Dodgers overpower Giants 9-2 to level MLB playoff series

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers offense bounced back Saturday in a 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants that saw the reigning World Series champions level their Major League Baseball series.

One day after they were shut out by the Giants in game one of the best-of-five National League division series, the Dodgers responded to give themselves a chance to close out the series in two games in Los Angeles.

Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias shut down the Giants -- and helped his own cause with a run-batted-in-single.

Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock produced two-run doubles as the Dodgers blew open a close game in the sixth inning.

It was a statement in San Francisco for the Dodgers, who notched 106 regular-season games but still had to play a wild card game to earn the right to face the Giants -- who won the National League West division with 107 regular-season wins.

"It was a lot," Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts said of having to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild card game then immediately face their NL West rivals.

"Emotions ran high through the wild card game, that was a crazy game in itself. Usually you need a little time to reset -- we only had a day.

"But each game, you've got to take it one game at a time," Betts added. "And we were able to pull one out today."

Urias struck out five and walked one over five innings, giving up one run on three hits. He also singled in a run in the second inning to give the Dodgers the lead before Betts drove in another run.

San Francisco responded in the bottom half of the inning, when Urias issued a leadoff walk to Wilmer Flores who would score on a sacrifice fly from Donovan Solano.

It remained 2-1 heading into the sixth inning, when Trea Turner doubled to lead off the inning for the Dodgers, and after Justin Turner struck out, Will Smith walked to chase Giants starting pitcher Kevin Gausman after 5 1/3 innings.

The bases were loaded when Bellinger, who struck out in his first two at bats, stepped to the plate and belted a pitch from reliever Dominic Leone into the left center field gap for a two-run double.

Pollock followed with another two-run double and the Dodgers were off -- out-scoring San Francisco 7-1 over the final four innings.

"It's great to win one on the road," Betts said.

- 'Keep them off balance' -

The Atlanta Braves did the same in Milwaukee, where Max Fried pitched six strong innings and Austin Riley homered in a 3-0 victory over the Brewers that leveled their NL division series at one game apiece.

The Brewers brought the tying run to the plate in each of the last three innings, but the Braves bullpen held on to send the best-of-five National League division series back to Atlanta tied at one game apiece.

Fried gave up three hits and struck out nine without surrendering a walk.

Willy Adames hit a two-out double off Fried in the sixth, but Fried struck out Eduardo Escobar to end the danger.

"It's a really good team over there, so you just want to try to stay on top and keep them off balance," Fried said.

Atlanta took a 2-0 lead in the third inning off The Braves pitcher Brandon Woodruff.

Jorge Soler hit a one-out double and scored on Freddie Freeman's single to right.

Ozzie Albies drove in Freeman with a double and the Braves made it 3-0 in the sixth when Riley belted a solo homer.

Agence France-Presse

Everyday Eovaldi turns in Series performance for the ages

LOS ANGELES — Nathan Eovaldi seemed to have a rubber arm. Maybe that second Tommy John surgery turned him into a bionic pitcher.

Until the 97th pitch of an outing that was among the most unusual in World Series history, until the 561st pitch of an epic endurance test that sprawled across the night for 18 innings, he finally got beat.

Eovaldi allowed Max Muncy’s opposite-field homer to left-center on a cutter that hung over the high, outside corner, ending the longest World Series game ever after 7 hours, 20 minutes. The Dodgers’ 3-2 win over Boston on Friday cut Los Angeles’ World Series deficit to 2-1.

“After the game was over I started crying,” Red Sox starter Rick Porcello said. “He literally gave everything he had on every single pitch.”

Before this week, Eovaldi had never pitched on consecutive days in his major league career.

Now the 28-year-old right-hander was sent to the mound by manager Alex Cora for the third time in four days. In the World Series. Throwing 98 mph in his seventh inning of relief.

Fastballs and cutters. Occasional sliders and splits. Inning after inning.

“I felt good the whole time. I told AC, ‘I’m good. I want to stay in,’” Eovaldi said in front of the first base dugout after it was over.

He gave a performance for the ages — especially in an era when managers have turned starters and relievers alike into one-batter wonders. It was a throwback to the days when Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale took the Dodger Stadium mound and expected to finish what they started.

After pitching the eighth inning to preserve leads in the first two games of the Series, Eovaldi was the scheduled Game 4 starter. Instead he became Boston’s record-tying ninth pitcher when he entered to start the 12th inning.

He was on the verge of getting the win when second baseman Ian Kinsler made a throwing error that allowed the Dodgers to retie the game in the 13th.

“I feel terrible for Nate,” Kinsler said. “I feel like I let the team down right there.”

Eovaldi was understanding.

“He apologized to me, and I told him he has nothing to apologize for,” Eovaldi said.

Muncy walked leading off the 13th and came home on Kinsler’s error, then nearly won the game in the 15th with a drive over the wall down the right-field line that hooked just foul.

Eovaldi fell behind 3-0 to Muncy leading off the 18th, and then got a called strike followed by a pair of fouls. Muncy drove the next pitch 382 feet onto the stairway in front of the pavilion seats.

“That was the last inning right there,” Cora said . “When he came in, I asked him, ‘How do you feel?’ He’s like, ‘Let me finish it.’ And I’m like, ‘OK.’ I don’t know if I told him, ‘You’ve got one more.’”

Eovaldi threw four more pitches than any member of Boston’s staff had in an outing this postseason. Cora planned to have Drew Pomeranz hit for Eovaldi in the 19th and take the mound in the bottom half.

“I felt privileged to be able to watch what Nathan Eovaldi did,” Porcello said. “That was the most incredible pitching performance I’ve even seen.”

Eovaldi threw more than one-third of Boston’s 283 pitches, allowing two runs — one earned — and three hits in six innings. Not bad, especially given his past.

He had his first elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2007 when he was a junior at Alvin High School in Texas. He had his second in August 2016 after getting hurt while pitching for the New York Yankees.

New York cut him loose, and Tampa Bay gave him a home for his rehab.

“I’m trusting the doctors and the surgeons that they’re going to do their job. And then trusting the trainers,” Eovaldi said. “I never thought that I wouldn’t be here.”

He was on the verge of returning for the start of this season when the Rays announced near the end of spring training that he had loose bodies in his elbow and needed surgery. That delayed his return to May 30.

After going 3-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 starts, he was traded to Boston on July 25 for prospect Jalen Beeks. Eovaldi dropped his ERA to 3.33 in 10 starts and one relief appearance for the Red Sox, his average fastball velocity up to 97-98 mph.

He beat the Yankees in his postseason debut, Game 3 of the Division Series, and then defeated Houston in the third game of the AL Championship Series.

Will everyday Eovaldi volunteer to pitch Saturday?

“Absolutely,” Eovaldi said.

He only seemed to be half-kidding.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Key dates for the upcoming baseball season

Baseball begins again with every team opening on the same day for the first time since 1968. Here are a handful of dates to mark on the calendar:

THURSDAY, MARCH 29

San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers: The earliest domestic start in baseball history features one of the game’s best rivalries. Clayton Kershaw makes his record eighth opening-day start for the NL champion Dodgers after going 18-4 with a 2.31 ERA in 27 starts last year. He takes on a much more challenging lineup after the Giants acquired Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen in a pair of offseason trades. It’s the first opener between the clubs since 2013.

MONDAY, APRIL 2

Baltimore Orioles at Houston Astros: Reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve and the Astros celebrate the franchise’s first championship before their home opener against Adam Jones and the Orioles. The Astros outlasted the Dodgers in a seven-game World Series last fall, and they might be even better this year after acquiring right-hander Gerrit Cole in a January trade with Pittsburgh. The Orioles are hoping to bounce back after finishing last in the rugged AL East last season.

TUESDAY, MAY 8

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees: It’s on — again. Mookie Betts and the Red Sox make their first trip of the season to New York to take on Aaron Judge and the Yankees. Boston won the AL East in 2017, and then bolstered its lineup by signing slugger J.D. Martinez to a $110 million, five-year contract in February. New York, which lost to Houston in last year’s AL Championship Series, traded for Giancarlo Stanton in December, creating the type of star-studded batting order usually only found in video games. One of baseball’s biggest rivalries is must-see TV again in 2018.

THURSDAY, MAY 17

Tampa Bay Rays at Los Angeles Angels: Albert Pujols begins the season just 32 hits shy of 3,000, and he could be right around the magic number when Los Angeles welcomes Tampa Bay to town for the opener of a four-game series. The 38-year-old Pujols isn’t as dangerous as he was at the start of his career, but he hit 23 homers and drove in 101 runs for the Angels last year. He dropped about 15 pounds over the winter and could see more time at first base after Los Angeles signed pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani over the winter.

FRIDAY, JUNE 15

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals: The NL Central used to belong to the Cardinals, but it has been the Cubs’ show lately. Chicago won the division in each of the past two seasons and remains the favorite after signing right-hander Yu Darvish to a $126 million, six-year contract in February. St. Louis traded for outfielder Marcell Ozuna in December and is hoping to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. A good place to start might be the season series against Chicago after the Cardinals lost 14 of 19 games against the Cubs last year.

TUESDAY, JULY 17

All-Star Game: The Midsummer Classic returns to Washington for the first time since Willie McCovey homered twice in the National League’s 9-3 victory at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in 1969. That was part of a long run of dominance for the NL in one of baseball’s showcase events, but times have changed. The American League won 2-1 in 10 innings in Miami last year for its fifth consecutive victory.

TUESDAY, JULY 31

Trade deadline: The last chance for teams to make deals without having to first pass players through waivers.

THURSDAY, AUG. 30

Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians: The AL Central rivals conclude their season series with eight games in August after Cleveland ran away from Minnesota on its way to the division title a year ago. The Twins are much improved after making a surprise playoff appearance in 2017, signing right-hander Lance Lynn and slugger Logan Morrison off the slow free-agent market and trading for righty Jake Odorizzi. The Indians return mostly intact after winning 102 games last season and dropping a heartbreaking first-round playoff series against the Yankees.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 23

New York Mets at Washington Nationals: When New York and Washington are healthy, they offer all sorts of tantalizing pitching matchups when they play each other. But the Mets have been hampered by injuries for the past couple years while the Nationals have captured the NL East in each of the previous two seasons. Each team is looking for a breakthrough under a new manager, with Mickey Callaway hoping to get the Mets back into the playoffs and Dave Martinez trying to guide the Nationals to postseason success.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 30

Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki begins his 18th season in the majors in the same place where he started after he came to the United States from Japan, returning to Seattle for a $750,000, one-year contract. If he decides this is it — Suzuki turns 45 in October, but doesn’t seem to be entertaining the idea of retiring anytime soon — he could play his final game at Safeco Field in the season finale.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Dodgers’ title drought reaches 30 years with Series loss

LOS ANGELES — Even Clayton Kershaw couldn’t save the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner pitched four scoreless innings of relief when starter Yu Darvish fell into a five-run hole after 1 2/3 innings Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).But the Dodgers’ offense never put it together. Los Angeles mustered just six hits and stranded 10 runners in a 5-1 loss to Houston that extended its championship drought to 30 years.

It was a clunker of an ending for baseball’s best team during the regular season.

“Like I told the guys, when you put everything, every ounce of your being into something and you come up short, it hurts,” manager Dave Roberts said, “and it’s supposed to hurt.”

The Dodgers won 104 games, boasted an NL-leading six All-Stars and won the NL West for the fifth consecutive year. They won 43 of 50 games over a two-month stretch from June to early August, the best 50-game run in the majors since the 1912 New York Giants.

Their lead reached a whopping 21 games on Aug. 23, and they survived an 11-game September skid to coast into October.

Boasting the majors’ highest payroll of $240 million, Los Angeles rolled past Arizona in the NL Division Series and then knocked off the defending champion Cubs in five games in the NL Championship Series to reach their first World Series since 1988.

The Dodgers and Astros dueled to a 3-all tie through six thrilling games, with Los Angeles rallying to force the first World Series Game 7 in Dodger Stadium history.

But, a few miles from Hollywood, the script got flipped.

And it was the Astros celebrating the end of their 55-year title drought on the Dodgers’ field.

“It’s too hard to think about what the Astros are getting to do right now,” a dejected Kershaw said.

Roberts, so quick with his hook all season, left Darvish in to face Series MVP George Springer in the second. Springer blasted a two-run homer — his record-tying fifth of the Series — and Houston extended its lead to 5-0.

Brandon Morrow got the last out of the inning before Kershaw came on in the third. The left-handed ace allowed two hits, struck out four and walked two, leaving fans to question why Roberts didn’t start Kershaw on short rest in the first place. Or at least bring in Kershaw to face Springer in the second.

“There’s always going to be second-guessing,” Roberts said. “We felt good with Yu starting the game.”

Darvish only managed five outs in losing Game 3 at Houston. He’s the second pitcher in World Series history with less than two innings pitched in two starts.

“I let my teammates down,” he said through a translator.

Darvish took the loss, giving up five runs — four earned — and three hits. He didn’t record a strikeout and walked one.

“I know he wanted the baseball. I know he was prepared. I just can’t explain the results,” Roberts said. “I understand it’s Game 7, but I just felt his stuff was good.”

Acquired at the July trade deadline, Darvish was best known in the Series for being the target of a racist gesture by Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel during Game 3. On Wednesday, Gurriel tipped his helmet to Darvish before stepping in for his first at-bat of the game.

“I just tried not to hit him,” Darvish said. “What happened didn’t affect me at all.”

Kenley Jansen appeared earlier than usual, too. The closer, who tied for the NL lead with 41 saves, trotted out in the seventh to face the top of the Astros’ order. He induced a flyout from Springer, struck out Alex Bregman and walked Jose Altuve, who stole second before Carlos Correa popped out to shortstop.

Alex Wood, another starter working in relief, retired six consecutive batters over the eighth and ninth innings.

Roberts made 32 pitching changes in the Series, breaking a record set by St. Louis’ Tony La Russa in 2011.

With Kershaw pumping his fists and yelling, “Let’s go!” from the dugout, the Dodgers got two runners on with no outs to open the sixth.

Andre Ethier, the longest-tenured Dodger, pushed across one run with a pinch-hit single. That allowed the crowd of 54,124, stunned into silence early, a rare moment to cheer.

But the Dodgers stranded two more runners and trailed 5-1.

Their big bats were silenced, too. Chris Taylor, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson were a combined 4 for 22. Bellinger whiffed three times, and his 17 strikeouts were a Series record. He also broke Yankees star Aaron Judge’s freshly set mark with 29 strikeouts this postseason.

“This is just a great group of guys,” Kershaw said. “Without getting too emotional, just trying to embrace each other. We all feel the same hurt.”

The Dodgers didn’t manage a baserunner over the last three innings, keeping their title drought intact.

“I hope we can get to this point again,” Kershaw said, “but it definitely wasn’t easy to get here.”

source: sports.inquirer.net