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TNWN: Rays look to force a Game 7 on Tuesday

October 27, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers and the 2020 World Series.

After one last off-day, the Tampa Bay Rays look to even the series at three games apiece and force one last ball game, when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, in Arlington. The Dodgers have a three-games-to-two advantage over the Rays in the 2020 World Series.

The Rays are 5-1 in elimination games over the past two postseasons. Los Angeles, meanwhile, has won all three of its games in the 2020 postseason when they had a chance to close out the opposing team.

Highest hard-hit% allowed, 2015-'20 postseason, by a pitcher with a minimum of 10 batted balls allowed in a game. (There were 404 such games.) pic.twitter.com/J0ux5HtySS

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 26, 2020

While Tyler Glasnow proved ineffective in his Sunday night start against the Dodgers — thus solidifying his position as the hard-hit% king of the postseason — the rest of Tampa Bay’s pitching staff kept Los Angeles in check across four scoreless frames on Sunday. Put another way, Diego Castillo, Aaron Loup, Ryan Sherriff, and Ryan Thompson proved that the Dodgers can be pitched to. And instead of trying to throw the nastiest pitches possible, resulting in whiffy K after whiffy K, the above mentioned four-headed beast forced contact and allowed the fielders behind them to gobble up balls put in play. Blake Snell, who will get the start on Tuesday, would be well served to take after the latter named four hurlers as opposed to Glasnow.

While the Rays might be down, they certainly are not out. Bear in mind one simple fact: neither Tampa Bay nor Los Angeles has strung together two consecutive wins in the 2020 World Series. The Rays have already proved they can get to Tony Gonsolin, and if they can win Tuesday night, they can force a game seven and push things back into coinflip territory.

Neil Solondz (Rays Radio) put things in perspective, writing,

It would be a tremendous accomplishment, especially considering the opponent. Los Angeles has led for all but the final play of game four for 27 consecutive innings. They’ve hit multiple homers in eight straight playoff games, scored at least four runs in every game of the World Series, and have gone a combined 55–22 between the regular season and postseason. All while being the top scoring team and run prevention team this year in MLB.

Of any team that could beat that Dodgers club two games in a row, it would be the Rays. Think about what they’ve done this year:

  • Had the best record in the American League (40–20), something that only previously happened in 2010.
  • Won not one but two winner-take-all playoff games, not including wildcard games, something they had done just once in all previous seasons combined.
  • Beat the Yankees in their first-ever playoff series against them.
  • Avenged last year’s loss in the ALDS to Houston by beating the Astros to advance to the World Series.
  • Won more World Series games than any previous Tampa Bay team.
  • Set an MLB record for HR in the postseason.
  • Had their third ever walk-off victory in the playoffs, and it came in a historic game four of the World Series.

Plus Randy Arozarena has had arguably the best postseason in the history of the game.

The hope is that two great chapters remain in this story, but it’s important to appreciate that, in the most trying of years, this already has been the most successful season the franchise has had.

The New What Next

Blake Snell got the start last Wednesday and looked great through the first 4-2/3 innings, holding the Dodgers hitless while striking out nine and walking two — including a perfect 10-pitch first inning. At one point he retired 10 straight batters, six via the strikeout. Yet, the left-hander’s demeanor changed after he walked Kiké Hernández on five pitches two outs in the fifth. Then four pitches later, Snell grooved a 77 mph over the inner third of the plate to Chris Taylor, who inside outed the ball and sent it to right-field for a two-run homer. Six pitches later his night was done after he walked Mookie Betts. Snell looked great until he didn’t, throwing 88 pitches (49 strikes, 56% strike rate) while coaxing 14 swinging strikes (27% SwStr%).

Tony Gonsolin allowed one run on a solo homer to Brandon Lowe and also issued a walk while serving as an opener in game two of the World Series. He struck out one. The 26-year-old threw 16 of his 29 pitches for strikes (55% strike rate) and recorded a first-pitch strike on four of the six batters he faced. The right-hander has now allowed eight earned runs in 7-2/3 postseason innings. He hasn’t had much success in that span, posting a 9.39 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP while walking 19.4% of opposing batters.

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/27/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Díaz DH
  2. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Margot RF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Adames SS
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Zunino C

Noteworthiness

— From Neil’s lips to your ears: “A key for the Rays will be getting an early lead. in the last three games Los Angeles has scored in the first inning each time. Tampa Bay only led in game four when Brandon Lowe homered for a 5–4 advantage that didn’t last the next half inning, and on the game’s final play. Tampa Bay is 32–7 this year when scoring first (regular season and postseason combined).”

— Rays skipper Kevin Cash plans to be aggressive with the bullpen tonight. Neither Pete Fairbanks nor Nick Anderson pitched on Sunday, so they’ve both had two days off.

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LBWMF: Rays on the brink of elimination after falling 4-2

October 26, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Kiermaier needed to put the ball in play in the fourth inning, yet he did so in the ninth. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Tyler Glasnow needed to put together an elite performance on Sunday, yet the right-hander was pulled after four runs and five innings. And while the Tampa Bay Rays put together good at-bats against Clayton Kershaw, they couldn’t catch up to the Dodgers, who took a first-inning lead and never looked back. When all was said and done, Kershaw and the ‘pen led the Dodgers to a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay in the fifth game of the 2020 World Series.

One shouldn’t question Glasnow’s stuff. Put simply, his fastball and curveball are elite. However, what could be questioned is his pitch selection and his perceived hesitation to lean on a third pitch, which he has been working on the last few offseasons. Those two things turned a decent outing into a frustrating one for Tampa Bay.

Mookie Betts kickstarted a first-inning rally with a double to left two batters into the game. Corey Seager followed by ripping an RBI single to right on a cement mixer left over the heart of the plate. It was the third straight game where Los Angeles took a first-inning lead.

Then in the second inning, Joc Pederson fell behind 1-2 before he drilled a 98.5 mph fastball for a 3-0 lead. Instead of trying to get Pederson to expand by throwing a curveball off the plate, Glasnow tried to overpower the outfielder on a high fastball. Unfortunately, the pitch wasn’t above the zone, and Pederson didn’t miss it.

Glasnow was able to bounce back and retire eight consecutive batters, while Tampa Bay got on the board against Kershaw in the third.

The record-setting knock pic.twitter.com/mDUMpezwBw

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 26, 2020

Kevin Kiermaier beat out a chopper to the first base side of the mound for an infield hit, before Yandy Diaz hit a one-out triple to right, eluding Betts to draw the Rays within two. Randy Arozarena followed with an RBI single to left to get the Rays within a run. It was Arozarena’s 27th postseason hit, setting a new Major League record.

Even though they had multiple opportunities to exact more damage — the Rays got the leadoff runner aboard in six of the nine innings — they ultimately went 1-7 wRISP and they, as Dave Wills would say, left a lot of chicken on the bone.

STOP THROWING FASTBALLS IN TWO-STRIKE COUNTS, TYLER! https://t.co/lOls0ssMmN

— X-Rays Spex (@XRaysSpex) October 26, 2020

Glasnow retired the first two batters in the top half of the third inning, yet Muncy drilled a two-strike, center/center fastball to right-center, capping the scoring. It was the ninth home run allowed by Glasnow, a postseason record.

Tampa Bay had a chance to take the lead in the fourth inning. Manuel Margot walked, swiped second, and went to third when the responding throw went off Chris Taylor’s glove for an error. Then, after falling behind 0-2, Hunter Renfroe worked a free pass to put runners at the corners with no outs. However, Joey Wendle popped out to short and Willy Adames struck out. Margot tried to spark some offense with Kiermaier at the plate — he attempted to steal home and was thrown out by a hair. The play did not work, yet let’s be honest: given that Kiermaier has slashed .224 BA/.255 OBP/.490 SLG/.745 OPS with a 29% strikeout rate during the offseason, the odds were stacked against him to come up in the clutch. Margot tried to do what he instinctively thought Kiermaier couldn’t or wouldn’t — plate an important run and rattle Kershaw.

Escaping the jam enabled Kershaw to begin a stretch where he retired seven consecutive batters on just 21 pitches. For whatever reason, the left-hander was lifted in the sixth inning much to the chagrin of the Dodgers fans in attendance who booed Dave Roberts’ decision. Roberts called upon Dustin May.

Even though Tampa Bay tagged May in his previous outing, the Carrot Top-like hurler made quick work the next four batters. May did get into trouble after Kiermaier singled to left to open the eighth, yet pinch-hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo flew out to left. Kevin Cash called upon Ji-Man Choi to pinch hit for Yandy Diaz, but Roberts called on southpaw Victor Gonzalez. In so doing, Mike Brosseau hit for Choi instead. Kiermaier moved into second on a wild pitch while Brosseau reached on a free pass in a nine-pitch at-bat, bringing Arozarena to the plate. Yet RAAAAAAAANDY flew out to center, as did Brandon Lowe on the first pitch of his at-bat.

Meanwhile, Aaron Loup got two outs while Diego Castillo collected four before Ryan Sherriff hurled a perfect eighth inning, allowing Tampa Bay to hang around. Ryan Thompson worked around a walk in a scoreless ninth.

Finally, Blake Treinen got the save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth — his third consecutive day of work. Margot singled to start the frame, however, Austin Meadows went down swinging, Wendle flew out to center, and Adames struck out to end the game.

After a previously scheduled off-day, Blake Snell will get the start in game six on Tuesday. It marks the third elimination game for Tampa Bay this postseason. The Rays have won the other two.

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LBWMF: Rays come from behind to defeat the Dodgers, 8-7

October 25, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Yes, yes it did. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

Brandon Lowe hit a critical three-run home run — one of four for the Rays — while Brett Phillips walked it off in the ninth inning, as Tampa Bay defeated Los Angeles on Saturday, 8-7. The World Series is now tied at two games apiece.

Source: FanGraphs

My words cannot adequately express how intense Saturday’s contest was. It might not even be worth trying. I will say this though, if the FanGraphs WPA graph (above) was a roller coaster, it would have been a truly wild and thrilling ride. From the fourth inning on, each team traded blows which set up the improbable walk-off win sparked by Kevin Kiermaier and Randy Arozarena, and with Phillips at the plate. Tampa Bay is now 8-1 in the postseason when they score four runs or more.

Still cant get over how great tonight was. Bein able to experience a moment like that with all these great guys was special as can be! Shows ya why this game is so great because of moments like that. Truly incredible.

— Kevin Kiermaier (@KKiermaier39) October 25, 2020

For what it’s worth, Dave and Andy articulated things well during the broadcast. They opined that while the Rays may not be as good as the Dodgers, at least on paper, the best teams don’t always win the World Series. Rather, it is the team that takes advantage of the opportunities handed to them. Dave and Andy cited the ’88 Dodgers who weren’t necessarily better than the Athletics, yet they won it all. In their perspective, the Rays simply needed a magical moment akin to Kirk Gibson’s legendary homer — an October moment if you will. Last night’s game very well could have been that.

If you want to read an actual game summary, head over to the Rays Radio blog. Otherwise, what follows is a game recap in photos, videos, and reactions. This is a high, and I’m still coming down.

The most homers EVER in a postseason pic.twitter.com/LlKpoLJLYf

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 25, 2020

Down by a pair in the fourth inning, Arozarena belted a first-pitch Julio Urias fastball over the wall in right-center to put the Rays on the board. It was his ninth postseason blast, a new big league record — also allowing him to tie Evan Longoria for the franchise career mark.

This ball landed in Fort Worth pic.twitter.com/wekBMD5Le8

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 25, 2020
https://twitter.com/DingerTracker/status/1320183499257675776?s=20

But the Dodgers answered Arozarena’s homer with a run of their own, however, Hunter Renfroe kept the Rays in the thick of things by blasting a tape-measure solo homer into the second deck in left field, 444 feet away. Renfroe’s massive blast came off the bat at 111.4 mph.

Still, Los Angeles immediately answered in the top of the sixth … but so did Tampa Bay in the home half of the inning.

Lowe’d contact‼️ pic.twitter.com/Nzu8cjCJu2

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 25, 2020

After Arozarena led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, and Ji-Man Choi earned a free pass, Lowe muscled a 95 mph fastball over the outer third of the plate into the Rays bullpen in left-center, giving Tampa Bay its first lead of the night.

Even so, the Dodgers again answered with two runs in the top of the seventh. Not to be outshined, Tampa Bay also responded with a run in the bottom of the frame.

Kevin Klutchmaier pic.twitter.com/M9QdQQJCtx

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 25, 2020

Kiermaier got all of a hanging 88 mph cement mixer and sent it into the stands in right, tying the game at six.

As with any good boxing match, Los Angeles battled back and took a one-run lead, scoring another two-out run in the top half of the eighth inning, while former Ray Adam Kolarek and Brusdar Graterol teamed up to throw a zero up on the board, setting up the epic ninth-inning comeback against Kenley Jansen.

The October moment pic.twitter.com/5B68Bwfxpp

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 25, 2020

Jansen allowed a one-out blooper right to Kiermaier, however, Joey Wendle lined to left-center. That allowed Arozarena, who homered off Jansen on Friday, to step into the box with a man on the base paths. Jansen clearly wanted nothing to do with Arozarena and worked around (the new) Mr. October, ultimately allowing him to reach on a free pass. Phillips, who wasn’t on the ALCS roster and pinch-ran an inning earlier, hit a bloop of his own into right-center, allowing Kiermaier to cross the plate.

View this post on Instagram

Tampa Bay wins in dramatic fashion. Finally Bob and Peter are back in the booth. Tag a dodgers fan #worldseries #mlb #baseball #sports #tampabay #losangeles

A post shared by Bob Menery (@bobmenery) on Oct 24, 2020 at 9:40pm PDT

The ball was bobbled in right-center, although Arozarena slipped and fell as he rounded third. However, Will Smith lost the off-line throw at the plate as Arozarena got back up and dashed home to end the game in dramatic fashion.

Just a kid from Seminole, Florida pic.twitter.com/q3RqRD0NGf

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 25, 2020

Insanity

— Shane McClanahan (@Sugar_ShaneM) October 25, 2020

That was INSANEEEE!!!

— Ryan Sherriff (@KingSherriff) October 25, 2020

Best game I’ve ever been apart of

— Brandon Lowe (@Sweet_n_Lowe5) October 25, 2020

Win probability off the charts! pic.twitter.com/7l1a4wn9ew

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 25, 2020

The New What Next

On Sunday, Tyler Glasnow (2-2, 6.08 ERA) will pitch opposite of Clayton Kershaw (3-1, 2.88 ERA) in a rematch of game one.

Tyler Glasnow couldn’t keep the Dodgers down on Tuesday. That was due to six free passes. Over his first three frames, Glasnow allowed two walks and a hit while striking out five. However, in the fourth, Max Muncy started the frame by walking on five pitches, then moved into second when Will Smith bounced out slowly to third. Cody Bellinger followed with a two-run homer into the Rays bullpen for a two-run lead. Then in the fifth, Glasnow allowed two more runs on a walk, three stolen bases, and a pair of base hits. The right-hander gave up just three hits, although his six walks were the most he’s allowed with Tampa Bay. Otherwise, he fanned eight on 112 pitches (58 strikes, 52% strike rate, 17% SwStr%).

Clayton Kershaw allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out eight across six innings against Tampa Bay. Kershaw’s only mistake was a fifth-inning solo home run to Kevin Kiermaier. Kershaw coaxed 19 swinging strikes on just 78 pitches (53 strikes, 68% strike rate, 36% SwStr%). Interestingly enough, five Rays — Yandy Diaz (.490, .310, and .160 xBA), Brandon Lowe, Joey Wendle, and Hunter Renfroe (.440 xBA) — made solid, albeit unlucky, contact off Kershaw, who relied primarily on his slider (35, 45%) and four-seam fastball (31, 40%), while also throwing his whiffy curveball (12, 15%). Given that, it will be interesting to see if and how the Rays approach at the plate changes tonight.

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/25/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Diaz 1B
  2. Arozarena DH
  3. B. Lowe 2B
  4. Margot LF
  5. Renfroe RF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Adames SS
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Zunino C

Noteworthiness

— From Neil’s (Solondz, Rays Radio) lips to your ears: “Saturday’s win was just the third World Series game that ended in walk-off fashion, where the winning team trailed prior to the final pitch. It also was just the fifth World Series game to end on an error. In addition, it was the first postseason game where the two teams scored in eight consecutive half innings.”

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TNWN: Rays look to even the series against Julio Urias

October 24, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Put bluntly, the Rays will need a little more cage work should they face Walker Buehler again. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After dropping game three of the 2020 World Series on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to even the series, once again, tonight. The Dodgers were the highest-scoring team in baseball during the regular season, and they have plated 18 runs, and hit seven homers, in the first three games of the series.

The Rays were depending heavily on Charlie Morton — winner of all five of his previous playoff starts with Tampa Bay — who entered Friday’s contest with a 7-2 postseason record and a 2.88 postseason ERA. However, a quality start was not in the cards for the right-hander, as Morton hurled a 4.1 IP/5 ER/7 Hit/1 BB outing on 91 pitches (58 strikes, 64% strike rate, 24% SwStr%). Four of the five runs Morton surrendered were of the two-out variety. He surrendered a first-inning homer to Justin Turner, a two-RBI single in the third on a full-count pitch, and two runs in the fifth on a safety squeeze bunt and an RBI base hit. Morton departed after a one-out walk in the fifth, thanks to an uncharacteristically shaky outing at a rather inopportune time.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s hitters had a difficult time figuring out Walker Buehler, who allowed just three hits across six innings, while striking out 10 and walking two. The only run the right-hander allowed came during the fifth inning when he gave up a one-out double to Manuel Margot, and a two-out RBI double to Willy Adames. Otherwise, Buehler and the Dodgers’ ‘pen held the big-boppers in the Rays lineup — Randy Arozarena, Brandon Lowe, Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi, Joey Wendle, and Mike Zunino — to 2-17 with 11 punchouts. Buehler has now given just five runs in 25 postseason frames.

Ring-around-the-Arozarena!

-Most hits by a rookie in a Postseason
-T-most home runs in a single Postseason
-Most total bases in a single Postseason pic.twitter.com/nGPUTw5JIT

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 24, 2020

To his credit, Arozarena did homer off Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth inning — his first homer of the World Series. Arozarena now has eight homers in the postseason, setting a new franchise record, while tying the MLB record for one postseason. RAAAAAAAANDY now has 23 postseason hits — the most for an MLB rookie — allowing him to pass Derek Jeter … but RE2PECT, or whatever. Per Neil Solondz (Rays Radio), Arozrena’s 52 total bases are the most in any playoff run.

To their credit, the Rays bullpen was pretty darn good across the 4-2/3 innings after Morton’s departure, allowing just one run on a homer off right-hander John Curtiss. Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has fanned at least 10 batters in each game of the series, yet the starters have allowed 13 runs on 12 hits and 11 walks over 13-1/3 innings. In contrast, the bullpen has surrendered four runs in 12-2/3 innings.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough (1-0, 3.60 ERA) will get the start Saturday, pitching opposite of Julio Urias (4-0, 0.56 ERA).

Ryan Yarbrough allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings on Tuesday in game three of the ALCS against the Astros. The left-hander picked up the start in a critical game in the series and followed through with a solid outing. He allowed a solo shot in the first inning, although he was effective the rest of the way before he surrendered a leadoff home run in the sixth inning which resulted in his removal. Yarbrough has never faced the Dodgers. Yarbrough has made two other postseason appearances, surrendering two runs in five innings in each outing against New York and Houston. The Dodgers were better against right-hander (.837 OPS) than left-handers (.778 OPS) during the regular season.

Julio Urias finished game seven of the NLCS, and has been fantastic during the playoffs. He has yet to throw more than five innings in an outing, although Urias has allowed just one earned run total in 16 total innings of work. The left-hander has given up just seven hits and three walks while striking out 16. Right-handed hitters were significantly better against Urias than left-handed hitters (.647 OPS vs .491 OPS) in 2020. He relies primarily on a whiffy 94 mph four-seam fastball with little arm-side movement, while also mixing in an 84 mph slider that sweeps across the zone and has some two-plane movement, an 80 mph hard curveball that has sweeping glove-side movement, and a firm 86 mph changeup.

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/24/20 Starting Lineup

    null
  1. Diaz 1B
  2. Arozarena DH
  3. Brosseau 3B
  4. Margot LF
  5. Lowe 2B
  6. Adames SS
  7. Renfroe RF
  8. Zunino C
  9. Kiermaier CF
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TNWN: Rays look to continue their winning ways on Friday, in Game Three

October 23, 2020 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

Congratulations all around. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

After defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, 6-4, not to mention the previously scheduled off-day, the 2020 World Series will resume play on Friday, when the Tampa Bay Rays take the field as the home team.

Brandon Lowe was a big part of the Rays win in the second game of the set, hitting two home runs while driving in three runs. Lowe became the first player in World Series history with two opposite-field homers in a single game, and the fifth player to do it in a postseason contest. He is quietly and incrementally snapping out of his malaise, as the Rays versatile IN/OF is now 5-for-his-last-21 (.238 BA), with three home runs, five runs scored, and four RBI across his last five games. And while that .238 BA might not be eye-popping, consider that he entered play yesterday with a .107 postseason batting average and that three of his last five hits are of the XBH variety.

The Rays also scored four two-out runs on Wednesday, after having scored none on Tuesday.Note: I will update this piece as any pre-game notes are made available.

Tampa Bay likely will have all its key arms available out of the bullpen. Of note though, if the Rays fall behind, Kevin Cash could be more conservative with using which reliever and when, especially since Saturday is projected to be an opener(s) and bulk guy kind of game. If they are in the game though, expect Cash to lean heavily on Nick Anderson, Pete Fairbanks, and Diego Castillo,

The New What Next

Charlie Morton (3-0, 0.57 ERA) will get the start on Friday, pitching opposite of Walker Buehler (1-0, 1.89 ERA).

Charlie Morton pushed in his best outing of the season, allowing just two hits across 5-2/3 efficient innings, while striking out six and walking one on 66 pitches (48 strikes, 73% strike rate, 15% SwStr%). Over the first five frames, Morton allowed just one base hit — to Michael Brantley — while striking out five on 49 pitches. Yet, Houston made things interesting in the sixth with the Rays ahead by three. Martín Maldonado walked on four pitches with one out. George Springer followed by grounding into a 5-4 fielder’s choice for the second out. After Jose Altuve worked the count full, and with Springer was on the move, Altuve beat out a chopper to third to put runners on the corners with two outs. Given that Morton’s OPS increased to 1.006 the third time through the order, Rays skipper Kevin Cash called upon Nick Anderson in the high leverage situation. Anderson got Brantley to ground out to second on the second pitch of the at-bat, ending the threat.

Walker Buehler struck out six batters while allowing seven hits and zero walks across six scoreless frames in his last start against Atlanta. Buehler was staked to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, which proved to be all the Dodgers would need in their 3-1 win. The right-hander loaded the bases on three consecutive singles to open the top of the second, but he escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. He was rarely in much trouble the rest of the way. Buehler opened the regular season with a 5.21 ERA in his first four starts but cruised to a 1.53 ERA in his final four appearances and has a 1.89 ERA in four playoff starts. Buehler relies primarily on a whiffy 97 mph four-seam fastball with some added backspin, while also mixing in a firm 82 mph curveball with exceptional bite and slight glove-side movement, a whiffy 93 mph cutter, an 87 mph Slider that sweeps across the zone and boasts two-plane movement, and a 97 mph sinker with little sinking action. Key Matchup: Manuel Margot (1-4, HR)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.

TNWN: Rays vs. Dodgers — a World Series preview

Rays 10/23/20 Starting Lineup

  1. Meadows DH
  2. Lowe 2B
  3. Arozarena LF
  4. Choi 1B
  5. Margot RF
  6. Wendle 3B
  7. Adames SS
  8. Kiermaier CF
  9. Zunino C

Noteworthiness

— The Dodgers have been particularly careful with Randy Arozarena: He has walked three times. With the Rays finally starting to pick up the offense a bit, Arozarena may finally see some pitches to hit.

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