Dodgers edge Rays to win World Series
Los Angeles tops Tampa to win seventh World Series title — and first since 1988
The 2020 World Series pitted the penny-pinching Tampa Bay Rays against the free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers.
David versus Goliath, as some have called it.
In the end, the guys carrying the big bats prevailed, with the star-laden Dodgers fighting off the pesky Rays to capture their first championship in 32 years.
It took a while for those bats to come through on Tuesday night, but the Dodgers finally broke through to beat a team anchored by belligerent starter Blake Snell early on in Game 6 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
A sixth-inning, two-run rally by the Dodgers proved to be the difference in a 3-1 victory.
A leadoff single by catcher Austin Barnes off Snell was followed by a double by Mookie Betts off reliever Nick Anderson. Barnes then scored on a wild pitch, and Betts got the jump on a Corey Seager hit to the right side of the infield to plate another run.
It nearly got worse for the Rays, when Justin Turner cranked a ball that fell just shy of a two-run home run.
And then it did get worse in the eighth inning, when Betts slammed a Pete Fairbanks offering over the left field fence. The solo shot provided a big insurance run in a tight affair.
It all unravelled for the Rays when Snell, who sizzled through five-plus innings, was yanked by manager Kevin Cash in a curious decision after Barnes singled to left field.
Until then, the starter had allowed just one hit while walking nobody. And Snell's nine strikeouts through four innings tied Dodgers great Sandy Koufax for a World Series record.
He was simply brilliant. Meanwhile, the Dodgers went through nearly every arm in the bullpen to seal the victory.
Tony Gonsolin was tabbed as the Dodgers' starter — not the opener — by manager Dave Roberts, who hoped to get four or five innings out of the pitcher in Game 6. He lasted less than two frames, though, giving up a first-inning home run to Tampa Bay phenom Randy Arozarena.
Austin Meadows then singled and Brandon Lowe walked, but Gonsolin got the final two outs to limit the damage to one run.
The second inning saw Kevin Kiermaier lead off with a double before Ji-Man Choi walked, but reliever Dylan Floro came on to fan Arozarena to get the Dodgers out of a hole.
From there, it was Alex Wood with two innings of no-hit baseball, Pedro Baez allowing one hit, Victor Gonzalez striking out the side, Brusdar Graterol surrendering just a single, and Julio Urias was amazing through two-plus innings.
In total, Dodgers hurlers fanned 14 Rays.
AROUND THE HORN
Dodgers manager Roberts is only the second African-American manager to win the Fall Classic. The other? Cito Gaston won it in 1992 and '93 as field boss of the Toronto Blue Jays. He told MLB Network: “Being African-American, being a Black man, I'm very proud of (Roberts) and happy for him. He's a good guy to have that legacy and carry it forward.”