*Photo from CBS Sports*
LAD leads series 1-0
Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw had some big nights. Betts homered and stole two bases, Kershaw threw 6 dazzling innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers powered past the Tampa Bay Rays by an 8-3 score to take a 1-0 series lead in the World Series with a game one win. Betts stole second and third base in the same inning, and then proceeded to come home on a groundout, started a big inning for the Dodgers, leading to the victory.
The Dodgers got the scoring started in the 4th inning, when Cody Bellinger hit a two run homer to right field, making it a 2-0 Dodgers lead. In the 5th, the Rays got on the board thanks to a solo homer from Kevin Kiermaier, cutting the lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the 5th, Betts scored on a late throw home on a grounder, Will Smith hit an RBI single, and Chris Taylor and Kike Hernandez each hit RBI singles, making it a lead of 6-1 for the Dodgers. In the 6th, Betts hit a leadoff solo homer, and Max Muncy hit an RBI double to make it 8-1. In the 7th, Mike Brosseau and Kiermaier each hit RBI singles to make it 8-3, but that was all the Rays could get.
Kershaw got the win for the Dodgers, throwing 6 innings in game one. Kershaw allowed just one run on two hits and one walk, striking out 8 hitters. At one point, Kershaw had retired 13 straight Rays hitters, before Kiermaier broke that streak with the solo homer. Dylan Floro, Victor Gonzalez, Joe Kelly, and Pedro Baez also pitched for the Dodgers.
Kershaw was asked if this would be an even series if the Dodgers were reaching full power. Kershaw simply said "If we play at our best, no, I think we are the best team. I think our clubhouse believes that. There are going to be certain times we get beat. But as a collective group, if everybody is playing the way they’re supposed to, I don’t see how that can happen."
Bellinger, who had two RBI himself, talked about the impact that Betts, the 2018 AL MVP, had on the game, saying that "We're so lucky to have him on our team, he's a superstar guy, superstar talent, but he does all the little things right. You can really learn from that when a guy's that good and he just wants to win."
Tyler Glasnow took the loss for the Rays, throwing 4 1/3 innings, and also totaling over 110 pitches in his outing. Glasnow allowed 6 runs on 3 hits and 6 walks, striking out 8 Dodger hitters. After Glasnow, Ryan Yarbrough, Josh Fleming, and John Curtiss pitched in relief for the Rays, with Fleming being responsible for the other two runs by the Dodgers.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the subpar effort in game one that "The walks are definitely not ideal, Glas would be the first to recognize that. But we didn’t do a good job of holding the runners on. We can’t let them double-steal right there. Then when they got over to Muncy, we needed a strikeout. There might be nobody better equipped to get a strikeout right there than Glas."
Kiermaier was asked about the offense, which has been ineffective for the majority of the postseason. Kiermaier said that They had better at-bats than us, and did all the little things right."
The series continues on Wednesday night, with the Rays looking to even up the series with Blake Snell getting the start. The Dodgers look to lengthen their series lead as Tony Gonsolin gets the start.
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