Red Sox need to fix one key stat to beat Dodgers in World Series

The 2018 World Series will feature two of Major League Baseball’s top teams. The Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the Fall Classic a year after losing to the Houston Astros in seven games, their sights set on the franchise’s first championship since 1988. On the other side of the diamond are the Boston Red Sox, winners of a franchise-best 108 games during the regular season, earning them home field advantage.

And it’s because of that the Red Sox are money line favorites to win it all in 2018, but Boston isn’t performing the same as it did during the regular season, making them vulnerable to an upset by the Dodgers.

For example, Red Sox ace Chris Sale faced only 67 batters over 17 innings during the final two months of the regular season due to inflammation in his left shoulder and saw his fastball velocity drop from 96.7 mph in July to 92.7 in September. He was then hospitalized with a stomach ailment after his start in the American League Championship Series opener, an outing that saw him allow four walks and two earned runs in four innings.

Sale’s troubles on the mound aren’t an isolated incident. As a whole, the Red Sox pitching staff has seen worse strikeout and walk rates since the postseason started, while the Dodgers have improved in both instances.

We can agree the smaller sample Boston Red Sox left fielder, Andrew Benintendi, hits a 3-run double in the 7-run fourth inning in New York, N.Y. The Red Sox went on to win 16-1.