The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 116th World Series on Tuesday night after knocking off the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Julio Urias struck out Willy Adames to end the game, and end a 32-year title drought for the Dodgers, who lost two of the last three Fall Classics before the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
“This is surreal,” said Dodgers catcher Adam barnes, who caught the final pitch and immediately put the ball in his back pocket. “We’ve had our heart broken so many times.”
It’s the seventh overall World Series title for the Dodgers in 21 appearances. For the Rays, it was their second-ever appearance in the Fall Classic. They fell to 0-2 all time.
Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was named the World Series MVP award after batting .400 with two home runs, five RBI and a 1.256 OPS. He’s only the eighth player to win the League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP in the same postseason.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after outfielder Randy Arozarena belted a home run to right field. The lead stood until the sixth inning, when Rays starter Blake Snell was pulled after a brilliant outing. Snell struck out nine batters through 5.1 innings of work, allowing just two hits. His strikeouts through four innings tied a World Series mark set by Sandy Koufax in 1963.
Snell was relieved in the bottom of the sixth after Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes singled to center with one out and the top of L.A’s lineup coming to the plate with Mookie Betts, Corey Seager and Justin Turner. Betts doubled to left, advancing Barnes to third. Barnes later scored on a wild pitch. Seager grounded into a fielder’s choice, which scored Betts and gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead—just six outs away from a world title.
The Rays got one runner on base in the seventh, but stranded him at first.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith doubled to left field to start the bottom of the seventh, and then Joc Pederson drew an intentional walk after a count with two balls and no strikes. The Rays got out of the inning, leaving a pair of Dodgers baserunners stranded.
Betts, an outfielder who was traded to the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox in the offseason, smashed a home run to centerfield in the bottom of the eighth to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.
The Dodgers, after giving up the Arozarena homer in the first, held the Rays scoreless for eight innings to wrap up the title, their first since 1988 when they beat the Oakland Athletics.
Both the Rays and Dodgers finished the game with five hits apiece.
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell did something Tuesday night that hadn’t been done since the 1963 World Series when he struck out nine batters during the first four innings.
Dodgers great Sandy Koufax was the last pitcher to strike out nine batters through four innings when he did it during the 1963 World Series. In Game 1 against the New York Yankees, Koufax struck out a total of 15 Yankees hitters in the 5-2 Dodgers win.
The Dodgers went on to sweep the Yankees four games to none in that series. To put that Yankees roster into context, here are some of the names the Yankees sent to the plate that season: Elston Howard, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roger Maris, Bobby Richardson and Joe Pepitone.
For Snell, he was facing a stout Dodgers lineup that included (with Tuesday strikeouts) Mookie Betts (2), Corey Seager (2), Justin Turner (2), Max Muncy (1), Will Smith (1).
The 2020 baseball season was postponed two weeks before it was to begin. With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the country hard in mid-March, Major League Baseball canceled the final two weeks of spring training and indefinitely postponed the season.
This summer, the season cranked back up, but with no fans in the stadiums and just a 60-game schedule per team. The playoffs were even restricted as most were played at neutral sites, and with just limited fans for the World Series.
Here are the results from the 2020 World Series:
Game 1: Dodgers 8, Rays 3
Game 2: Rays 6, Dodgers 4
Game 3: Dodgers 6, Rays 2
Game 4: Rays 8, Dodgers 7
Game 5: Dodgers 4, Rays 2
Game 6: Dodgers 3, Rays 1