ARLINGTON, Texas-The Tampa Bay Rays held off a powerful Los Angeles Dodgers attack for as long as they could, but pitching paved the way to a World Series victory for Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The 2-1 win in game six was the franchise’s first world championship in 32 years.
“It is surreal,” said Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, who caught the final out of the 2020 World Series. “We worked so hard we've had our hearts broken so many times. It's hard to explain. It is a ton of emotion. They got out to an early lead but we kept grinding.”
Blake Snell kept Tampa Bay in the ballgame for six straight innings. The starter looked more impressive than he had all season, with the lights shining brightest, in game six of the world series with Tampa Bay down three games to two. The Dodgers’ 1-2-3 hitters; Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, and Justin Turner could not touch Snell’s pitching all night. Snell had struck out each twice. Combined the first four hitters were 0-8. But using front-office analytics instead of baseball IQ, Rays manager Kevin Cash made a decision that would end up determining Tampa Bay’s fate. Tampa Bay’s season. The Rays’ hopes for their first World Series title in program history.
At that point, Tampa Bay was up 1-0 thanks to a solo homer by Randy Arozarena in the first.
Not wanting Snell to face Los Angeles’ lineup for the third time, although he had thrown just 73 pitches, Cash brought in Nick Anderson, a starter known best for his 0.55 ERA during this year’s regular season. On paper he had the advantage. On the mound, he clearly did not. Los Angeles exploded offensively. Snell had allowed an Austin Barnes single before he was pulled. Anderson then allowed a double to Betts down the third base line, putting runners on second and third with one out. A wild pitch brought Barnes across the plate and three pitches later, Betts dove head-first into home, beating the tag, and giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Tampa Bay had attempted to keep the game deadlocked at one apiece, but Ji-Man Choi’s throw from first was late.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
From that point on, momentum carried the Dodgers. Urias sent the Rays three up and three down in the final two innings and Betts swatted a solo homer to add to the lead in the eighth.
“I’m just happy I could contribute,” said Betts, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
“I’m not exactly sure,” he added when asked about the decision to pull Snell early, “I’m not going to ask any questions. He was pitching a great game, but that’s what we needed.”
In such a low-scoring affair, pitching was the driving force behind the victory. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts employed a win-by-committee strategy, using seven different pitchers in the contest. Urias saw the most time on the mound of those seven, as he tossed 2.1 scoreless innings, struck out four and did not allow a single baserunner.
While Betts had a phenomenal series, Dodgers’ shortstop Corey Seager was named the MVP of the 2020 World Series. He batted .400 on the series, and scored seven runs. He also hit a home run in game 2, in which he went 4-for-5.
"This is awesome,” said Seager upon being named the MVP. “The resilience, the effort, the energy, it was so fun to be a part of this team.”
Interestingly, Seager was also named the MVP of the NLCS. It was certainly a postseason to remember for the veteran shortstop.
In breaking news following the contest, Dodgers’ third baseman Justin Turner tested positive for Covid-19, and was taken out of the game in the eighth once the results came back. Turner went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Edwin Rios took his spot at third for the remainder of the game.
“It is a bittersweet night for us,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred postgame. “I think it is a great accomplishment for our players to get this season completed, but obviously we are concerned when any of our players test positive.”
He also noted Turner was “immediately isolated” following the notification of the positive test.
“This is our year”.
That was Roberts’ main message to the team, to the fans, following the inspired victory. He spoke of the resilience, of the toughness, of the closeness of his ballclub. They play for each other, and that was evident as Los Angeles never gave up, no matter how great the deficit.
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