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Jeff PassESPN
ARLINGTON, Texas – Forget perception. Burn the narrative.
Clayton Kershaw can pitch very well in October, thank you so much, and after his performance in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers are three wins away from their first championship in 32 years.
Kershaw pushed his way through the Tampa Bay Rays lineup, retiring 17 of the last 18 batters he faced and leading the Dodgers to an 8-3 victory in Game 1 of the 116th World Series.
Over six innings, Kershaw allowed two hits and a walk while striking out eight. His only imperfection was a Kevin Kiermaier home run that ended without consequences, as the Dodgers offense spent the middle innings marking the Rays pitchers with a complement of long balls and small balls.
“Kershaw was negotiating,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “You see why he will go to the Hall of Fame one day.”
A crowd of 11,388 filled the lobby of Globe Life Field with Dodgers jerseys, cheered on great Dodgers moments and boos loudly on a check-swing strike call. The prospect of a partisan crowd for the remainder of the series at the neutral site gives the Rays another hurdle, as if beating the team that went 43-17 during the regular season wasn’t enough.
When Kershaw pitches like he did Tuesday, the task becomes even more Herculean.
“I mean, if we play the best that we can, no,” Kershaw said after the game when asked if the Dodgers can be beaten when they’re playing their best. “I think we are the best team, and I think our clubhouse believes it. So there will be certain moments where they will beat us and that will happen, but as a collective group, if everyone is doing what they are supposed to do and playing well. the way they’re supposed to do it, I don’t see how that can happen. “
The Rays hitters threw 38 of Kershaw’s 78 pitches and got 19. All eight of his punches were swing-type, with the last seven on sliders, and placed Kershaw second on the all-club strikeout list. Postseason times at 201. If the series reaches a fifth game, Kershaw is likely to overtake leader Justin Verlander of Houston.
While in recent years the instinct of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told him to send Kershaw into the seventh inning, he held out in Game 1. Although Kershaw had allowed only two hits, although Kershaw had generated 19 swings and misses. Although Kershaw had struck out eight, even though Kershaw had thrown only 78 pitches.
Kershaw had pitched in the seventh inning in 13 previous postseason games. He allowed opponents to score in more than half of them – 18 runs total.
Naturally, Roberts ‘decision was followed by the Rays scoring a pair of runs in the seventh inning and cutting Los Angeles’ lead, although by that time the Dodgers had flexed their offensive muscles impressively.
Cody Bellinger, who hit the lead homer in the Dodgers’ Game 7 win over Atlanta in the National League Championship Series, hit a two-run home run off Tampa Bay starter Tyler Glasnow in the fourth inning for break a tie without scoring. Rather than celebrate by celebrating the forearm blow that dislocated his shoulder in the NLCS victory, Bellinger performed a light touch toe with teammate Max Muncy.
“I think I’ll continue to do that,” Bellinger said with a laugh. “Maybe my whole career, who knows?”
As much as the Dodgers like the home run, their ability to play small ball gave them their biggest inning.
Glasnow’s back-to-back walks to start the fifth inning were followed by Mookie Betts and Corey Seager executing a double steal. Betts scored on a play by Muncy, Seager on a single by Will Smith, Muncy on a single by Chris Taylor and Smith on a single by Kiké Hernandez. And so the Dodgers went 6-1 ahead.
They stacked in the next inning with a starting home run by Betts and back-to-back doubles by Justin Turner and Muncy. And the favorites from the start of the original season, as well as the shortened one, were a quarter of the way to their first World Series title since 1988.
“Tonight, they beat us,” Kiermaier said. “They had great bats at crucial moments. We had a difficult task getting momentum. Kershaw threw the ball very well, very deceptive there, he threw us off balance and didn’t make a lot of cold, hard contact and did a great job of limiting damage and holding the guys down. very quiet bats. “
For months, as the coronavirus pandemic changed the world, the prospect of baseball hosting a season, let alone the World Series, seemed bleak. The league and the players fought over salaries. Commissioner Rob Manfred threatened to cancel the season. MLB eventually imposed a 60-game roster on players, and in the first two weeks a couple of teams suffered outbreaks of COVID-19.
Since then, apart from the occasional case, MLB has operated with remarkable efficiency.
The playoff teams spent the last week of the seasons housed in hotels and, aside from travel to and from the stadium and from city to city if they advanced, they have not left. No player on an active roster has tested positive since Aug. 28, according to the league.
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday, with the Rays ‘Blake Snell facing Los Angeles’ Tony Gonsolin. After a day off Thursday, Tampa Bay’s Charlie Morton will start against Dodgers ace Walker Buehler.
