The Fenway Funhouse proved too tricky, too cold and just too much for the beach boys.
Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on a chilly, windy Tuesday night.
Benintendi had four hits, Martinez drove in two early runs and pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez golfed a three-run homer to seal it.
Photo: EPA
The 108-win Red Sox got a solid effort from their bullpen after an expected duel between aces Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw never developed.
From the get-go, Fenway Park caused all sorts of problems for the Dodgers.
Mookie Betts led off for the Red Sox with a pop-up that twisted first baseman David Freese as he tried to navigate the tight foul space near the stands and gauge the gusts. Lost, he overran the ball and it dropped behind him.
“You never really know,” Benintendi said. “The flag will be blowing one way and the wind is actually blowing the other.”
Given a second chance, Betts lined a single that set up a two-run first inning.
In the seventh, newly inserted left fielder Joc Pederson looked hesitant as he chased Benintendi’s soft fly, rushing toward the seats that jut out down the line. The ball ticked off his glove for a ground-rule double, and soon Nunez connected off Alex Wood to break open a 5-4 game.
“We didn’t play the defense that we typically do. I thought we left some outs out there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And it didn’t make Clayton’s job any easier.”
“I think we had the advantage tonight with the weather and stuff. We’ve been playing through it,” Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi said.
It was 11.7°C at first pitch and it dropped near 7°C by the end. That was the coldest game for Los Angeles this season and a contrast from last year’s World Series, when it was a record 39°C for the opener at Dodger Stadium against Houston.
“We won Game 1 last year and lost the Series, so maybe we’ll try it out this way. See if we can win one,” Kershaw said.
Game 2 was last night, when it was supposed to be even colder.
Both teams rely heavily on analytics, and it showed: With each manager searching for the most beneficial matchup, the clubs combined to use 12 pitchers and six pinch-hitters.
On Monday, Kershaw and most of the Dodgers pooh-poohed the prospect that Fenway would cause them trouble. Most of them had never played at the oldest ballpark in the majors, built in 1912, but said they were sure they would be OK.
It did not quite turn out that way in their first trip to Fenway since 2010. Besides, clubs coming to Beantown have other things to worry about.
“I think the biggest challenge for a team coming in here is you’re playing the Boston Red Sox,” Eovaldi said on Monday.
The only other time the Dodgers and Red Sox met in the World Series was 1916, when Babe Ruth helped pitch Boston to the championship. Those games were at Braves Field, the bigger home park of the city’s National League franchise.
Kershaw and Sale each started out wearing short sleeves, but neither warmed to the possibility of the marquee matchup. In similar outings, both were pulled before getting an out in the fifth.
Kershaw took the loss in his first appearance at Fenway, tagged for five runs on seven hits and three walks. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner fell to 9-9 in the post-season.
“All the way around it wasn’t a good night,” Kershaw said.
Sale threw 91 pitches in his first outing since being hospitalized last week for an unspecified stomach illness.
Matt Barnes, the first of six Boston relievers, got the win.
Eovaldi pitched the eighth and Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth as the Red Sox bullpen held the Dodgers to one run on three hits in five innings.
Boston manager Alex Cora won in his first try guiding a club in the Series. This also marked the first World Series game between teams led by minority managers.
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