By: William Burns
On Saturday in a winner take all game to get to the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers emerged victorious to take on the red-hot Boston Red Sox for the highest honor of the season. The Dodgers used all seven games of their series with the Milwaukee Brewers to punch their ticket to the finals, whereas Boston cleaned up the Houston Astros in five games, giving them more rest heading into the World Series.
In the ALCS, the Boston Red Sox had home field advantage over the Houston Astros. The first two games would be played at Fenway Park in Boston, followed by three games at Minute Maid Park in Houston, then completing the series back in Fenway if needed.
Houston took game one from the Red Sox in spectacular fashion, led by starting pitcher Justin Verlander, who was a big reason why they won the World Series last year. Verlander had a two-run lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning but three walks and a wild pitch saw the game tied. However, he escaped with no other damage done and the Astros regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Verlander then squashed all hoped of a Red Sox comeback as he breezed through the sixth inning. Houston really put the game away in the top of the ninth inning by putting up 4 runs for a score of 7-2, which cemented Verlander’s 13thcareer postseason win.
After game one, Houston’s heralded pitching from the regular season failed them utterly. In game two at Fenway, the Astros gave up five runs in the first three innings, while scoring four. Boston’s explosive offense was on display, pulling together nine hits, with seven runners crossing the plate for a final score of Boston seven, Houston five. Both teams went to the bullpen early, but it was Boston’s typically shaky pen that brought home the honors, recording the final 13 outs of the game in relief of David Price. Boston desperately needed to win this game, for if they lost both games at home, they would be down 0-2 in the series heading back to face the defending World Series Champions at home.
Game three started the three-game stretch at Minute Maid Park, home for the Astros. Boston started former New York Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi on the mound. He faced off against lefty pitcher Dallas Keuchel. Boston jumped on Keuchel in the first inning, pounding him for three hits and two runs before the inning was over. The Astros struck back with hits by Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, leading to an RBI by Marwin Gonzalez to put the Astros on the scoreboard with one. The game slowed down after that, until the sixth inning. Jose Altuve walked and Bregman drove him home to tie the game at two each. Boston’s offense wasn’t content with that. Steve Pearce hit a home run to left to take the lead for Boston, three to two. Then in the eighth, the Red Sox had had enough and put the Astros away. Houston reliever Roberto Osuna came in to pitch and gave up five runs, including a grand slam to Jackie Bradley Jr., giving the Red Sox and eight to two lead, and ultimately a huge two to one series lead.
Coming into game four at Houston, Boston has a 2-2 record at home in the playoffs but are 3-0 on the road. A trend that continued for them. The Red Sox won game four which was a battle of the offenses, with neither of the starting pitchers doing anything special. The Astros outhit the Sox 13-11 but the Sox capitalized for a final score of Boston 8, Houston 6. At least one run scored in every inning except the ninth, and both teams scored in two frames. Rookie manager Alex Cora for the Red Sox went to closer Craig Kimbrel to get the final 6 outs of the game. Kimbrel gave up one run in the eighth, allowing the Astros to bring the score up to 8-6. Houston pitched a scoreless top of the ninth and went to work on their comeback, desperately trying to tie the series again. Houston got the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and when Alex Bregman roped a sinking line drive towards left field, the Astros thought the game would be going into extras. Boston left fielder Andrew Benintendi had other plans, however, and with an amazing diving play, getting the ball just inches off the ground. He recorded the final out of the game and gave the Red Sox a 3-1 series lead. Had he missed the catch it is likely that Houston would have cleared the bases and won the game. Boston improved to 4-0 on the road in the postseason.
Houston went with ace Justin Verlander for a must-win game five, paired against shaky postseason starter David Price. The game was in control through five innings, with Verlander allowing only one run in the third. However, in the sixth Houston was torched for three runs, handing Verlander the loss. David Price went six innings for the Red Sox, pitching on three days’ rest and gave up three hits and tallied nine strikeouts. Houston tried to mount a comeback but were limited to Marwin Gonzalez’s solo home run in the seventh, accounting for Houston’s only run on five hits. Boston’s four runs came on the backs of J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers, both had home runs. Jackie Bradley Jr. received the ALCS MVP award. Boston, who had 108 regular season wins, is having similar success in the postseason. Boston has knocked off the two next-best teams in baseball with relative ease, trying to cap off its stellar season by adding another on another title.
The NLCS was a closer battle than the ALCS. The Milwaukee Brewers faced the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Brewers taking home-field advantage. The Dodgers opened up the series with their ace Clayton Kershaw matched up against Brandon Woodruff for the Brewers. The Brewers had no trouble with their offense, and after the fourth inning, were leading the game 5-1, before tacking on another run in the seventh to make it 6-1. The Brewer bullpen faltered in the eighth and ninth innings, giving up three and one respectively, scaring the whole Brewer nation until finally ending the game for a 6-5 win, and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Game two was another very even battle and featured late game scoring. The Brewers struck first in the fifth inning, with an Orlando Arcia home run, and chased starter Hyun-Jin Ryu out of the game. The Brewers added a double and a single after that, getting the lead up to 2-0 going into the sixth, and Travis Shaw hit another homer to push the lead to 3-0. In a seemingly hopeless situation, the Dodgers kept grinding. The tide turned in favor of the Dodgers in the seventh, as four consecutive batters reached base to pull them within one of the Brewers. The Dodgers took the lead away from the Brewers in the eighth inning with Justin Turner delivering a huge two-run homer to power the Dodgers to a final score of 4-3 and tying the series heading into a three-game stretch at their home field in Los Angeles. Turner had four strikeouts in game one and was charged with an error, but all that is forgiven as he won game two for the Dodgers.
The last game the Brewers played at Dodger stadium the Dodgers scored 21 runs on them. This game was very different. The Brewers put together a steady pitching clinic, to allow just five hits the entire game while shutting out the Dodgers. The Brewers scored one run in the first and the sixth and added to their lead in the seventh with two more. This game was huge for Milwaukee, as it gave them a win on the road and the lead in the series, 2-1.
Fans got some free baseball in game four as it was a thriller that went to thirteen innings before the Dodgers finally prevailed. The Dodgers scored a run in the first, jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead in a low scoring game. The Brewers tied the game in the fifth inning and seven scoreless innings followed. Going into the bottom the thirteenth innings the teams were still tied. Finally, Manny Machado reached base after going 0-5 in his previous at-bats. He stole second base with Cody Bellinger at the plate and was nearly picked off at second base. Bellinger had a .048 average in the postseason and was due for a big hit. He delivered. Bellinger worked it to a full count and smacked a slider past the first baseman and Machado raced home to slide his hand under the tag to win the game in walk-off fashion for the Dodgers and tie the series.
Kershaw took the mound again for the Dodgers in game five and delivered like the home field crowd knew he could. The future hall of fame pitcher threw 7 innings of one-run ball and gave up only three hits as his offense provided him with five runs of his own. He left the game leading 5-1 and got the win after the Brewers scored one in the ninth to make the final score 5-2, and took back the lead in the series, 3-2. The Dodgers fared better than the away teams in the ALCS, as they managed to win two out of three home games, where American League teams had been swept.
The Brewers were not ready to go home and proved it on their home field with an emphatic win to tie the series at three each after game six. The Brewers offense saw all nine batters in the lineup go to the plate in the bottom of the first inning, following a David Freese homer for the Dodgers in the top of the first. The Dodgers plated four of those batters and added one more in the second for a 5-1 lead that they would not relinquish. David Freese added another run for the Dodgers with an RBI double in the fifth, but that was the extent of the Dodger offense. The Brewers, determined to delight the home crowd, added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to give a final score of 7-2, bringing the series up to 3-3, and forcing a win-or-go-home game 7.
Game seven was a tight contest through the first five innings, and emotions were running high. Milwaukee scored in the first inning on a Christian Yelich home run but gave up the lead in the second when the Dodgers put up two runs backed by a homer from none other than Cody Bellinger, the hero of game 4. This tight battled ensued for the next three innings until Yasiel Puig launched a three-run bomb to break open the game. Heading into the ninth with a 5-1 lead over the Brewers, the Dodgers didn’t take any chances and called on ace Clayton Kershaw to come out of the bullpen to close out the game. Kershaw pitched a perfect ninth to end the game and send the Dodgers to a meeting with the Boston for the World Series.
The Dodgers have not won a World Series since 1988 but now have back to back world series appearances. Boston will be sending starter Chris Sale to the mound to start game one in Fenway Park to start off the World Series vs the Dodgers. Both offenses are stellar, and both defenses have made highlight-reel plays this postseason. When looking at records only, Boston has a clear advantage, but when the series goes to Dodger Stadium and the Boston is unable to use their designated hitter, Los Angeles will have a distinct advantage. Look for this series to go at least six of the seven games, but do not be surprised if blowouts happen in some games, as both offenses have the ability to put a lot of runs on the board.
