The Los Angeles Dodgers, led by pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s gutsy performance, on Sunday shook off a crushing defeat to beat Tampa Bay 4-2 and move within one win of their first World Series title in 32 years.
Joc Pederson and Max Muncy homered for the Dodgers, while Kershaw notched the 13th post-season win of his career — his fourth this post-season — as Los Angeles took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.
“Tonight was a grind, all the way through,” Kershaw said. “My slider wasn’t as good as it was in Game 1, but I stuck with the game plan. To only give up two runs is huge for me.”
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Kershaw and the Dodgers, who came up agonizingly short in World Series appearances in 2017 and 2018, can lock up their first title since 1988 in Game 6 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, today.
“It is very exciting, but at same time we’ve got to win one more. I am going to keep it together for one more game,” Kershaw said.
Kershaw, a three-time winner of the Cy Young Award whose Hall of Fame resume is lacking a World Series title, pitched 5-2/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits.
His six strikeouts took his career post-season tally to a record 207 — surpassing the 205 of Justin Verlander.
However, perhaps his most memorable throw to home on the night was not a pitch, but a sharp throw to cut down Manuel Margot as he tried to steal home.
The Dodgers said that they were over the disappointment of Game 4, when a couple of errors helped the Rays walk off 8-7 winners after being down to their last strike, and it certainly looked as if they had put it behind them when they leapt on Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow in the first inning.
Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager said battling Glasnow and pushing up his pitch count would be key and Los Angeles did a good job of it.
Mookie Betts led off with a stand-up double and scored on a single from Seager.
Seager reached second and third on two wild pitches from Glasnow, and scored on a single from Cody Bellinger, before Glasnow — who became the first player to throw three wild pitches in a World Series game — ended the inning after throwing 34 pitches.
Pederson led off the second with a home run, clubbing a fastball from Glasnow over the left centerfield wall to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.
Muncy’s towering homer off a Glasnow fastball with two outs in the fifth put the Dodgers up 4-2.
“That one felt pretty good,” Muncy said. “[It is] not too many times you connect right middle of the barrel. It felt really solid.”
The Rays had pulled back two runs in the bottom of the third when Yandy Diaz belted a line drive down the rightfield line that Betts could not corral for a run-scoring triple.
Diaz scored on a single from Randy Arozarena, whose 27th hit of the playoffs gave him the record for most in a single post-season.
Kershaw kept the Rays from building any momentum, despite the aggressive efforts of Margot, who drew a walk to lead off the fourth, stole second, then reached third when the attempt to catch him at second failed.
Kershaw nailed Margot as he tried to steal home to end the inning, then retired three straight in the fifth and two in the sixth before handing over to Dustin May.
“It has happened to me before,” Kershaw said of Margot’s attempt to steal home. “I work on that with the first baseman. I just know now to step up fast and throw it. That was a big out for us right there.”
While the Dodgers looked forward to today, saying they needed to keep focused on the game at hand and not on hoisting the trophy, the Rays said that they would come ready to bounce back.
Tampa Bay have won Game 5 and Game 7 series-clinchers this post-season and Kevin Kiermaier said they could do it again.
“If there’s any team who can respond well with their backs against the wall, knowing what’s at stake — we’re in a situation now where it’s win or go home — our group is the group to come through,” he said.
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