World Series 5: Red Sox 5, Dodgers 1

Red Sox - 200 001 110 - 5  8  0
Dodgers - 100 000 000 - 1  3  0

David Price gave a superb performance tonight: 7-3-1-2-5, 89. The Red Sox could not have asked for better. At one point, Price retired 14 Dodgers in a row and 20 of 22. Los Angeles never had a chance in Game 5.

Price is the first pitcher to work into the eighth inning of a World Series game on only one day of rest since Bob Turley of the Yankees did it in 1957. The bullpen faced six batters. None of them put the ball into play. Joe Kelly struck out three straight batters to end the eighth. Chris Sale struck out the side in the ninth.

Steve Pearce crushed a pair of home runs, including a two-run shot in the first - on Clayton Kershaw's sixth pitch of the night - to send the Red Sox on their way. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez also went deep. Pearce grew up as a Red Sox fan and he was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series. Pearce had four hits, all for extra bases: three home runs and a double. He scored five runs and knocked in eight. In 16 plate appearances, he did not strike out at all.

The Red Sox finished the regular season and postseason with a record of 119-57. They have won 16 of 19 World Series games since 2004. The 2018 Red Sox went 7-1 on the road in the postseason, the most road wins of any World Series team except the 1996 MFY (8-0). The Dodgers became the first team to lose the deciding game of the World Series on its home field in consecutive seasons since the New York Giants lost the 1936 and 1937 series at the Polo Grounds.

Principal Owner John Henry: "This is the greatest Red Sox team ever."

The Red Sox wasted no time in jumping out to a lead. Betts flied to center, but Andrew Benintendi grounded an 0-2 pitch into center field. Pearce nailed the first pitch he saw over the wall in left-center and Boston - who finished the postseason with a 10-0 record when scoring first - led 2-0.

Price's first pitch of the game - a fastball away at 92 - was hit for a home run to right-center by David Freese. He then walked Justin Turner, throwing four balls after a foul. This was not a good start. But ... Price got Enrique Hernandez to hit into a double play and he fanned Manny Machado, who had been ahead in the count 3-0. On the fourth pitch, Machado took a quick step to first (now he's in a hurry to get to the base?), but the pitch was a called strike. He took the 3-1 and started jogging down the line, but it was another called strike. Machado fouled off three more pitches before missing a high fastball.

And Price promptly settled into a groove, allowing only three baserunners over the next six innings. Yasiel Puig singled with one out in the second. David Freese got a triple in the third when Martinez lost his routine fly to right in the dusky sky. It fell behind him and the Dodgers had the tying run at third with one out. Price shrugged his shoulders, figuring he could get out of this little jam with only three pitches. #1: Turner grounded out to shortstop. #2: Hernandez took a strike. #3: Hernandez fouled out to right.

Price set the Dodgers down in order in the fourth. 9 pitches: K, F8, L4.

Price set the Dodgers down in order in the fifth. 11 pitches: K, 4-3, 1U.

Price set the Dodgers down in order in the sixth. 9 pitches: 4-3, F7, 4-3.

Price set the Dodgers down in order in the seventh. 7 pitches: L6, F7, 1-3.

From the third through the seventh - five innings - Price needed only 45 pitches. He was always deliberate and often deep in concentration, but he also seemed to be working extremely free and easy. On the mound to begin the last of the eighth, he was at 83 and the Red Sox now led 5-1, thanks to three solo homers: Betts to left in the sixth, JDM to dead center in the seventh, Pearce to left-center in the eighth.

I was really hoping for a complete game, but when Price walked Chris Taylor to start the bottom of the eighth, Alex Cora went to the bullpen. Kelly came in and struck out three pinch-hitters: Matt Kemp went down swinging on 2-2, Joc Pederson was caught looking at a full-count pitch, and Cody Bellinger whiffed on 1-2.

Sale faced the Dodgers' 2-3-4 hitters in the bottom of the ninth. As his teammates stood in the field, hearts racing, or paced anxiously in the dugout, Sale struck out Turner (cffs (he was thrown out 2-3)), Hernandez (cbbbffs), and Machado (sfbs (4-for-22, .182)). It was a small, but much appreciated, gift from the baseball gods that Machado was the final out of this glorious season.

Tweets:

David Price / Clayton Kershaw

Betts, CF
Benintendi, LF
Pearce, 1B
Martinez, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Holt, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vázquez, C
Price, P

The Red Sox can win their fourth title in the last 15 seasons - and ninth overall - with a victory tonight. Today is the anniversary of Boston's "inevitable" 2007 World Series championship.

David Price pitched out of the bullpen in Game 3, throwing 13 pitches and getting two outs. Clayton Kershaw allowed five runs over four innings in Game 1.

The Dodgers have blown a 4-0 lead in a World Series game for the second year in a row. Last year, the Dodgers and Astros had each won two games and Los Angeles led 4-0 in the fourth inning of Game 5. But they blew that lead - as well as leads of 7-4 and 8-7 - before losing 13-12 in 10 innings. The Dodgers returned home and won Game 6, but lost Game 7.

Last night, the Dodgers were eight outs away from tying the series 2-2. Manager Dave Roberts: "It is a tough loss. Any loss in a World Series is difficult, obviously, but now we're in a situation where we're do-or-die. ... [T]he 108 wins speaks for itself in the regular season. They're very balanced. They pitch well. They put together good at-bats. They play defense. But ... we're not out yet."

Looking at the Red Sox's batting and pitching stats, no clear player emerges as the probable MVP. Andrew Benintendi leads with five hits and five runs, but most of that came in Game 1. Mookie Betts has four hits and four runs, but he's hitting only .211. Steve Pearce had four of his team-leading five RBI last night; he also has four walks and has not struck out in 12 plate appearances. Nathan Eovaldi has been amazing, but outside of Game 3 (which he lost), he has pitched only two innings. Joe Kelly has appeared in every game and thrown five scoreless innings; he's also tied for the team lead with seven strikeouts. But can a set-up guy be an MVP?

I think a strong outing from Price tonight - 6 innings, 0-2 runs - could win him the award.

WS Contest: The Red Sox have scored 79 runs (27 in ALDS, 29 in ALCS, 23 in WS). The most pitches thrown by a Boston pitcher in a game is 97, which has been done twice by Nathan Eovaldi, both as a starter (ALDS 3) and as a reliever (WS 3)!

                RS     PIT
Jeffrey M       87     108
Steve H         85     116
Laura K         78     107

World Series 4: Red Sox 9, Dodgers 6

Red Sox - 000 000 315 - 9  8  1
Dodgers - 000 004 002 - 6  9  0

The Red Sox were baffled by Rich Hill (6.1-1-1-3-7, 91), but the Dodgers lefty was not going to pitch a complete game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts probably wishes he had left Hill out there until he either finished the contest or collapsed from exhaustion, because once Hill was gone, with one out in the seventh and a man on first, the Dodgers' 4-0 lead quickly evaporated.

Only three batters after Roberts entrusted the game to his bullpen, Mitch Moreland crushed a pinch-hit, first-pitch, three-run homer off Ryan Madson. It was measured at a suspiciously short 437 feet. Madson has now allowed all seven of his inherited runners to score in this series, the number of them setting a World Series record he likely won't be bragging about to anyone. Madson has been charged with only one run, however.

Steve Pearce knotted the game in the eighth with a solo blast off Kenley "I-Gave-Up-A-Game-Tying-Dong-To-Boston-Two-Games-In-A-Row-And-All-I'm-Going-To-Get-Is-This-World-Series-Losers-Share" Jansen. Rafael Devers broke the tie with a pinch-hit single in the ninth and Pearce put the victory on ice with a three-run double.

Before tonight, the Dodgers were 54-0 this season when they held a four-run lead in a game at any point. ... This game was played in under four hours: 3:57! Blink and you'd miss it!

The Red Sox can win their fourth World Series championship in the last 15 seasons - and ninth overall - with a victory tomorrow night. David Price - not Chris Sale, as expected - will start Game 5.

As noted, the Red Sox were having no luck against Hill and his mega-nasty curveball. He walked a batter with two outs in each of the first two innings and he hit Eduardo Rodriguez in the right arm with a 2-2 pitch to begin the third. (A pitcher had not been drilled in a World Series game in fifty years. Nelson Briles of the Cardinals was hit by Detroit's Mickey Lolich in Game 5 of the 1968 World Series.) Christian Vazquez got Boston's first hit, a single to left with one out in the fifth inning. It came two pitches after he nearly hit a home run down the left field line.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez was having similar success with the Dodgers. He also issued a walk with two outs in the first and gave up a two-out single in the second and a leadoff single in the fourth. But nothing came of either baserunner. In making this start, Rodriguez was the first pitcher to relieve in a World Series game and start the next day's game since Firpo Marberry did for the 1924 Senators. Marberry got one out in Game 2 and started Game 3, lasting only three innings. The list of pitchers to do that is heavily weighed towards the Deadball Era:

1906 Game 6: Doc White (White Sox), relieved in Game 5, started Game 6
1908 Game 2: Orval Overall (Cubs), relieved in Game 1, started Game 2
1910 Game 5: Mordecai Brown (Cubs), relieved in Game 4, started Game 5
1911 Game 6: Red Ames (Giants), relieved in Game 5, started Game 6
1924 Game 3: Firpo Marberry (Senators), relieved in Game 2, started Game 3
2018 Game 4: Eduardo Rodriguez (Red Sox), relieved in Game 3, started Game 4

As the Dodgers batted in the bottom of the sixth, neither team had advanced a runner past first base. Rodriguez hit David Freese with his first pitch of the inning. He struck out Max Muncy on three pitches, but Justin Turner doubled down the left field line, with pinch-runner Enrique Hernandez going to third. The Red Sox decided to give Manny Machado (who had whiffed on an 88 mph changeup down the heart of the plate in his previous at-bat) an intentional walk, loading the bases for Cody Bellinger.

Bellinger hit the ball on a hop to Pearce at first. Pearce threw home, forcing Hernandez and Vazquez's throw back to first was too close to the runner and Pearce could not get on the other side of the runner to catch it. The ball also eluded Brock Holt, who was backing up the play along the right-field line. Turner scored and Los Angeles had men at second and third with two outs. Yasiel Puig then battered a 2-1 pitch to deep left field for a three-run homer. Puig raised both hands in the air in celebration and Rodriguez - disgusted and frustrated and angry - took off his glove and slammed it into the dirt.

It felt like Alex Cora had left a possibly gassed Rodriguez in the game too long. But looking at my scorecard, I don't see any evidence for that. He hit his first batter, but got a quick strikeout. (Maybe here is where you'd pull him?) Turner doubled. Machado was intentionally walked and Rodriguez got what probably should have been an inning-ending double play. And then Puig went boom.

In the Red Sox dugout, things were not good. Alex Cora: "We felt that we had no energy, actually none whatsoever. It had to do with Rich Hill, the way he was throwing the ball." ... Then Chris Sale started yelling. "He's got two fucking pitches!", Sale hollered, holding two fingers up in case anyone did not understand how disgusted he was at his teammates' inability to hit Hill.

Rafael Devers admitted that Sale "scared me a little bit, because I had never seen him yell like that, and the words that he was saying, I had never heard that come from him before. But ... that moment helped us get motivated for the rest of the game."

Brock Holt was down in the tunnel and heard someone yelling. He asked Mookie: "'Who's yelling up there?' He said, 'Sale.' Oh, my God. He was mad at us. ... We didn't want to see him mad anymore. So we decided to start swinging the bats a little bit."

Hill walked Xander Bogaerts to start the seventh and after he struck out Eduardo Nunez for the third time, Roberts went to Scott Alexander. He faced only one batter, throwing four balls to Brock Holt. Then it was Madson's turn. Jackie Bradley batted for Vazquez and popped to second baseman Hernandez, who made a tough catch in short right field with his back to the infield. Moreland batted for Matt Barnes and wasted no time, sending the ball so deep into the outfield seats that Puig did not even move.

Suddenly, there was confidence. The Red Sox may have been trailing by a run, 4-3, but they had the Dodgers right where they wanted them. (The Dodgers may have had a sinking feeling that they were sunk.) Roberts's decision to lift Hill was undoubtedly criticized on Twitter, especially considering the final score, but who knew that The World's Most Famous Troll would put his two cents in:

Joe Kelly struck out Joc Pederson to begin the bottom of the seventh. Max Muncy singled with two outs, but Turner flied harmlessly to center.

Jansen trotted in for the eighth and I have to think the Boston hitters were smiling. Andrew Benintendi grounded to first, but Pearce homered to left-center on the first pitch he saw, a cutter that was a little more inside than right down the middle. 4-4.

I was surprised to see Kelly on the mound for the eighth, even though Craig Kimbrel had been warming up. Kelly pitched in 73 games this year, but in only six of them did he pitch more than one inning. He pitched two innings twice, both in April. Machado singled to right-center but Kelly struck out Bellinger. Puig grounded to shortstop. He ran hard for about 70 feet, then decided that was enough and slowed up. He still beat the relay from second, but it was extremely close. Kelly threw a strike to Chris Taylor, but plate umpire Chad Fairchild called it a ball. Taylor singled to left on a 2-0 pitch and Puig went to third. Yasmani Grandal pinch-hit and after taking strike two on a pitch low in the zone, he swung and missed a fastball up and away at 98. Whew.

After eight innings, the game was tied 4-4 and the prospect of extra innings was very real. Dylan Floro started the ninth for Los Angeles and Brock Holt slapped a one-out double down the left field line. Devers batted for Sandy Leon. He took two balls before grounding a single through the infield and into right-center. Holt scored, giving the Red Sox their first lead of the game.

Blake Swihart grounded to second. The Dodgers walked Mookie Betts (4-for-19 in the WS, .211) intentionally and Alex Wood faced Benintendi. Wood got ahead 0-2 but Benintendi hit a slow grounder towards third. Turner ran in on the grass and make a quick throw, but it was still too late. the bases were loaded for Pearce and Kenta Maeda came in.

Pearce swung and missed the first pitch and lined the second one to the wall in right-center. With two outs, everyone was running on contact and they scored easily. After J.D. Martinez (who had struck out three times in four trips) was given a free pass, Bogaerts worked a full count and drove Maeda's seventh pitch out of the reach of Machado's left into left center, driving in Pearce with the inning's fifth run.

Kimbrel began the ninth by walking Brian Dozier on four pitches - though the first one was a strike and the second and third balls could easily have been called strikes. Fairchild's zone had been pretty solid through the first half of the game, but it got worse in the late innings. He missed four obvious strikes in the bottom of the ninth.

Hernandez homered to left-center, cutting the Red Sox's lead to 9-6 and getting Cora to tell the bullpen to have David Price start throwing. Kimbrel threw a strike to Muncy, but Fairchild called it a ball. Muncy grounded to shortstop for the first out. Turner singled to left. Machado grounded to Devers's right side. Devers went down to a knee, stood up, set himself and fired to first, nipping the runner by a step. It was a fantastic play, especially considering I was hoping that he would just hold the ball rather than possibly throwing it away. But his throw was on the mark for the second out.

Fairchild did his best to prolong the game, to give the Dodgers every chance to comeback, without making his efforts too obvious. He refused to call strikes on Kimbrel's first and third pitches to Bellinger. Because Bellinger fouled off the second pitch, that should have been a game-ending strikeout. But the Human Element forced Kimbrel to throw four more pitches. Bellinger flied to left, Benintendi squeezed the ball in his glove, and the Red Sox were one win away from the mountain top.

Eduardo Rodriguez / Rich Hill

Betts, CF
Benintendi, LF
Pearce, 1B
Martinez, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Núñez, 3B
Holt, 2B
Vázquez, C
Rodriguez, P

Eduardo Rodriguez has pitched in two of the three World Series games, but he has thrown only nine pitches (three in Game 1 and six last night in Game 3). Rich Hill has pitched only one inning since he went five innings in Game 4 of the NLCS on October 16. That relief stint was in Game 6 on October 19.

Manager Alex Cora said that Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello all volunteered to start tonight's game.

Dan "CHB" Shaughnessy is nothing more than a clickbaiting troll. His Globe column this morning is headlined: "What Once Seemed Certain For The Red Sox Is Now In Doubt". And for reasons that make sense only to him, he mentioned Bill Buckner twice. He writes: "The series looked like it was over, but now it looks like it could go seven with the Dodgers lined up to used wonderboy Walker (No Days Off) Buehler in Game 7."

2-0 = "It's over. 2-1 = "Sure thing now in doubt". ... Why would it look like the series could go 7 when the Red Sox easily could win in 5? That's just wishful CHB thinking. (Maybe he can get another 'curse' brewing.*) Shaughnessy, who referred to this team as dull, emotionless automations this summer, sees the Red Sox win two of three games and tries to spin that as having their backs against the wall. (*: It's entirely possible. Fox's Joe Buck, in a short comment about the 2004 team, mentioned "breaking the curse" twice, but made no mention of Boston winning its first title in 86 years. Buck chose fiction over fact (and then repeated the ghosts-and-goblins tale).) 

The only reason to even look at a Shaughnessy column is to ridicule him. If you get any amount of your baseball news from him, please, stay far away from this blog.

World Series 3: Dodgers 3, Red Sox 2 (18)

Red Sox - 000 000 010 000 100 000 - 2  7  1
Dodgers - 001 000 000 000 100 001 - 3 11  1

The clock on my desk read 3:30 AM when Max Muncy hit an opposite field home run to left-center in the bottom of the eighteenth inning, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Red Sox.

This was the longest World Series game of all-time, both by time (7:20) and by innings, smashing the previous record of 14, first set in 1916 when the Red Sox bested the Dodgers. According to a tweet from Stats by STATS, this game lasted 15 minutes longer than the entire 1939 World Series, when the Yankees swept the Reds in four games in a combined 7:05 [Times: 1:33, 1:27, 2:01, 2:04]

The blast - on the 561st pitch of the game - came off Ironman Nathan Eovaldi (6-3-2-1-5, 97), who entered the game in the twelfth as the Red Sox's ninth pitcher of the night (though it was well into morning by then). Eovaldi also pitched one inning in each of the first two games. The only two Boston players who did not see action in this game were Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz, though Pomeranz was warming up when the game ended and probably would have pitched the nineteenth (and beyond?).

The Red Sox tied the game at 1-1 when Jackie Bradley homered off Kenley Jansen with two outs in the eighth. All 10 of JBJ's postseason RBI have come with two outs. Ian Kinsler was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a fly to center in the tenth.

Both teams scored in the thirteenth, aided by an opposing team error. The Red Sox left the bases loaded in their half. Eduardo Nunez nearly died in the inning. First, he was topped over by the Dodgers catcher on a loose ball and may have hurt his ankle. Then he slid headfirst into first base on an infield single. In the bottom half of the inning, he fell into the stands after running hard and catching a foul ball. Later, he caught a popup by the mound for the first out of the sixteenth and tumbled into the dirt.

Manager Alex Cora also moved his outfielders around in the eighth through the twelfth innings, depending on the batter, with Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley changing positions seven times.

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler (7-2-0-0-7, 108) is only the third pitcher in World Series history to throw seven or more scoreless innings while allowing two hits or fewer. The other two are Don Larsen (Game 5, 1956) and Fat Billy from Ohio (Game 2, 2000). Buehler retired the Red Sox in order in the first inning on 26 pitches, the most in any 1-2-3 inning in postseason history. He threw a career-high 108 pitches.

Three World Series games had gone 14 innings: 1916 Game 2 (Red Sox 2, Dodgers 1), 2005 Game 3 (White Sox 7, Astros 5), and 2015 Game 1 (Royals 5, Mets 4). ... The 1916 game was played in only 2:32!

(4:15 AM: More later ...)

(10:23 AM: Or maybe not.)

(2:35 PM: Nope.)

5:30 PM: Thousands of words could be written about last night's game. (And if they are, I want to read them.) I had hoped to comment on the horrendous pitch-calling of plate umpire Ted Barrett and the numerous calls that went against the Red Sox, especially in the later extra innings. I know Barrett blew calls that harmed the Dodgers, too, but for several innings, his strike zone suddenly tightened up when a Boston pitcher was on the mound. It's that sort of alternating strike zone that makes a serious fan s0mewhat paranoid about the honesty of the game.

But when a game ends at 3:30 and you finally go to bed around 4:15 and then get up around 8:15 and eventually head off to work a 12-hour day, there simply is no time. And it seems pointless to do that kind of examination several days after the game has been played.

Rick Porcello / Walter Buehler

Betts, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Martinez, LF
Holt, 2B
Devers, 3B
Bradley, CF
Vázquez, C
Porcello, P

The Red Sox's bats are going to come out hard and kick ass. They are going to send the opposing pitcher to the showers so fast, everyone will think Friday is Walter Buehler's Day Off!

(A pop culture reference from more than 30 years ago! It's just what the big-time sportswriters do! Woo!)

Since 2004, the Red Sox are 14-2 in World Series games.

I am loathe to give Manny Machado credit for anything, but he certainly did his job at second base in the fourth inning of Game 2. The Red Sox said that Machado was stealing and relaying signs from second base to hitters. His work led to the Dodgers taking a 2-1 lead in the game.

Throughout Enrique Hernandez's nine-pitch battle with [David] Price, Machado appeared to be relaying signs and/or location to Hernandez through an exaggerated series of motions.

As Price was coming set, Machado, leading off from second, would place his hands on his hips. Then, just before each pitch, Machado would begin a series of motions: touching his helmet with either his right or left hand, sometimes then touching or pulling the script on his jersey afterward and other times grabbing or touching the thigh/groin area of his pants. ...

"Was it a little exaggerated? Yeah, maybe, but I saw the whole thing," [pitching coach Dana] LeVangie said of Machado's gyrations. "I had told [Boston manager] Alex [Cora] I wanted to go [to the mound] before the Puig at-bat because I wanted to talk about some things. But ... I didn't want to f--k with the momentum there because David got a huge strikeout."

Plus, catcher Christian Vazquez had taken a mound visit already in the inning ...

From second, Machado gestured again. Puig swung at the first pitch he saw, a 93 mph fastball, knocking an RBI single into center to give the Dodgers their first—and only—lead of the series. It was Machado who scored. ...

LeVangie went out after Puig's RBI single to talk with Price and Vazquez ...

"We had a conversation," LeVangie said. "I don't want to get into the depths of it, but I brought up exactly what you're talking about. I let it get in my way—because of the strikeout, I didn't go out there [earlier]. I was so pissed that I didn't."

LeVangie was adamant that Machado did absolutely nothing wrong. "If you're not hiding your stuff with a runner on second base and you're giving them a free view, that's on you, the pitcher and the catcher. It's up to the pitcher and catcher to manage that and to us to oversee it ... We see this all the time. Not just him, with everyone."

World Series 2: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2

Dodgers - 000 200 000 - 2  3  0
Red Sox - 010 030 00x - 4  8  0

Before the postseason, the Red Sox's bullpen was believed to be a liability. It has become a strength. David Price undoubtedly cast off a ton of psychic weight in the ALCS and it showed in his dominant performance on a chilly Wednesday night in Boston (6-3-2-3-5, 88). Price retired his last seven batters before a trio of relievers - Joe Kelly, Nathan Eovaldi, and Craig Kimbrel - pitched three perfect innings. Boston rallied in the fifth, with J.D. Martinez snapping a 2-2 tie with a two-run single to right. The World Series moves west to Los Angeles, with the Red Sox holding a 2-0 lead. Rick Porcello will start Game 3 on Friday.

Since dropping the first game of the ALCS, the Red Sox have won six consecutive games. In those six victories, the bullpen has a 1.93 ERA (23.1 innings). In two World Series games, the pen has allowed only three hits and one run over eight innings.

Price began the night strong, throwing only 13 pitches in each of the first two innings and holding the Dodgers hitless until the fourth. By that time, the Red Sox led 1-0. Hyun-Jin Ryu (4.2-6-4-1-5, 68) gave up a booming double to Xander Bogaerts with one out in the second, the ball hitting about 85% of the way up the Wall. Bogaerts came around to score when Ian Kinsler (!!) lined a two-out single to left. Jackie Bradley singled to left-center, but Kinsler was thrown out at third base.

Los Angeles managed only three hits (all singles) and they all came in the fourth inning. David Freese led off with a hit to right. Mookie Betts came in and dove for the ball, but was only able to knock it down when it bounced in front of him. Manny Machado singled to center and Price walked Chris Taylor, loading the bases. Matt Kemp flied to center and Freese tagged and scored. Kike Hernandez struck out, but Yasiel Puig flared a single into center, scoring Machado and giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. (No one knew it, but Puig would be the Dodgers' last baserunner of the game.)

Ryu retired the first two batters in the fifth on only three pitches. Christian Vazquez lined a single to right and Mookie Betts grounded a single up the middle and into center. Andrew Benintendi - who (in Game 1) became the first player in history to have four hits and score three runs in his World Series debut - worked an eight-pitch walk. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts brought in Ryan Madson with the bases loaded. Alex Cora left Steve Pearce in to face the right-handed reliever. Madson was wild and Pearce never took the bat off his shoulder, watching two balls, a called strike, and two more balls. That walk sent Vazquez home with the tying run. Martinez then dropped a single into right. Betts and Benintendi scored and it was 4-2.

Price had set the Dodgers down in order in the fifth, with Benintendi recording the first out with a beautiful running, leaping catch on Brian Dozier's fly to deep left (it's a meme!), and he did the same in the sixth. Joe Kelly struck out two in the seventh, Eovaldi had little trouble in the eighth (despite pitching on zero days rest for the first time in his career), retiring Justin Turner and two pinch-hitters, and Kimbrel needed only nine pitches to summarily dismiss the Dodgers in the ninth.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Red Sox's postseason dominance this month has been its uncanny ability to hit with two outs and runners at second or third. More than half of Boston's runs this postseason have scored with two outs (36 of 68, 53%). What is odd, though, is no one seems to know exactly how well the Red Sox are hitting in those situations.

Anthony Castrovince (MLB.com) wrote that Boston is "hitting .415 (17-for-41) with two outs and runners in scoring position. To put that in perspective, the next-highest team average for a postseason club with at least 30 at-bats in those situations belongs to the 1910 Philadelphia A's (.394)."

Ian Browne (also MLB.com) has the numbers at 17-for-39 (.436) and the Globe's Alex Speier states the Red Sox are "17-for-40 [.425] ... and perhaps even more incredibly, they have 11 walks against just seven strikeouts in those moments".

Hyun-Jin Ryu / David Price

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Pearce, 1B
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Kinsler, 2B
Bradley, CF
Vázquez, C

Tonight's first pitches will be thrown by seven members of the 2004 Red Sox: Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Keith Foulke, and Alan Embree.

Eduardo Nunez swings at a lot of bad pitches that he should avoid. But I'm glad he swung at this one last night, though it's a mystery to me how he got it over the Wall.

Red Sox In World Series Game 1s

1903: Pirates 7, Red Sox 3
1912: Red Sox 4, Giants 3
1915: Phillies 3, Red Sox 1
1916: Red Sox 6, Dodgers 5
1918: Red Sox 1, Cubs 0
1946: Red Sox 3, Cardinals 2
1967: Cardinals 2, Red Sox 1
1975: Red Sox 6, Reds 0
1986: Red Sox 1, Mets 0
2004: Red Sox 11, Cardinals 9
2007: Red Sox 13, Rockies 1
2013: Red Sox 8, Cardinals 1
2018: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4

World Series 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4

Dodgers - 011 010 100 - 4  8  0
Red Sox - 201 020 30x - 8 11  0

This is entirely too easy. I cannot believe how such high-stakes baseball games - for almost all of the postseason - have gone so smoothly. My mindset for so much of this season is utter indifference if the Red Sox are trailing early because I know they will simply score a bunch of runs later on and win. And if they have to comeback twice in the game, then that's what they will do. I am not complaining about this.

Tonight's game was a perfect example. Chris Sale unleashed a devastating slider in the early innings, striking out the first two batters he faced. A few minutes later, Mookie Betts was batting with a 2-2 count. Three pitches later, the Red Sox had a run as Betts singled to center, stole second on the first pitch to Andrew Benintendi, and scored as Benintendi (4-for-5) lined the 1-0 pitch to right. Six pitches after that, J.D. Martinez singled to left-center and it was 2-0.

The Dodgers came back and tied the game - a Matt Kemp homer in the second and three consecutive singles in the third, with Manny Machado knocking the tying run in - but that was no big deal because the Red Sox retook the lead immediately. Benintendi singled with one out and Steve Pearce appeared to ground into a double play. But the Red Sox challenged the call at first and it was overturned. Martinez drove a 2-2 pitch off the center field wall for a run-scoring double. Xander Bogaert was intentionally walked, but Rafael Devers struck out.

Sale (4-5-3-2-7, 91) got two strikeouts in the fourth and had his first clean inning, but he had thrown 86 pitches to that point (21-30-21 14). When he walked Brian Dozier to start the top of the fifth, Alex Cora brought in Matt Barnes. Justin Turner grounded a single to left. Barnes struck out David Freese, but - with Machado batting - threw a wild pitch to put runners at second and third. Machado grounded out to second, which brought in the go-ahead run for Los Angeles.

Like Sale, Kershaw (4-7-5-3-5, 79) had his only clean inning of the night in the fourth, also with two strikeouts. And he departed with no outs in the fifth after Betts worked a nine-pitch walk and Benintendi singled to left. Ryan Madson's first pitch to Pearce was wild and the runners moved up to second and third. Madson threw three more balls to Pearce and the bases were loaded. Martinez, who had already singled and doubled and knocked in two runs, and seemingly had left his ALCS funk behind, struck out on three pitches. Bogaerts grounded to shortstop, but he beat the relay from second to avoid an inning-ending double play. Betts scored on that play and Devers's single into right scored Benintendi. The Red Sox led 5-3.

Devers - who turned 22 years old during the top of the ninth as the clock struck midnight - has knocked in a run in eight consecutive postseason starts, tying an all-time record shared by Lou Gehrig, Alex Rodriguez, and Ryan Howard. Devers's 13 postseason RBIs are the second-most for a player before turning 22 (one fewer than Andruw Jones's 14).

Joe Kelly had a strong sixth inning, throwing 14 pitches, 11 of them strikes. He struck out Kemp and Kike Hernandez and retired Yasiel Puig on a 3-1 grounder. Ryan Brasier began the seventh by getting pinch-hitter Joc Pederson, but another pinch-hitter, Max Muncy, singled to right. Turner also singled and Brasier then walked the Dodgers' third pinch-hitter of the inning, Yasmani Grandal.

Machado lifted Brasier's first pitch to center. Jackie Bradley made the catch, but Muncy scored, cutting Boston's lead to one run. During the inning, both Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez were warming up. EdRo came in and retired Cody Bellinger. It was the fifth time in 10 postseason games that Cora used a starting pitcher in relief.

Benintendi started the home seventh off Julio Urias with a fly down the left field line that eluded new left fielder Pederson and bounced into the stands for a double. Pedro Baez came in and Mitch Moreland (who was hitting for Pearce) went down 'swinging at shit around his eyes'. Martinez was walked intentionally and Baez dealt with Bogaerts. X was similarly attracted to Baez's high fastballs, missing pitches at his letters for strikes two and three. Devers was next - and when the Dodgers changed pitchers, bring in lefty Alex Wood, Cora countered with Eduardo Nunez. Wood threw ball one inside and then Nunez golfed another inside/low pitch that somehow carried into the Monster Seats in left for a three-run homer! Boston had opened up an 8-4 lead.

Eduardo Núñez blasts this game open with a pinch-hit 3-run dinger over the Green Monster!

(via @FOXSports) pic.twitter.com/iHsSWdlaxF

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 24, 2018

Nunez: "Alex talked to me earlier in the day. He said, 'Be prepared for something like that. If they bring in a lefty for Devers, you'll pinch hit for him. Make sure you're ready.' When [Wood] was warming up in the bullpen, I was ready."

NOON TIME.#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/IFWyZwsix1

— MLB (@MLB) October 24, 2018

At that point, it was safe to relax. Eovaldi got three groundouts in the eighth and Craig Kimbrel retired the side in order in the ninth. Kimbrel adjusted his delivery after ALCS 4 and he looked much better in Game 5. He looked better still tonight. Kimbrel poured in a fastball at 98 to Pederson before getting a grounder to second. Muncy took a called strike, then swung and missed twice, and walked dejectedly back to the dugout. When Kimbrel got ahead of Turner 0-2, he had thrown strikes on his first seven pitches. But then he threw three balls, though the pitches were nowhere as wild as the ones we saw last week. Turner fouled off two full-count pitches before fanning on an inside fastball at 97.

The Red Sox bullpen retired 15 of the last 18 Dodgers, including the final eight. After Barnes allowed a single with no outs in the fourth, Los Angeles would put only three more runners on base the rest of the night, all of them with one down in the seventh.

Nunez, Bogaerts, and Barnes praised Cora.

Nunez: "He watches a lot of video. He's very smart. I think that he's the reason we're here. Because every move we make, it's for a reason, and it's good reason every time he makes a move."

Bogaerts: "I want him to make the right move for three more wins. That is all we need."

Barnes: "A.C. made a great call putting Nuney in, but it seems like A.C.'s making the right call all the time. ... We've seen it time and time again. I don't think there's any coincidence to it. He knows the game. He's well prepared. And he's done a phenomenal job."

Benintendi became the third Red Sox player with four hits in a World Series game, joining Wally Moses (1946 Game 4: 4-for-5) and Jacoby Ellsbury (2007 Game 3: 4-for-5). ... He is also only the fourth left-handed hitter ever to get three hits off Kershaw in a game.

Boston's Last Four World Series Game 1s

        1st-Inning Runs        Total Runs
2004          4                    11
2007          3                    13
2013          3                     8
2018          2                     8

Boston led all teams with a 74-15 record when scoring first; they are now 8-0 when scoring first in this postseason.

Since 2004, they are 13-2 in World Series games, 7-1 at Fenway Park and 6-1 on the road.

It makes you wonder how little tension there will be in this series.

Clayton Kershaw / Chris Sale

Dodgers                     Red Sox
Brian Dozier, 2B            Mookie Betts, RF
Justin Turner, 3B           Andrew Benintendi, LF
David Freese, 1B            Steve Pearce, 1B
Manny Machado, SS           J.D. Martinez, DH
Chris Taylor, LF            Xander Bogaerts, SS
Matt Kemp, DH               Rafael Devers, 3B
Enrique Hernández, CF       Ian Kinsler, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF             Sandy Leon, C
Austin Barnes, C            Jackie Bradley, CF

The 114th World Series begins tonight at Fenway Park.

Game 1 will be the 44th World Series game played in Boston, fourth place among cities and only one behind Chicago.

This is the Red Sox's fourth World Series in the last 15 seasons - and they have won the previous three. The Dodgers lost to the Astros in last year's World Series. Before that, their last appearance was in 1988, when they beat the Athletics in five games.

Because the Red Sox won the AL pennant in five games, Sale did not have to pitch Game 6 a few days after being hospitalized for a stomach ailment. He is fully healthy and fully rested.

There are only two active pitchers with 1,000+ innings pitched and career ERAs below 3.00: Clayton Kershaw (2.39) and Chris Sale (2.89).

Boston made one change to its roster from the ALCS: Drew Pomeranz is replacing Brandon Workman.

During the introductions, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will receive the loudest and most positive ovation an opposing manager has ever received in Boston. ... Carl Yastrzemski will throw out the first pitch. (Members of the 2004 Red Sox, including Pedro Martinez, will throw the first pitch(es) before Game 2.)

Last October, numerous pitchers and coaches said the balls used in the World Series were slicker than normal. Heath Hembree said yesterday that this year's baseballs are slightly smaller and "definitely harder".

We play 162 games, spring training ... we're dealing with these balls every day so we know them really well. As soon as they try and switch something up you're able to tell. ... [W]hen we first got the balls we were like, "Wow!" ... Nobody is trying to even hide anything.

G1:  Tuesday, October 23   -  Dodgers at Red Sox, 8:09 PM - Clayton Kershaw / Chris Sale
G2:  Wednesday, October 24 -  Dodgers at Red Sox, 8:09 PM - Hyun-Jin Ryu / David Price
G3:  Friday, October 26    -  Red Sox at Dodgers, 8:09 PM - Walker Buehler / *
G4:  Saturday, October 27  -  Red Sox at Dodgers, 8:09 PM
G5:  Sunday, October 28    -  Red Sox at Dodgers, 8:15 PM
G6:  Tuesday, October 30   -  Dodgers at Red Sox, 8:09 PM
G7:  Wednesday, October 31 -  Dodgers at Red Sox, 8:09 PM

Anthony Castrovince (MLB.com) compared the two teams, position by position. He gave the Dodgers the edge at seven "positions" (catcher, first base, third base, shortstop, center field, starting pitching, and relief pitching) and judged the Red Sox better at four "positions" (second base, left field, right field, and DH/bench). Based on that, Castrovince predicts (incorrectly): Dodgers in seven.

When have the Dodgers and Red Sox played each other*?

June 21-23, 2002:   Red Sox go 0-3 at Dodger Stadium:   2-3, 4-5, 6-9
June 11-13, 2004:   Red Sox go 2-1 at Fenway Park:      2-1, 5-14, 4-1
June 18-20, 2010:   Red Sox go 3-0 at Fenway Park:     10-6, 5-4, 2-0
August 23-25, 2013: Red Sox go 2-1 at Dodger Stadium:   0-2, 4-2, 8-1
August 5-7, 2016:   Red Sox go 1-2 at Dodger Stadium:   9-0, 0-3, 5-8

*: Presented for informational purposes only. Fifteen games over fifteen years means nothing - and none of those teams are playing tonight, anyway.

More stuff:

The Red Sox went 13-13 against the Yankees and Astros during the regular season, but 7-2 in the postseason. They outscored their opponents 56-35 over those nine games, for an average score of 6.2 to 3.9.

Mookie Betts

led the majors in WAR, according to Baseball Reference (10.9). Betts tied Ted Williams (1946) for the second greatest Red Sox season of all-time. Carl Yastrzemski has the #1 season (12.5 in 1967).

led the majors with a .346 batting average, the first Red Sox player to lead both leagues in batting average since Wade Boggs (.366 in 1988).

is the first batter in history to win a batting title in either league and hit 30+ home runs and steal 30+ bases.

was only one extra-base hit shy of becoming the first American League batter to lead the majors in both average and extra-base hits since Mickey Mantle in 1956.

is only the third batter in Red Sox history with a .340+ batting average and 80+ extra-base hits. The other two are Ted Williams (4 times) and Jimmie Foxx (1938).

Martinez lead the majors in RBI (130) and total bases (358). He was second in average (.330), home runs (43), and slugging (.629), third in OPS (1.031), tied for third in hits (188), tied for 5th in OBP (.402), extra-base hits (82), and runs scored (111).

Martinez was one of only two batters with at least 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and a .300 average:

Martinez           .330   111 runs   130 RBI
Christian Yelich   .326   118 runs   110 RBI

Red Sox Batters With A .325+ Batting Average, 40+ Home Runs, 125+ RBI

Jimmie Foxx      1936
Jimmie Foxx      1938
Ted Williams     1949
Mo Vaughn        1996
J.D. Martinez    2018

Betts and J.D. Martinez ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the majors in both average (.346, .330) and slugging (.640, .629). It's the first time teammates have finished 1st and 2nd in both of those categories in the same season since 1903 (Pittsburgh's Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke).

The Dodgers underperformed their Pythagorean Record by 10 games. A team scoring 804 runs and allowing 610 runs should finish 102-61. The Dodgers were 92-71. The Dodgers would have finished 16.5 games behind the Red Sox.

Los Angeles was 9 GB on May 8 and 10 games under .500 on May 16. At the end of May, they were 26-30. From June to September, they went 66-41. The Dodgers are one of only six teams in history to be 10 games under .500 and make it to the World Series.

Red Sox Regular Season Facts

The Red Sox finished with MLB's best record (108-54, .667) for the fifth time in franchise history - and the first time in 72 years. (They tied for MLB's best record in 2007 and 2013.)

The Red Sox had the best record in the majors when they hit a home run (85-24, .780), when they hit no home runs (23-30, .434), when they scored the game's first run (74-15, .831), and when they allowed the game's first run (34-39, .466).

The Red Sox had the best record in the majors in one-run games (25-14, .641). The Dodgers were 22-22 (.500).

The Red Sox's worst month of the season was September, when they went 15-11 (.577). That's a 93-win pace.

The Red Sox led all teams in runs scored (876), runs per game (5.4), average (.268), on-base (.339), slugging (.453), OPS (.792), doubles (355), and extra-base hits (594).

The Red Sox scored 5+ runs in an inning 27 times, the most of any team. They scored 5+ runs in a game 92 times, also tops in the majors. They went 80-12 (.870) in those games, including 60-6 (.909) after May 16.

The Red Sox stole 125 bases (for only the second time in the last 99 seasons). They ranked third in the majors in steals and second in stolen base success (80.1%, 125-for-156).

The Red Sox had the majors' third-lowest strikeout rate (19.9%).

The Red Sox hit four grand slams against the Yankees, the most in any season in team history. The Red Sox hit 10 grand slams; only the 2005 team hit more (11).

The Red Sox had one of the greatest seasons in history, despite having several key players on the disabled list. Dustin Pedroia missed 156 games, Eduardo Rodriguez  missed 47 games, Christian Vazquez missed 46 games, Chris Sale missed 37 games, Rafael Devers missed 31 games, Xander Bogaerts missed 15 games, and Mookie Betts missed 12 games.

And: ALCS 4 was only the second time in history in which a run was scored by either team in each of the first eight innings. Game 4 of the 1993 World Series between the Blue Jays and Phillies was the other.

ALCS 5: Red Sox 4, Astros 1

Red Sox - 001 003 000 - 4  8  0
Astros  - 000 000 100 - 1  5  1

The Boston Red Sox are the 2018 American League champions!

David Price (6-3-0-0-9, 93) was magnificent, setting a career postseason high with nine strikeouts. He retired 15 of his last 16 batters after allowing a leadoff single in the second inning. His command was impeccable; he went to a three-ball count only once, on his third batter of the night.

This game should silence forever the critics who have harped about Price's zero postseason wins as a starting pitcher. Not postseason wins only, however, because Price already had two of those. Those were ignored because they interfered with the necessary negativity of that narrative.

Not surprisingly, TBS committed a huge error on that point.

Price's "first career postseason win" actually came on October 11, 2008, more than 10 years ago.

Rafael Devers belted an opposite-field home run with two on in the sixth, giving the Red Sox some breathing room. Boston's first run scored on a solo shot by J.D. Martinez, a prodigious blast that struck halfway up the wall at the back of the left field stands.

Both dongs came off Justin Verlander (6-7-4-2-4, 97), the hearthrob of the TBS booth, who lamented, in the late innings, that this game was supposed to have been "scripted" for the Astros' awesome right-hander. ... Sorry, boys, but sometimes the better team wins. Game 1 of the World Series will be played at Fenway Park next Tuesday, October 23.

Craig Kimbrel pitched a nearly-uneventful ninth inning. After recording a quick strikeout, he walked Yuli Gurriel on four pitches. But Kimbrel was masterful against Marwin Gonzalez, painting with his fastball and getting three called strikes. Tony Kemp lifted a 1-1 pitch to deep left-center. Andrew Benintendi drifted to the warning track and the ball "settled" in his glove, sending last year's champions home for the winter.

And at 11:43 PM (Boston time), the celebration began ...

Jackie Bradley was named the ALCS's Most Valuable Player. Bradley had only three hits in the series, but he drove in nine runs.

The Red Sox won the pennant on first-year manager Alex Cora's 43rd birthday. The team sang "Happy Birthday!" during the postgame celebration.

Verlander came into the game having thrown 24 consecutive scoreless innings in postseason elimination games. The TBS crew of Brian Anderson and Ron Darling made him the focus of the night's narrative. The team with the most wins, with two hitters who may both finish in the Top 3 of the MVP balloting, was on the brink of the World Series? Whatever.

The mindset of the announcers for all five games can be distilled to this:

Astros: 103 wins - This powerful team should not lose a single game in the postseason
Red Sox: 108 wins - Nowhere close to the Astros' level of talent (& shaky bullpen)

This synopsis would also apply to the ALDS if you substitute "Yankees" for "Astros" and "100" for "103". And despite all evidence to the contrary - a mountain of facts that grew larger as each game was played - Anderson and Darling stubbornly stuck to their script, repeating the same worn-out anecdotes and heaping praise on everything the Astros did, even mundane stuff like taking one extra base on an error, making a routine catch of a line drive in the outfield, or (in the case of Alex Bregman in the eighth inning tonight) fouling off a 99 mph fastball. It was right out of the Calm Eyes And Elegant Gait School of Announcing.

And yet Verlander found himself in trouble in the second inning. Bregman made a throwing error on Ian Kinsler's ground ball with one out. Christian Vazquez singled with two down and Verlander walked Bradley, loading the bases. Verlander escaped by striking out Mookie Betts. In the third, Verlander threw a strike on an 0-2 count to Martinez. Plate umpire Chris Guccione blew the call on the pitch, which was nestled in the lower, outside corner of the zone. Martinez took advantage by crushing the next pitch to deep left.

(Check out Grumpy Gus scowling over Vazquez's head.)

There have been oodles of bad calls by the plate umpires in this series and TBS uttered nary a peep about them. Not this time. Verlander would throw only five more pitches in the inning and in that short time Anderson and Darling managed to complain about the bad call four times. They ended up referring to it nearly a dozen times during the game, acting like the blown call gave Boston a home run, as if it was a natural consequence or even part of the rules. But why not talk about Verlander's failure to make a better pitch on 1-2? Or maybe give a little credit to Martinez? Regularly bringing up the call, even many innings later, easily crossed the line into whining. Also, did that one incorrect call prevent Houston from scoring more than one run all night?

Price was sharp from the start. Bregman flied to left on his first pitch. Two strikeouts - of George Springer and Carlos Correa - sandwiched a two-out hit by Jose Altuve. Price shrugged off a leadoff single from Gurriel in the second by getting two fly outs and a called strike three on Martin Maldonado with a nasty curveball.

Price retired the Astros in order in the third on 12 pitches and struck out the first two batters in the fourth. Gurriel doubled to left and Price responded by fanning Marwin Gonzalez. Houston went in order in the fifth on only nine pitches. On the last one, Price fielded a dribbler to the third base side by Jake Marisnick and made a quick one-hop throw to first.

After the JDM HR, the Red Sox bats were fairly quiet until the sixth, when Mitch Moreland doubled to left. Kemp attempted another leaping catch at the wall, but this time the ball clearly hit the fence on its way into his glove. Kinsler lined an opposite-field single to right (he also doubled in the eighth, heating up in time for the World Series). Devers drove Verlander's first pitch to the opposite field and it landed in the left field seats for a three-run homer. The Red Sox led 4-0.

(Ryan Brasier celebrates Devers's homer in the bullpen.)

Price was at 82 pitches through five innings and Cora gave him the sixth. The first out came on Betts's leaping catch at the wall of Bregman's long drive. One nearby Red Sox fan made a show of not interfering with the play, raising his hands like he was being placed under arrest.

Springer grounded to third. Price ended the inning - and his night - with a three-pitch strikeout of Altuve.

Matt Barnes (who appeared in all five games in the series) started the seventh with two grounders to third, on which Devers smoothly ranged to his left and got the outs (TBS missed the opportunity to call him "Bregmanesque".) And then, with the Red Sox seven outs away from the pennant, we started seeing shots of sad Astros fans in the stands.

(I love the lone Astros earring hanging between the couple who might be thinking that, instead of Game 5 tickets, they could have spent that money on something enjoyable.)

Those crowd shots stopped when Gonzalez homered to left. (Anderson called the play with a level of excitement that should have been reserved for a game-tying blast. I would love to hear side-by-side recordings of Anderson calling hits and runs and catches by both teams. I'll bet the clips would be very "interesting", to use a word Darling uttered 3,054 times in this series. ... I counted.)

When Barnes walked Kemp, Cora summoned Eovaldi. (Eduardo Rodriguez had also been getting ready.) The fireballing Eovaldi started pinch-hitter Josh Reddick with an excellent curve. He followed that up with a cutter and Reddick flied to right.

When Reddick hit the ball, TBS's cameras switched to a shot of the second deck in right field. For a fraction of a second, I thought the game was now 4-3 and I was wondering why Anderson was not screaming like a schoolgirl at a Beatles concert. The cameraman hurriedly panned the shot down to the field in time to see Betts calmly catch the routine fly ball. That camerawork might have been worse than anything I saw on NESN this year.)

The ball is the white dot between the two panels of the car advertisement.

Eovaldi gave up a two-out single to Springer in the eighth. Joe Kelly started warming as Eovaldi fell behind Altuve 3-1. But the Astros' DH flied harmlessly to center.

After Robert Osuna finished his third inning of relief, we went to the bottom of the the ninth. Three outs to go! Cora did not hesitate in bringing in Kimbrel. (And Red Sox fans did not hesitate to reach for the antacids.)

Correa fouled off three pitches before swinging and missing an outside fastball at 99. Kimbrel threw four balls to Gurriel, causing a decent percentage of Red Sox to think, Here we go again.

But Kimbrel was as sharp as ever against Gonzalez, who never took the bat off his shoulders and watched three strikes whiz past him.

Strike 3! Paint!

Kemp took a strike and a ball before flying to deep left-center. And it was Benintendi who (for the second straight night) caught the final out of a Red Sox win.

Some final notes on TBS:

Betts began the game by fouling out to Bregman as Anderson exclaimed: "Bregman's got the stirrups on tonight!!"

Anderson described Bregman's errant throw in the second inning as "an unforced error". Anderson has a horrible habit of using non-baseball terminology while talking about a baseball game. He said (multiple times) teams "held serve" if they prevented the other team from scoring and he was especially fond of noting that a player "stuck the landing".

Darling called Nolan Ryan "Nollie" (wasn't that what got Robin Ventura in a headlock?) and Anderson claimed that Ryan's seven no-hitters "will never be accomplished".

After Price struck out Bregman in the bottom of the third, Anderson said the lefty had "the banjo effect going on". I have no idea what this means.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch said his team had their backs to the wall and they needed a win to keep their season alive. Darling was impressed, describing Hinch's "great gift" of speaking so openly and honestly ... when all he did was spout the same cliches that every manager always says in that situation.

During the ALDS, Anderson kept referring to someone named "John Carlos Stanton". In the ALCS, he called Boston's catcher "Voss-quez".

When Gurriel doubled on the ninth pitch of his fourth-inning at-bat, Darling said he had "outwaited" Price.

In the top of the sixth, Anderson said: "The Astros have McCullers warming up, among others". At the same time, the camera showed us McCullers throwing all by himself.

In the seventh, Anderson said the Red Sox have "turned the script" in this game and Darling followed by saying this game "was scripted" for Verlander ... and it would have happened if it wasn't for those meddling, script-flipping Red Sox.

Late in the game, Darling says that despite what happens on the field, "managers always push the right buttons in the postseason". ... Somewhere in America, Zach Britton did a spit take, a former Red Sox manager I refuse to name silently nodded his head, and Dave Stapleton threw his remote at the TV.

When Gonzalez homered, giving the Astros one run, Anderson says (probably to himself as much as to us): "These games can turn in a flash."

In the end, of course, the Red Sox failed. As you may recall from the end of Game 2, Anderson said the Red Sox desperately hoped to bring this series back to Boston. But the ALCS ended in Houston. Damn.

What's going on in New York, you ask?

Ken Davidoff, Post:

Look away, Yankees fans: The Red Sox are back in the World Series. Their 13th pennant in franchise history arrived Thursday night in the same all-business, conventional-wisdom-bashing manner that got them this far, as noted Octoberphobe David Price — on short rest! — outpitched future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander for a 4-1 Red Sox victory over the Astros in American League Championship Series Game 5 ...

Rafael Devers produced the killing blow: A cheapie three-run homer, the other way, into the inviting left-field seats ...

David Price / Justin Verlander

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Moreland, 1B
Kinsler, 2B
Devers, 3B
Vázquez, C
Bradley, CF

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (you may recall his name from various Schadenfreude posts because he wrote for the Daily News):

David Price has started one game in his career on three days rest - and that was after throwing 14 pitches in relief four days earlier. In other words, tonight will be the first time he's ever made back-to-back starts on short rest. Should be interesting.

The first comment, from DinoMartini59: "So, he's undefeated on three days rest"

An ideal situation could develop this evening, whereby at around midnight:

1. David Price has earned his first postseason victory (as a starting pitcher), leading the Boston Red Sox to the 2018 American League pennant.

2. We are experiencing a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, in no small part because we know we never again have to listen to hours of inane statements from Brian Anderson and Ron Darling.

3. We are happily look forward to the fantastic - and once-utterly-unthinkable - opportunity of watching the Red Sox win a FOURTH World Series championship in our lifetimes.