Willkommen » the World Series

1. Mookie Betts is a Dodger now.A deep Dodgers team that can beat you in every imaginable way now has a player who can beat you in every imaginable way. Betts' impact on the Dodgers has been profound, from MLB's best Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement during the regular season to a series of dazzling defensive plays in the postseason, including run-saving catches in each of the final three games of the NLCS. Betts delivered the signature play of the series in Game 7 when he robbed Freddie Freeman of a home run, setting the stage for L.A.'s latest comeback.When the Dodgers last played in the World Series, Betts was on the other side. He went 5-for-23 for the Red Sox as Boston won the Fall Classic in five games in 2018, including a couple of hits off Clayton Kershaw -- capped by a home run off Kershaw in Boston's clinching win in Game 5.
Looking back at Boston's triumph, Betts said, “We played good defense, pitched the ball well. Pretty much did everything well. But I think the most impressive thing, or the thing we did the best, was just grind through at-bats and not make anything easy.“I think this [Dodgers] team does that, for sure. That should help us win a ring.”2. Corey Seager is healthy and hitting.
Seager missed the 2017 NLCS with a back injury and hit .222 (6-for-27) in that year's World Series against the Astros. He missed most of the 2018 season, including all of the postseason, with an elbow injury. Last year, in the Dodgers' stunning NL Division Series loss to the Nationals, Seager was 3-for-20 (.150).
This year, he has been a force. Seager joined Betts in the NL MVP Award conversation with a .307/.358/.585 slash line during the regular season and is carrying that hot bat into the postseason. Ten of his 14 hits in the playoffs so far have gone for extra bases, including six home runs. He went hitless in Game 7 of the NLCS, yet was a clear choice for series MVP after going 9-for-24 with five homers in Games 1-6 -- the only NL player in history with five home runs and 11 RBIs in a postseason series.3. They had to come from behind.The Dodgers' last two World Series teams enjoyed relatively clear paths. They only trailed in one of four series along the way -- in the 2018 NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, when the Dodgers lost Games 1 and 3, then won Games 4, 5 and 7 to advance. That year's Game 7 wasn't nearly the test that the Braves provided on Sunday; Christian Yelich homered in the first inning, but Cody Bellinger answered with a two-run shot in the second and the Dodgers went on to win, 5-1.
Compare that to the just-completed NLCS, when the Dodgers twice trailed by two games and needed to win Games 5, 6 and 7 to advance. Unlike '17 and '18, the Dodgers had to fight back from a significant deficit to make the World Series.
“We have full confidence in each other, and down 3-1, there really wasn't any panic in this locker room,” Bellinger said. “It was like, okay, we've done this before and we all trust in each other. and we knew that whoever was on the mound, whoever's at the plate would get the job done.”4. It might be Justin Turner's last chance to win a ring in L.A.
You can't pin the Dodgers' postseason failures on Turner, the 35-year-old third baseman who has been in uniform for seven of L.A.'s eight straight division titles. He is a .292/.396/.486 hitter in the postseason who was MVP of the 2017 NLCS against the Cubs, when his home run to win Game 2 was the Dodgers' first walk-off homer in the postseason since Gibson (and on the anniversary, no less). Turner's next home run in the postseason would be No. 11, tying Duke Snider's franchise record. The last time the Dodgers were in the World Series, Turner hit .333 (8-for-24) against the Red Sox.
In other words, no one on the team can match Turner's October pedigree. Which makes 2020 especially notable, since Turner is a free agent for the first time since December 2016.
“I don't think about it too much,” Turner said. “The only thing I'm thinking about and focused on is winning the World Series. Whatever happens after that will happen. That's out of my control right now. All I can worry about is our game [Tuesday against Tampa Bay]. That's where I'm at.”5. The DH is in play for every game.
The Dodgers' depth is among their most prized assets and having the designated hitter in play for all games in 2020 helps Roberts maximize it. Take Game 1, when Austin Barnes presumably will catch Kershaw -- which, in a normal year, would keep Will Smith and his .980 OPS during the regular season out of the lineup. In 2020, Smith has a good chance to start.
Smith is one of the Dodgers' hitters who feasts on fastballs, which Rays pitchers will throw from all imaginable arm angles in the World Series. Smith hit .328 and slugged .721 against fastballs in 2020, according to Statcast, for a Dodgers team that led the Majors during the regular season in slugging percentage against fastballs (.554), expected slugging percentage against fastballs (.565) and average exit velocity on fastballs in play (91.9 mph).
“Huge,” Turner said, “because we have so many good offensive players. It's huge to get an extra bat in lineup and get guys even more at-bats. Our offense was good in the past, adding a ninth hitter makes it just that much better.”Three-time National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will start Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday against the Rays, and right-hander Walker Buehler will start Game 3 on Friday, the Dodgers announced on Monday. A starter for Game 2 hasn't been announced.In the first three rounds of this postseason, Buehler started Game 1. But he just pitched on Saturday in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series vs. the Braves, a Dodgers victory. Kershaw will be pitching on normal rest after throwing five-plus innings and allowing four runs in Los Angeles' NLCS Game 4 loss last Thursday.
“The timing of things, how we used our starters, but also who [Kershaw] is and what he's done,” manager Dave Roberts said of the alignment. “Obviously, it's the biggest of no-brainers to have him start Game 1. Something he's done before just makes us feel that much better about it.”
In Game 3 of the World Series, Buehler will be pitching on five days' rest after he delivered six scoreless innings in that must-win Game 6 of the NLCS.
With this alignment, Kershaw is set up to start Game 5 and Buehler Game 7 if the series goes that long. And with the No. 1 (Dodgers) and No. 2 (Rays) seeds in the tournament, it might.
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“They've got a great team,” Kershaw said of the Rays. “The pitching staff gets talked about a lot, but they've got a lot of guys on the offensive side that can make you pay if you make mistakes. [Randy] Arozarena, the way he's going now, swinging the bat real well. Try to limit him as much as you can. They got a lot of guys they try to play the platoon to their advantage, a lot of guys in and out, right and left. They've got a great team.”
TB-LA World Series G1 FAQThe Dodgers have lost each of Kershaw's past three starts in the World Series. His lone win in the Fall Classic was in Game 1 against the Astros in 2017, when he struck out 11 in seven innings of one-run ball. In 10 postseason Game 1 outings, he's 4-5 with a 5.86 ERA.“Every year is different,” Kershaw said. “Just trying to learn the best you can, but every year is different and every team is different. The Rays are a different team than the Astros and Red Sox. I'm going to prepare like I always do, be as ready as I can be and excited about another opportunity to get it done.”Kershaw was asked if he wished the Astros had beaten the Rays to set up a rematch of the 2017 World Series against the team that was disciplined for stealing signs that season.“You can't think like that,” Kershaw said. “The Rays are a very formidable opponent and winning the World Series is going to be special no matter who you play. 2017 is over, we can't go back and worry about that. I'll just say, this World Series against the Rays is what we're prepared for now.”Rays-Dodgers: World Series position analysis
In this pandemic year, when even getting a season in was uncertain, Kershaw said he feels a special sense of gratitude to be where he is now.
“I was throwing [simulated] games in May and June in Dallas, thinking if we'd play a season or if this would be a wasted year in everybody's career, if this was going to be a wasted year for the Dodgers with the team we had,” Kershaw said. “So yeah, to be able to be here now and be four wins away from winning a World Series I think is a testament to a lot of people to make this season happen, to the players and Major League Baseball to get to this point. I'm super thankful for that, I really am, that we're getting this opportunity, for sure.