Dodgers’ day
Los Angeles franchise enters World Series as early title favourites
ARLINGTON: With their season running dangerously short on time, the Los Angeles Dodgers went long on Sunday, doing what they do best with a pair of late home runs to advance to their third World Series in four seasons.
Cody Bellinger hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, one inning after pinch-hitter Enrique Hernandez tied it with his own homer, and the Dodgers earned a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at Arlington, Texas.
The team that led the major leagues with 118 home runs in the regular season saved two more for the clutch, finishing off an NLCS when they went deep 16 times.
It helped Los Angeles to rally from a 3-1 series deficit as they won three consecutive elimination games.
Bellinger’s home run deep into the seats in right field came on a 2-2 sinker from Braves right-hander Chris Martin (0-1).
“He threw me some good pitches,” Bellinger said. “I fouled some of those off that I couldn’t see too well, and I saw one that I could drive. I just tried to put a good swing on it.
“I knew it right away. It was one of those where you just know. It felt pretty good.”
The Dodgers will take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven World Series, beginning tomorrow, Thai time, at Arlington.
The games will be played at a neutral site, in front of about 11,000 fans at Globe Life Field, with Los Angeles, thanks to their better regular-season record, as the home team for Games One and Two, and then Game Six and Seven if it goes that far.
Los Angeles are opening as the betting favourites, with FanDuel listing the Dodgers as -210 and the Rays +165. DraftKings also favours the Dodgers (-200) over the Rays (+160).
The Dodgers (43-17) and Rays (4020) have been on a crash course to meet in the Fall Classic after finishing as the only two teams to reach 40 victories during the regular season, topping the National and American leagues, respectively.
“From the moment that we were able to put a season together, once they figured out the Covid thing, everybody was expecting us to get to the World Series,” said the Dodgers’ Hernandez.
“We were expecting us to get to the World Series.”
Still, it’s just the fourth time since the postseason expanded to eight teams in 1995 that the teams with the best record in each league meet in the World Series.
But it took seven games in the Championship series for each to earn a coveted spot in the Series.
The Dodgers came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Braves in the NLCS while the Rays held off the surging Houston Astros, culminating with Saturday’s 4-2 Game Seven win to take the ALCS.
This will be the Dodgers’ third World Series appearance in four years and their 12th since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.
But the Dodgers haven’t won the World Series since 1988 after coming up short in seven games to the Astros in 2017 and five games to the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
The Rays, on the other hand, are in the Fall Classic for just the second time in their history after losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in 2008.
They are one of six franchises still seeking their first World Series title with the other five are Colorado, Milwaukee, Texas, San Diego and Seattle.
The match-up pits the dominant pitching staff of the Rays, led by the ace trio of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Charlie Morton, against the quick-strike explosive bats of the Dodgers, who led MLB with 118 homers during the regular season and added 18 more during the postseason.
The Rays, who batted just . 238 during the season and ranked 14th in the majors with 80 homers, come into the Series with more play-off long-balls after belting 25 in 14 games.
The power surge came in large part thanks to the emergence of rookie outfielder Randy Arozarena, who was tabbed as the ALCS MVP after hitting seven home runs during the play-offs and four in the championship series, including a two-run blast in Game Seven against Houston.
“Every night we have a different hero,” said Rays outfielder Austin Meadows. “Except for Randy Arozarena. He’s a hero every night.”
While the Rays may not have too many recognisable faces, the Dodgers are loaded with star power up and down their offensive line-up, headlined by Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager, who won NLCS MVP honours after hitting .310 with five homers and 11 RBIs in the seven-game series.
The pitching staff is led by veterans Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw.
“We are going to be tough to beat, for sure,” said Betts.
RESULT
National League Championship Series Dodgers 4 Braves 3 (Dodgers win series 4-3)