The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
L.A. - Boston; Rich histories, little crossover
Teams have their first World Series meeting since 1916.
Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson and the Boys of Summer. Ted Williams to Carl Yastrzemski and the Impos- sible Dream.
Manny Ramirez. Pedro Martinez. Bill Buckner.
Fenway Franks and Dodger Dogs. Ebbets Field, the Green Monster. “Sweet Caroline” or “I Love L.A.”
Yet for all their rich history, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have rarely crossed paths heading into this World Series. Only once before in October, and that was more than a century ago. In fact, Clayton Kershaw has never even pitched at Fenway Park.
Consider this: Going into Game 1 Tuesday night, the Dodgers have beaten the Red Sox in Boston just one time, on June 12, 2004. And guess who scored and drove in a run for the Dodgers during that 14-5 romp? Alex Cora, now the rookie manager of the Red Sox. One of his team- mates that afternoon — Dave Roberts, ready to manage Los Angeles into its second straight Fall Classic.
Roberts is still a fan favorite in Boston for his daring stolen base that sparked an unprecedented comeback from a 3-0 deficit against the rival Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series (L.A. traded him at the deadline that year). The Red Sox went on to end their 86-year title drought by sweeping St. Louis in the World Series. Starting this week, Boston will try for its fourth championship in 15 seasons.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Fenway. Obvi- ously for me personally, I have a lot of fond memories,” Roberts said.
MVP candidate Mookie Betts, slugger J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox posted a team-record 108 wins, a big payoff for the team with the top payroll in the game. Boston pushed past New York in the AL Division Series and quickly dispatched the defending champion Astros in the ALCS. Boston opened as a slight betting favorite over L.A. “That’s the best team in the game right now. We respect that,” Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen said. “But know that we’re good.”
Chris Sale is set to pitch the opener for the Red Sox. He recently spent a night in the hospital because of a stomach illness, and no doubt watch-
ful eyes will be on the lefty.
Los Angeles is aiming for its first championship since Kirk Gibson, Orel Hershiser and Tommy Lasorda brought home the crown in 1988. A year after dropping Game 7 to Houston at Dodger Stadium, the team with the third-highest payroll beat Colorado in a tiebreaker for the NL West title, chased Atlanta in the NLDS and topped Milwaukee 5-1 on Saturday night in Game 7 to win the pennant.
“It doesn’t matter how you get there. But to get to come back and go back from last year, it’s unbelievable,” Kershaw said.
New to the power-packed Dodgers this season is star shortstop Manny Machado, acquired in a July trade with Baltimore. Boston fans are familiar with him — his late slide last year injured longtime Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, and led to a tense situation at Fenway with Sale throwing behind Machado.
The Dodgers and Red Sox first tangled in the 1916 World Series. Babe Ruth pitched all 14 innings as Boston beat Brooklyn 2-1 in Game 2. Though Fenway opened four years earlier, the game was played at Braves Field, home of the city’s NL team, because it held more people.
The Red Sox wound up winning in five games. Back then, the Dodgers weren’t really the Dodgers. They were known by a collection of nicknames, and were often called the Robins.
The Red Sox are 8-7 against the Dodgers since interleague play began in 1997. Boston hasn’t hosted L.A. since 2010, and the teams haven’t squared off since 2016.