Team takes home first championship in more than three decades
The wait is over.
After 32 years without a World Series title, the Dodgers ended that long drought on Tuesday night with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 in Arlington, Texas. L.A.’s bullpen was the story of the contest, shutting out the Rays for 7 ⅓ innings, with Julio Urias getting the final seven outs — four of which came by way of the strikeout.
The Dodgers didn’t do much, offensively, but what they did was good enough. They scored two runs in the sixth inning on a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice, and Mookie Betts finished the scoring with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth.
In a curious move, Rays manager Kevin Cash took out his starter, Blake Snell, after the veteran lefty gave up a lead-off single to Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes in the sixth. It was just the second hit Snell allowed to go along with nine strikeouts to that point.
“I’m not exactly sure why, I’m not going to ask any questions,” Betts said when asked about the move to remove Snell from the game. “He was pitching a great game. … They made the pitching change, and that seems like all we needed.”
It was a move that backfired on Cash after his hard-throwing reliever, Nick Anderson, gave up a double to Betts, uncorked a wild pitch that scored Barnes, and gave up the second run on a fielder’s choice ground out to first by World Series MVP Corey Seagar.
Rays’ rookie Randy Arozarena homered in the first to give his team a 1-0 lead before the Dodgers finally broke through in the sixth. It’s L.A.’s first World Series title since 1988 and the franchise’s seventh. The Dodgers had to come back in the National League Championship Series when they were down three games to one to Atlanta.
After winning three straight to close out the Braves, the Dodgers won the final two games against Tampa Bay to win the World Series.
Tampa Bay has played in two World Series — this season and in 2008. The Rays lost both times.
On a down note, L.A. third baseman Justin Turner tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the game after going 0-3. Turner was not with his teammates when they celebrated on the field.
email: gfall@newspress.com
