Rays rally to win Game 4
Two-out hit by Phillips scores two after bobble by Dodgers on defense
The Tampa Bay Rays pulled off a stunning rally in the bottom of the ninth inning when Brett Phillips’ two-out single and a pair of Dodgers misplays resulted in two runs that beat Los Angeles 8-7 and tied the World Series at two games each.
In a game full of late drama, the final turn came out of nowhere.
The Dodgers, on the verge of a 3-1 lead in a push for their first title since 1988, took a 7-6 lead into the ninth.
Kevin Kiermaier blooped a single with one out off Kenley Jansen and Randy Arozarena walked with two outs.
Phillips, who batted a com
bined .196 for Kansas City and Tampa Bay this year, hit a soft single that Chris Taylor bobbled as the tying run scored. Arozarena appeared to be a sure out when he stumbled halfway home, but catcher Will Smith lost control of the ball as he spun around for a tag, allowing the winning run to score.
Three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw starts for the Dodgers against Tyler Glasnow in Game 5 on Sunday night.
Barnes valuable for L.A.
Pity the backup catcher, so often the forgotten man in late October. He owes his roster spot to his competence at a peculiar position, often summoned only in case of an injury to the starter. That tends to keep him tied to the bench, rarely used as a pinch-hitter.
In rare cases, fortune smiles on the backup. In 2015, Drew Butera of the Kansas City Royals saw one half-inning of action, at the very end of the clinching game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. The Royals’ starter, the indomitable Salvador Perez, had been removed for a pinch-runner, leaving Butera to call the pitch that struck out Wilmer Flores for the title.
“I knew that if we could just locate in, he wouldn’t have a chance,” Butera said wistfully, a few years later. “And he didn’t.”
Austin Barnes of the Los Angeles Dodgers has many more memories to consider. While at least a dozen backup catchers in the past 15 years never got to play at all — remember Juan Centeno of the 2017 Houston Astros? Tony
Cruz of the 2013 St. Louis Cardinals? Eli Whiteside of the
2010 San Francisco Giants? — Barnes has been a regular behind the plate in this World Series.
In the Dodgers’ 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 on Friday that put Los Angeles ahead, two games to one, Barnes had a run-scoring sacrifice bunt and a home run. The last player with that unusual pairing in a World Series game was Hector Lopez for the New York Yankees in their clincher at Cincinnati in 1961.
“Probably the homer,” Barnes said, when asked which would stand out more to him, years from now. “That’s a cool little stat, but it’s not easy to barrel a ball up against all these good pitchers.”
Barnes hit just one homer in the regular season and has a meager .356 career slugging percentage. But the Dodgers have started him at catcher in 13 of their 15 World Series games under manager Dave Roberts — all seven against Houston in 2017, four of five against the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and two of three so far against the Rays.
The usual starting catcher, Will Smith, has shifted to designated hitter this series in the games started by Barnes, who has guided Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler to victories.