Game 2 will be a bullpen game for Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have several options for pitching Game 2 of the World Series, and manager Dave Roberts preferred to keep it that way. The only certainly is that they won’t be depending on only one guy.

“It’s going to be a bullpen, whatever, kind of game, using various arms,” Roberts said before Game 1 Tuesday. “Who starts that game, I just don’t know yet.”

Tampa Bay has 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell lined up to start tonight. Snell was 4-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 11 regular-season starts this year, and is 2-2 with a 3.20 ERA in four postseason starts.

Among the options for the Dodgers is Julio Urias, the 24-year-old lefty already in his fourth postseason. He closed out Game 7 of the NL Championship Series by retiring the last nine Atlanta batters on 39 pitches. He is 4- 0 in his four appearances this postseason. His only start was NLCS Game 3, when he pitched five innings in a 15-3 win when the Dodgers had a record 11-run first before he threw his first pitch.

Dustin May has started three of his five games, but all of his appearances have been two innings of less. Fellow rookie right-hander and NLCS Game 2 starter Tony Gonsolin is also in the mix.

Depending on if and how Urias is used before then, he could also be a potential starter for Game 4, though Roberts again was revealing no plans.

“To keep that optionality just makes sense, and to have Julio be in with us and understanding how we value him, certainly it’s helpful,” Roberts said.

Snell has faced the Dodgers only once in his career, in September 2019 at Dodger Stadium, when he stuck out four while retiring all six batters he faced in his return from the 10day injured list.

OPEN ROOF >> Like it was throughout the National League Division Series and NLCS games that the Dodgers played there, the retractable roof at Globe Life Field was open for the World Series opener.

Major League Baseball plans to keep the roof open through the playoffs, except in the case of rain. There is no wet weather in the immediate forecast.

It was a pleasant night for the first World Series game played in Arlington since 2011, when the Rangers played in their second consecutive World Series. There were clear skies with the temperature expected to drop from the low 80s to mid-70s by midnight. LONGT IME MLB UMPIRE COUSINS DIES AT 74 >> Former major league umpire Derryl Cousins, who worked three World Series during a career that lasted over three decades, has died. He was 74. Craig Cousins said his brother died at home Monday after a bout with cancer.

Cousins got his spot in the big leagues during the umpires’ strike in 1979 and stayed on the job through the 2012 season. He called the World Series in 2005, 1999 and 1988 and also worked seven League Championship Series, five Division Series and three All-Star Games.

AP SOURCE: METS SALE APPROVED >> The proposed purchase of 95% of the New York Mets by an entity of billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen has been approved by Major League Baseball’s ownership committee, and final approval is likely to take place in the next month.

Approval by the committee was disclosed Tuesday by a person familiar with the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made. Committee approval was first reported by Sportico.