazquez, C
9. David Price, P
Dave Roberts said Ryan Madson is unavailable to pitch tonight. Pedro Báez and Julio Urías are back available.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) October 28, 2018
Dodgers fans: can you backdate that?
There is always a tweet
As we said earlier, there’s been a lot of controversy over Dave Roberts removing Rich Hill from the game when he did and for making the bullpen moves that he did (see: bringing in Ryan Madson and Kenley Jansen to repeat their failures from previous games). Roberts has gone on record as saying that Hill had warned him that he could be tiring, although this hasn’t helped. Even the president has weighed in on the situation, something which has spurred Rich Hill’s cogent reaction:
Rich Hill on Trump’s tweet: “There was a mass shooting yesterday ... The focus, in my opinion, of the president is to be on the country, and not on moves that are made in a World Series game.”
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 28, 2018
Preamble
Well, so much for the idea that their disheartening loss in the Longest Game In World Series History was going to shift the momentum from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They came back from an 0-4 deficit late in last night’s Game 4, aided by a series of questionable moves by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, pushing Los Angeles to the brink of elimination.
The Red Sox could win their fourth World Series of the century with a win tonight at Dodgers Stadium. They won’t, however. have their ace Chris Sale on the mound, instead going with David Price. It’s a bit of a puzzling move, one that has lead to speculation that he’s more hurt than the team is letting on. In any case, Price has won his last two postseason starts (which are also his first two postseason wins as a starter) so they feel fairly confident about their chances. (Interesting enough, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has suggested that Sale is available out of the bullpen if the right situation pops up. My guess is that this means that if they’re in a great position to clinch tonight).
The Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw on the mound, the one pitcher they would want in a must-win game. Look for LA to pull all the stops to try to send this series back to Boston. Then, of course, they would have to come up with a way to beat Boston in back-to-back games at Fenway Park. The Dodgers will worry about that if they get there. They can’t afford to think about that now, they just need the W now.
If you want to contribute to a World Series liveblog, this could very well be the last time. So, send your comments to us either via email (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or Twitter (@HunterFelt). It’s Game 5 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium! First pitch is scheduled for 8:15pm, but we’ll be back well before that.
Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s how Game 4 panned out:
Bat dropped to the side, Yasiel Puig stretched his arms high toward the pitch-black sky. He knew immediately upon contact that with one crack of the bat, his Los Angeles Dodgers were about to even this World Series at two games a piece. After all, his three-run homer off Eduardo Rodriguez in the sixth inning lifted the Dodgers to a 4-0 lead, and when the Dodgers led by that much this season (including the playoffs), they had won all 54 contests. Not this time though.
The Boston Red Sox responded with a Mitch Moreland pinch-hit three-run blast the very next inning, and Steve Pearce took care of the rest. The journeyman denied Kenley Jansen’s six-out save attempt with a solo shot in the eighth (Jansen allowed a game-tying one-run homer to Jackie Bradley Jr in the same spot during Game 3.) After Rafael Devers drove Brock Holt home from second to break the stalemate, Pearce inflicted damage again, this time with a bases-clearing three-run double off the center-field wall as silence washed over Dodger Stadium.
You can read the full report below:
._Patrick_s_Day_Parade_94380.jpg?w=600)
