After two well deserved days off — well, at least for the Rays — the top two big-league ball clubs will kick off the 2020 World Series at Globe Life Field tonight in Arlington, TX. Tampa Bay and Los Angeles had the top two records during the regular season.
The Rays are appearing in their second-ever World Series and seeking their first-ever title. Meanwhile, the Dodgers now have reached the Fall Classic three times in four years, although they haven’t won a title in 31 years.
After playing their last 10 playoff games in Arlington, the Dodgers have familiarity with Globe Life Park. On the other hand, the Rays are familiar with playing on turf and had a workout on Monday.
The two teams split four regular-season games last year.
The Rays set their roster earlier today, which we wrote about in the series preview (linked below).
The New What Next
Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 4.66 ERA) will get the start Tuesday night, pitching opposite of Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 3.32 ERA).
Tyler Glasnow got the start on Wednesday and he was good, but not great. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five on 96 pitches (55 strikes, 57% strike rate, 20% SwStr). Glasnow allowed a first-inning solo shot and an RBI double in the third inning to Jose Altuve, and a two-run blast to George Springer on a 99 mph, 3-1 fastball with the game scored knotted up at two in the bottom of the fifth. Yet, he also limited the damage by inducing weak contact and six ground balls. It was a rare power outburst against a hurler that maintained a 1.73 HR/9 in 2020 (and a 0.59 HR/9 in 2019). Glasnow enters his next start — assuming the Rays move on to the World Series — with a 4.66 ERA, 5.88 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, and a 3.1 K/BB across 19-1/3 playoff innings.
Clayton Kershaw surrendered four runs on seven hits and one walk over five-plus innings in game four of the NLCS. He struck out four. Kershaw only gave up a solo homer to Marcell Ozuna during his outing, although he allowed a single and back-to-back doubles to start the sixth before being removed. It should be noted that the southpaw has not been healthy, as he has been dealing with some back issues. Kershaw is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in two career starts against Tampa Bay, however, he maintains a 4.31 postseason ERA extending back to 2008. The left-hander relies primarily on a hard 88 mph worm-killer slider and a 92 mph four-seam fastball which is straight as an arrow and has some added backspin, while also mixing in a 74 mph 12-6 curveball with exceptional bite.
Both the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.
Rays 10/20/20 Starting Lineup
- Diaz 1B
- Lowe 2B
- Arozarena DH
- Renfroe RF
- Margot LF
- Wendle 3B
- Adames SS
- Kiermaier CF
- Zunino C
Noteworthiness
— The dude abides:
— Facepalm emoji.
— Nailed it: