That’s all for tonight. Here’s the full game report:
Final thoughts
Well, if the MLB thought they would help do us all a favor by distracting us from the ongoing pandemic, well this Justin Turner news has thoroughly wrecked those (poorly conceived) plans. Goodness knows what would have happened if there was a Game 7 to play.
Oh well, I’ll try to end this on an upbeat note: Vin Scully, the best to ever call the game, got to see his Dodgers win one more World Series. That’s something.
'55, '59, '63, '65, '81, '88, and now 2020.
— Vin Scully (@TheVinScully) October 28, 2020
What a year. What a season. What a team.
Congratulations @Dodgers
In any case, thanks to everybody who followed along with us throughout Game 6 of the World Series and especially thanks to everybody who contributed to the blog. Ciao!
MVP Trophy Presentation
It goes to Corey Seagar, which is an interesting choice. Obviously,
Now, Rob Manfred is being asked the Justin Turner positive test news
“It’s a bittersweet night... obviously we’re concerned. We learned during the game...”
So that’s the story he’s going to stick to, apparently.
I won’t lie this entire trophy thing just feels really tone-def after the Justin Turner news.
So, at the end of the game, the Dodgers removed Justin Turner from the field. Well, FOX just reported, before going down to cover the trophy celebration, that the reason for this was a positive Covid test.
So, yeah, that’s 2020 in sports in a nutshell. Hopefully everything ends up okay for Turner and his loved ones, obviously.
And Los Angeles is celebrating. The good news is that I think people are maintaining social distancing but, um, isn’t it fire season in California?
I guess we won #dodgers pic.twitter.com/eTuRzZTb5B
— christina heller (@CHellerTVNews) October 28, 2020
I will also add this: Los Angeles has just won both a NBA Finals and a World Series in the same month and I’m fairly confident that this is going to be an accomplishment that will never be repeated.
@HunterFelt welp Roberts’ pitching changes look just fine in retrospect; Cash’s: the stuff of endless debate. That’s baseball. Gotta love it.
— Glenn E (@Teng_Solanne) October 28, 2020
Hard not to feel happy for the guy, one of the most well-liked individuals in the sport.
They are interviewing Mookie Betts, talking about how he’s now won a World Series in both leagues and, honestly, writing this from Boston, MA... we’re still not over this.
Congratulations to the Los Angeles #Dodgers and especially to my dad, a Bronx-bred, life long Brooklyn-LA fan who finally got what he's been waiting for. Tonight, there is a little bit of joy in the ancestral home of Dem Bums. "This is Next Year" @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) October 28, 2020
It’s weird to think of the Dodgers as underdogs, but considering how competitive they have been it’s strange to imagine that this is their first championship since 1988.
The Dodgers have won the World Series!
Rays 1-3 Dodgers, FINAL
Kevin Cash said that Willy Adames was going to do something big this game. They had hoped it wouldn’t be make the last out, but here we are. He strikes out on three pitches and the Dodgers hit the field to celebrate as World Series champions!
Rays 1-3 Dodgers, top 9th
Here’s Michael Brosseau to come in to see if he can give the Rays a spark here. He takes a ball and then fouls one off. 1-1. And another. 1-2. The next pitch is too high. 2-2. Brosseau takes another ball out of the zone. Just getting on base here would be something.
But, alas, he gets caught looking. The Dodgers are an out away from winning the World Series.
Rays 1-3 Dodgers, top 9th
Julio Urias is still in the game, one imagines that the Dodgers would rather not bring in yet another pitcher into this game. He’s facing Margot who pops up to, who else, Mookie Betts.
Rays 1-3 Dodgers, bottom 8th
Ryan Yarbrough is up now for Tampa Bay to face Muncy. He gets him to ground out into a double play to end the inning.
Carl Taylor:
Great game, despite all the pitching changes. Anyway, who have you got for game MVP? Can you look beyond Mookie after that solo blast? It’s Urias for me, who has locked this game down for the Dodgers under pressure...
I am going to make the obvious joke here, and I apologize for it but I cannot help myself: Kevin Cash is the Dodgers’ MVP in this game.
As far as World Series MVP? Well we should be finding that out relatively shortly.
Rays 1-3 Dodgers, bottom 8th
Enrique Hernandez is up now. Nobody out, runner on first. This one feels beyond over but after the Game 4 mayhem it’s understandable if the Dodgers want to tack on a few more runs here just in case. Hernandez strikes out and Case comes in to take out his pitcher.
That piano on LA's back is getting lighter by the minute. @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) October 28, 2020
Considering all the criticism that he’s received, it’s kind of a poetic sort of way for Dave Roberts to win the World Series.
Rays 1-3 Dodgers, bottom 8th
Fairbanks walks Seager. Still nobody out in the inning.
If anyone wants any extra reading on the awesomeness of Mookie Betts, may I humbly suggest the following:
Home run (Dodgers)
Rays 1-3 Dodgers, bottom 8th
And that’s the exclamation mark on the game. Mookie Betts hits a blast of Fairbanks and that’s probably going to wrap up the World Series here.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 8th
The Dodgers are now officially three outs away from winning the World Series and, honestly, absolutely no one in baseball will care because we will still be trying to figure out the Blake Snell Decision.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, top 8th
Well, it’s getting late early for the Rays. Brandon Lowe is up here to try to salvage something here at the top of the 8th. He falls behind 1-2, then fouls the next one off and then, well you know the drill by now: S.O.S. (struck out swinging).
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, top 8th
Urias is still on the mound for the Dodgers and he gets Arozarena to fly out to Bellinger, who makes a rather nifty play to et at. Meanwhile, Edwin Rios is at third for LA, which turns out to pay instant dividends as a pinch-hitting Hunter Renfroe grounds out to him almost immediately afterward.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 7th
Barnes is up with runners on first and second and one has to think that Tampa Bay has to keep the Dodgers off the board here if they want to win this one. Fairbanks gets Barnes to 2-2, but he keeps on swinging and staying alive. Finally, he gets a flyball out. That’s seven innings down, the Rays are only down one run. It’s not out of reach.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 7th
Chris Taylor strikes out. Runner remains on second with two away, now. Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder, once long ago a minor cult legend among Boston Red Sox fans, comes in to talk to Fairbanks about how to handle Joc Pederson. They pitch him… very carefully at first and then just intentionally walk him to face Austin Barnes.
If the Rays lose tonight, this is going to be the most criticized decision by any coach/manager in a championship game since Pete Carroll didn't give the ball to Marshawn Lynch at the end of Super Bowl 49.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) October 28, 2020
Hey, I predicted that the Dodgers would win and, honestly, I’m still angry that I was forced to see that happen in real time.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 7th
Cody Bellinger skies one in the air for the first out. Smith stays rooted on second.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 7th
Are the Dodgers hitters happy that Snell’s gone? Let’s check and see: Oh, look, Will Smith has hit a double off of Peter Fairbanks.
@HunterFelt Dodgers not afraid to change their pitchers early and often. How many left?
— Glenn E (@Teng_Solanne) October 28, 2020
I stopped counting after a bit, but the box score tells me that the Dodgers have already used seven pitchers. They’re clearly hoping that extra innings aren’t going to be necessary.
7th Inning Stretch
Updated
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, top 7th
Julio Urias is now pitching for the Dodgers. Meanwhile, for the Rays, Game 4 Hero Phillips is here in the game as a pinch-runner and Yandy Diaz is at the plate. Urias gets Diaz to strike out looking and we’ve hit the Seventh Inning Stretch.
Email from Carl Taylor
Hi again Hunter,
I can’t help feeling that a more experienced and flexible Manager than Kevin Cash would have left Snell in the game, preventing the Dodger comeback. Snell looked perplexed when his Manager strode out to the mound to lift him from the heat of the action. Can the Dodgers bullpen now hold back the Rays and add to the LA trophy cabinet this year?
It definitely felt like a weird moment, especially since Snell made Mookie look foolish in his last two plate appearances.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, top 7th
Brusdar Graterol is in for the Dodgers, quickly getting two outs before Zunino hits a single. The Dodgers have seen enough from him, so they go to the bullpen again.
And the bumper music is Van Halen’s “Right Now.” I would have gone with something from the David Lee Roth era, but a solid tribute to Eddie none-the-less.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 6th
FOX is showing a replay of Betts out-hustling his way on the basepaths to score on that fielder’s choice (scoring a run and preventing the Rays to record an out in the process). Aaron Loup is in to try to clean up Anderson/Cash’s mess. He gets Muncy to hit a groundball out that *actually* leads to an out and finally ends the inning.
I mean, who could see THAT coming? @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) October 28, 2020
Right now Rays fans are wondering if you can fire a manager in the middle of a World Series game.
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 6th
Turner hits a long flyball out, just barely missing a home run. Cash takes Anderson out. That didn’t work.
Dodgers take the lead!
Rays 1-2 Dodgers, bottom 6th
Anderson gets Seager to ground out, but Betts had made it to third on that wild pitch so he’s able to score on the fielder’s choice. An epic disaster for the Rays.
Updated
Dodgers tie it up!
Rays 1-1 Dodgers, bottom 6th
All Snell had done against Betts this game was strike him out twice. Just throwing that out there. Corey Seager is at the plate. He takes a strike and then Anderson throws a pitch that the catcher can’t recover. Barnes scores on the play! Tied game!
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 6th
No pressure, Nick Anderson! Here’s Mookie Betts with the game on the line… and hey look Betts hits a 2-0 double! Barnes has to stop on third, but there’s only one out here! Dodgers fans are super-loud now for the first time all game.
No pressure, but if the Rays blow it here after they’ve taken Snell out at just 73 pitches, Kevin Cash will never, ever, ever live it down. He will be absolutely destroyed.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 6th
Austin Barnes is up and he gets a hit! How bad of a hitter is Barnes? Well, him getting a hit here is enough for Kevin Cash to immediately take the ball from Snell despite how dominant he’s been.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 6th
Blake Snell is back up. The Dodgers should be looking to make Snell start to work, force Kevin Cash’s hand in making a change. Instead, Pollock pops out on the first pitch which very much does not make any sort of sense.
Okay, the music bumper person has moved on from the Dead to the Roots, which honestly makes a weird sort of sense.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 6th
Here’s Joey Wendle, taking a ball and then two strikes. 1-2. Just trying to protect the plate, he fouls the next pitch off. Still 1-2. Gonzalez throws another pitch close to the ground, trying to get Wendle to chase, which he doesn’t. 2-2. He then takes a mighty hack and, you will never believe this, but he strikes out swinging!
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 6th
Margot falls behind 0-2 and now Tampa Bay have to start being worried, just one or two more runs could put them in a perfect position to force a Game 7. But their bats have gone cold. Margot fouls another off and then takes ball one. 1-2. Then he takes ball two. 2-2. He swings and misses at the next pitch, that’s the 11th strikeout that the Dodgers pitching staff has accumulated.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 6th
Victor Gonzalez is back out there after his one-pitch out last inning. He’s facing Brandon Lowe, who falls behind 0-2. Gonzalez throws a slider-ish type pitch that’s out of the zone. 1-2. The next pitch is in the dirt as well, 2-2. Lowe than reaches for a Gonzalez pitch that was absolutely not where he was expecting it to be. One down.
I couldn’t place the last Grateful Dead track they played and I feel like I’ve failed you all.
Twitter tells me it was “Franklin’s Tower.”
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 5th
Chris Taylor, he of the game’s sole Dodgers hit, is up net. He looks at a ball, that’s good, and then a strike, which is less good. 1-1. He takes another, and it’s 2-1. A hitter’s count, which is at least a moral victory considering how Snell’s pitching. Taylor swings at the next offering, comes up with air. 2-2. The next pitch, that’s a ball low. A full count!
And he hits a chopper right back to Snell. That’s five scoreless innings and counting.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 5th
Cody Bellinger is up next. He takes a ball and then pops one up foul in the stands. 1-1. He fouls another off. 1-2. He grounds one fair but right to first. Two down. Snell is making this look easy.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 5th
Will Smith bunts a Snell offering foul. Well, you gotta try something here. 0-1. He takes a pitch and then flies out for the first out of the inning.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 5th
Victor Gonzalez, however, gets his man, as Meadows immediately grounds out to end the inning. We’re halfway through Game Six, assuming that it doesn’t go extra innings
It’s unfair to say Dave Roberts has been second-guessed this series because, honestly, he’s mostly being first-guessed.
That was worth pulling Wood.
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) October 28, 2020
Jesus.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 5th
Randy “Raising” Arozarena, who has been the entirety of the offense here so far, gets ahead of Baez 2-1. He takes a called strike that doesn’t really look like a strike to him (or me). 2-2. Arozarena hits a high pitch for a single. That will do it for Baez, it looks like.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 5th
Pedro Baez is in the game here now, a bit of a roll of the dice for Dave Roberts. Baez gets Zunino to strike out, so that’s about as good of a start as one could imagine. Choi pops out for the second out of the season, hope you weren’t prepared for a slugfest today.
Okay,it looks like Snell has been good this series, but what are the experts saying?
Blake Snell in this #WorldSeries2020 (so far):
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 28, 2020
8 2/3 IP
3 hits
18 strikeouts
Haven't see anyone dominate this #Dodgers lineup like this all year.#RaysUp
Oh.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 4th
Let’s see if Max Muncy can get anything going off of Snell. He lays off the first two pitches, a wise move, and then swings and the next two. It’s 2-2 like that. Snell throws a breaking ball at the dirt, one of the few poor pitches of the last few innings, but it doesn’t matter and Muncy joins his teammates in the Strike Out Swinging Club. It’s not very exclusive.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 4th
Justin Turner up again and down again. That’s the eighth strikeout. Absolutely ridiculous game that he’s pitching here.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 4th
Corey Seager is up here for the Dodgers, he gets Snell to a 2-2 count but he extends himself on a Snell offering to become the seventh strikeout victim of the game for the Dodgers,
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 4th
Alex Wood gets Kiermaier to strike out swinging. If the Dodgers win this game, and it’s still just a one-run game here, this dominant performance by Wood will not go unnoticed.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 4th
Wood immediately gets Wendle to line out on the second pitch he sees. Rays manager Kevin Cash is barely three words into his manager’s interview when that happens. He says that Willy Adames is going to help out his club and soon. Adames strikes out swinging 20 seconds later.
@hunterfelt I've missed you guys. Nice to have the live blog back! Rooting for a Dodgers win tonight!
— Leon Last (@llast) October 28, 2020
We’re happy to be with you all. Because the pandemic caused Literally All The Sports to play at the same time, we’ve had to pick and choose our spots. I would have loved to have liveblogged Game 4 but, honestly, I’m not sure I could have had anything coherent to say about that ninth inning besides “WHAT?” or “HOW?”
Updated
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
Snell, as one would imagine, pitches to Betts a tad more carefully than he did the number nine hitter. Betts takes a strike and then two balls. Then Snell throws a fastball right down the middle, Betts would love that one back. 2-2. And Snell gets Mookie to strikeout for the second straight time.
And the bumper music is “Sugar Magnolia.”
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
Austin Barnes is up, Taylor still stuck on first. Barnes falls down 0-2 almost instantly and then grounds out to third. It’s an out, but Taylor’s on second now and it’s Mookie
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
A.J. Pollock takes a strike and then fouls the next pitch off. He’s down 0-2. He fouls of the next one, staying alive. Snell throws one outside. 1-2. Pollock hammers the next pitch but right at the third baseman for the second out.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 3rd
Chris Taylor hits a rocket off of Snell for the first Dodgers hit of Game 6. It feels like there’s been a drought but it’s really just the bottom of the third.
Okay I’ve gotten confirmation that the last bit of bumper music was Phish, which means I’m now 100% certain a fellow jam band fan is responsible for MLB on Fox’s soundtrack tonight. Maybe some Quicksilver Messenger Service next?
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 3rd
Margot skies one to centerfield and that’s that. Wood gets a 1-2-3 inning.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 3rd
Wood gets Brandon Lowe to ground out and he takes care of it himself. That’s two out in a blink.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 3rd
Alex Wood is next up in the Dodgers’ Cavalcade of Pitchers. He gets Austin Meadows to strike out swinging.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 2nd
Cody Bellinger is up next and he’s down 0-2 almost immediately and then swings at one way out for Snell’s fifth strikeout.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 2nd
Will Smith, who famously hit off of the pitcher also named Will Smith earlier this postseason, is up next. Here he becomes Snell’s fourth strikeout victim. I’m just relieved that I’ve managed to survive that particular at-bat without a really bad Fresh Prince joke.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 2nd
Well, Snell would probably have liked a cushion here, but it’s not like he can control that (particularly with the Universal DH in this World Series). He’s facing Max Muncy, who gets ahead of the count 2-1 and then barely hits one fair but there’s not enough time for him to leg out for an infield single. One down.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 2nd
Arozarena is up with runners on first and second. This is a huge opportunity for him to put Snell in a perfect position this game. However, Dylan Floro comes into the game and strikes him out on three pitches to end the threat and the inning. Dave Roberts assuredly sighs with relief that the move ended up working out.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 2nd
Choi is up next to see if he can get the runner in from second. He takes a ball and then swings and misses at a Gonsolin fastball. The next pitch is outside. 2-1. Choi fouls the next one off. 2-2. He’s one pitch out of escaping the situation. Well it won’t be that pitch, a slider inside. 3-2, with the hottest hitter in baseball on deck.
And the next pitch is outside. So, Choi takes a walk to first and Dave Roberts is already pulling Gonsolin. It’s going to be a long night for the Dodgers bullpen.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 2nd
Mike Zunino hits a massive foul home run, the Rays are getting some solid pitches to hit so far. He takes the next pitch and then swings at a breaking ball he could have done nothing with. He takes the next pitch for a full-count, the Gonsolin pitch count is now at 39. Okay, 40 now as Zunino stays alive by fouling the next pitch off.
He just barely hits the next pitch, but it’s foul. Still 3-2. Now, Gonsolin gets him to swing and miss. Two down.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 2nd
Kevin Kiermaier hits one where the outfielders’ ain’t and ends up on second base with one out.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 2nd
Willy Adames strikes out looking to start the second.
Email from Carl Taylor:
Well, that was quite a strain for Gonsolin at the start of this pivotal Game 6. Not sure he will last more than 4 innings and with Snell’s starts usually curtailed, what’s the odds that the winning pitcher comes from the bullpen?
Like 70% maybe? Gonsolin definitely is not long for this game no matter how well he settles down and neither team is going to be conservative about heading to the ‘pen. They will live their life like there’s no tomorrow, as Van Halen would say.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 1st
Justin Turner, probably the Dodgers’ most dangerous weapon this series, is up next with bases empty after Snell got those first two quick strikeouts. He gets ahead 0-2 here before seeing if he’ll swing at a ball outside. Turner does not, but he strikes out on the next pitch.
This time the bumper music is the Allman Brothers Band’s “Jessica.” Is it just going to be all hippie jam bands tonight?
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 1st
And Snell immediately strikes out Corey Seager. Whew.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, bottom 1st
Mookie Betts leads things off… with a strikeout courtesy of Snell.
Email from X-G titled “Dodgers in a blow out!”:
Hey Hunter, I sense it’s the City of angels year.. lakers, Dodgers, and the Rams! I gotta a feeling the rays have given all they had, reminiscent of the Lakers thrashing the Heat in the finals...7-1
Well they have to pitch a shutout the rest of the night, but it’s still on the table as a possibility.
Arozarena has 10 homers in his first 25 career playoff games. Only Beltran (13!) and Nelson Cruz (11) ever had more at the start of their postseason careers.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 28, 2020
Arozarena has been pretty good, I think is the point here.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Joey Wendle is up next, still runners on first-and-second. Wendle fouls a 1-2 pitch off of himself, somehow without flinching, and then strikes out to end the top of the inning. The Rays have struck first however. Oh hey, is that Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” as bumper music? I strongly approve of that (even if it would have been more appropriate if the San Francisco Giants were playing).
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Manuel Margot takes a high pitch on 0-2. Nice take. 1-2. He fouls the next pitch off and then takes a pitch in the dirt. Gonsolin finally jams him and he flies out. Two out.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Brandon Lowe works a full count here and eventually takes a walk. There’s runners on first and second here, and still just one out in the inning.
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 1st
Austin Meadows hits a single. Let’s be polite and say that Gonsolin has not settled in yet.
Home Run! (Rays)
Rays 1-0 Dodgers, top 1st
And Arozarena hits a massive home run off of Gonsolin. The Rays strike first and super-fast.
First pitch
Rays 0-0 Dodgers, top 1st
The first pitch is in there for a strike on Choi. Gonsolin gets two swings and misses and Choi’s out on just three pitches. Nice start that.
@HunterFelt Rays win to make it game 7
— Stuie Neale (@MrNeale92) October 28, 2020
Considering how surprisingly entertainment this World Series has been, I for one wouldn’t complain about this.
Predictions
Okay, the game theoretically will be starting shortly. I suppose it’s last call for a prediction. I have the Dodgers winning tonight, a low-scoring affair where the Rays keep putting on the tying run late but can’t drive him in. Let’s say Dodgers 4, Rays 3.
Agree? Disagree? You could send your predictions here via email (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or tweet them to @HunterFelt.
Apparently the thing about Gonsolin is that he’s a cat person. That’s a very, very cheap way to get otherwise neutral individuals to root for him and it’s absolutely working for me.
Introducing Tony Gonsolin (@goooose15): Part Man, Part Cat 😼 pic.twitter.com/utHZvIknYc
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 22, 2020
Alex Rodriguez just interviewed Dave Roberts and mentioned his ALCS-changing Steal from 2004. It turns out that this is now considered “history.” I feel old, but I’m also rewatching the clip to see if it makes me feel a little better about the Boston Red Sox’s lost season. (Not really, but it was worth a try.)
Dodgers lineup
Manager Dave Roberts will bring out the following:
1. Mookie Betts, RF
2. Corey Seager, SS
3. Justin Turner, 3B
4. Max Muncy, 1B
5. Will Smith, DH
6. Cody Bellinger, CF
7. Chris Taylor, 2B
8. A.J. Pollock, LF
9. Austin Barnes, C
Rays lineup
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash has gone lefty-heavy with Tony Gonsolin on the mound.
1. Ji-Man Choi, 1B
2. Randy Arozarena, LF
3. Austin Meadows, DH
4. Brandon Lowe, 2B
5. Manuel Margot, RF
6. Joey Wendle, 3B
7. Willy Adames, SS
8. Kevin Kiermaier, CF
9. Mike Zunino, C
I’ll say this about team sports: in the most uncertain year of many of our lives, it’s good to sit down and watch something and know that there will be a definitive resolution in a matter of hours. If the Dodgers end the game having scored more runs than the Rays. they win the World Series. If the Rays have more runs, there will be a Game 7 tomorrow. It won’t take weeks to sort out, there’s no way that either team could just refuse to leave the field and have some sort of higher authority eventually declare them winners.
With the Dodgers on the verge of winning their first World Series since 1988, there is sure to be at least one or two references to Kirk Gibson’s legendary home run from that particular World Series (although that was a Game 1 rather than a deciding game, it should be pointed out).
Should the Dodgers win today, there will probably be celebrating going on in Los Angeles. Normally, that’s a positive thing or at the very least neutral. However, considering the reports that the festivities following the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Finals victory almost certainly contributed to the spike of Covid-19 cases. So, LA’s department of health has sounded an alarm:
“As fans continue to watch and celebrate the mighty LA sport teams, we are mindful that if individuals are not adhering to the health officer order requirements of distancing, infection control and masking, cases will continue to rise which, unfortunately, not only leads to increased illness and deaths, but also slows down our recovery journey,”
Today’s Starting Pitchers
The Rays will start Blake Snell, while the Dodgers will go with Tony Gonsolin. However, those will most likely just be the opening attractions, look for both teams to empty out their pitching staffs and play this game like there is no tomorrow because, well, there might not be.
Preamble
Well, I’ll give credit where credit is due. It was a weird, pandemic-shortened MLB season but at least it’s ending with some drama. Despite coming in as underdogs to a much-more heralded Los Angeles Dodgers team, the Tampa Bay Rays have managed to make the World Series, well, a series. At the very least, no one will ever forget the dramatic-yet-silly way they stole Game 4. The Dodgers struck back in Game 5, buoyed by yet another strong start from longtime ace Clayton Kershaw, who has now put his past October struggles in the rearview mirror. The Dodgers are up 3-2 in the series and just need a win today to secure a championship.
It’s a little difficult to wrap one’s head around the fact that the Dodgers, who have consistently been one of the best teams In the National League, have not actually won a championship. That’s October baseball for you, eight straight postseason appearances have ended with failure. Should they blow this 3-2 World Series lead to the Rays, it will certainly continue the narrative of them being underachievers, and the inexplicable way they completely melted down in Game 4 will go from just being a strange but entertaining game to the 21st century’s closest equivalent to Game 6 between the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets way back in 1986.
That, of course, would be selling the Rays short. They don’t have as much talent as this Dodgers lineup, and a comparatively tiny fanbase, but even when they’ve come up short, they have continued to the put the pressure on their more heralded opponents. If they can pull off a win today, they will force LA to play a Game 7. As exciting as those are for casual fans, no team wants their entire season to come down to a single game where, as they say, anything can happen.
So those are the stakes for Game 6: either it ends today or the Rays extend the MLB season for one more game. That means we’re in “speak now or forever hold your peace” territory. If you want to contribute to today’s liveblog, you can send us your thoughts via email (to Hunter.Felt.Freelance@theguardian.com) or via Twitter (to @HunterFelt). Game 6 is scheduled to start at 8:00 pm EST, but obviously, we’ll be back before then.
Hunter will be here shortly. Here’s a look back at Sunday night’s Game 5.
