World Series Game 2 Live: Red Sox Jump to Early Lead vs. Dodgers
By Benjamin Hoffman and David Waldstein
Ian Kinsler knocked in Xander Bogaerts to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead over the Dodgers in the second inning.
Refresh here for the latest updates and analysis from Game 2 of the World Series.
Some pregame reading: Baseball has a classic matchup in the World Series, but a striking shortage of stars. Is that a bad thing?
How to watch: Fox has the broadcast at 8 p.m. Eastern, but you can stream it here.
Bottom 2nd: Red Sox Get to Ryu With 2 Outs
The Red Sox got on the scoreboard with a two-out run-scoring single from Ian Kinsler, who was the third batter of the inning to make hard contact against Hyun-jin Ryu. Ryu barely escaped the inning down 1-0, and Boston’s hitters have clearly adjusted to his offerings.
Ryu started the inning by allowing hard contact from J.D. Martinez, but Enrique Hernandez caught the line drive in center. Xander Bogaerts followed with another line drive, this one a double off the wall that would have been a home run in nearly any park.
Rafael Devers, who turned 22 today, struck out, but then Kinsler drove a ball to the outfield that brought in Bogaerts for the first run of the game. Jackie Bradley Jr. came up, and he also singled to the outfield, but Kinsler tried to stretch his luck and was thrown out at third base by Chris Taylor to end the inning.
Waldstein: Good looking curveball for Ryu tonight, but it is so hard to put the Red Sox batters away, as evidenced by more two-out damage from Boston. Kinsler broke the cardinal rule: you can’t make the final out of an inning at third.
Here is why it was doubly bad. With runners in scoring position and two outs in the postseason, the Red Sox are batting .405, with 7 extra-base hits and 9 walks.
Top 2nd: Dodgers Struggling Against Price
It was more of the same from David Price in the second who was not challenged by the Dodgers.
Chris Taylor struck out on just three pitches, swinging way behind on a 93 m.p.h. fastball after a pair of changeups. Matt Kemp, who homered over the Green Monster on Tuesday, also struck out, watching a fastball that caught the inside corner, much to the D.H.’s dismay. And then Price ended the inning by getting Enrique Hernandez to fly out to center.
Bottom 1st: Ryu Gets Some Help in the Cold
Hyun-jin Ryu matched David Price’s scoreless inning and did him one better by not allowing a base runner.
Ryu got a little help from his infield on a grounder from Mookie Betts which Manny Machado fielded cleanly but then proceeded to throw well wide of first. David Freese was able to corral the ball and tag Betts before he could reach base.
Andrew Benintendi, who was 4-for-5 in his World Series debut last night, struck out on five pitches, waving at a 75 m.p.h. curveball, and then Ryu got out of the inning when Steve Pearce popped out to first.
Waldstein: Not to harp on the weather, but it is really chilly for the fans, and as the game proceeds, the cold factor could have an impact if the Red Sox are behind and people want to get home and warm. But Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, acknowledged it is something new for the Dodgers to deal with — colder even than the San Francisco Giants’ downtown park.
“It’s difficult,” Roberts said before the game. “I mean, I think every person responds differently. But for us, this is the first time we’ve played in obviously weather like this. San Francisco a little bit, but nothing like this.”
This is not a night where you want to hit one off the knob of your bat.
Top 1st: Price Off to a Strong Start
David Price picked up right where he left off in the A.L.C.S., looking fairly dominant in the first.
He got an out with his first pitch when Brian Dozier grounded out to third. He needed just four pitches to strike out Justin Turner with a called strike on a 92 mile-per-hour fastball. He walked David Freese on six pitches, missing low with a fastball, but got out of the inning when Manny Machado popped out to first.
It’s Wet and Cold at Fenway Park
It has been raw all day in Boston and at 45 degrees and falling, the weather could be a factor in Game 2 of the World Series. David Price had a problem early in the season with numbness in his fingers and there was some debate about whether it was a carpel tunnel issue from excessive video games, or the cold conditions. Remember how cold and rainy it was in April and early May?
Price has a reputation for struggling with the cold throughout his career. But he also had a reputation for never winning a start in the postseason, and he won his last game against the Astros, and the Red Sox are 2-0 in his last two starts. So, for the first time since he joined the Red Sox three years ago, there is actually some optimism heading into one of Price’s postseason games.
Dodgers reliever Ryan Madson said the conditions are “definitely an element,” and said the warm-weather Dodgers had a heater in the bullpen in Game 1, when it was a little warmer.
“I’m going to tell the guys who didn’t pitch last night, just move around a little bit more than usual,” Madson said. “Move you knee joints.”
So if you see the Dodgers relievers doing deep-knee bends, you’ll know why. — David Waldstein
Red Sox Starting Lineup
RF Mookie Betts
LF Andrew Benintendi
1B Steve Pearce
DH J.D. Martinez
SS Xander Bogaerts
3B Rafael Devers
2B Ian Kinsler
CF Jackie Bradley Jr.
C Christian Vazquez
LHP David Price
Eduardo Nunez may have hit the biggest blast of Game 1 with a three-run homer over the Green Monster in the seventh inning, but he is back on the bench for Game 2 despite the Dodgers starting a left-hander. Despite what would typically be a platoon advantage, the move makes sense as Ryu was actually more effective against right-handed batters this season and Nunez, a veteran infielder has hit just .235 in the postseason. Rafael Devers, who bats left-handed, has a .940 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in the postseason.
Dodgers Starting Lineup
2B Brian Dozier
3B Justin Turner
1B David Freese
SS Manny Machado
LF Chris Taylor
DH Matt Kemp
CF Enrique Hernandez
RF Yasiel Puig
C Austin Barnes
LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu
The lineups are actually nearly identical to what they were in Game 1. Los Angeles will start the same batters in the same order while Boston moved Jackie Bradley Jr. up to the eighth spot in the order and replaced Sandy Leon at catcher with Christian Vazquez.
World Series Game 2 Top Story Lines
The Red Sox used seven pitchers in Game 1. In 1985, the Kansas City Royals used a total of seven pitchers to win a seven-game World Series. Like it or not, Tyler Kepner says this is the Bullpen World Series.
Manny Machado was the engine of the Dodgers’ offense in Game 1 and he will be facing a familiar foe in David Price thanks to their long history in the American League East. In 44 career plate appearances against David Price, Machado has batted .293 with five home runs, which is tied for the most he has against any pitcher.
Price dominated Houston in Game 5 of the A.L.C.S. He struck out nine batters, allowed just three hits and did not issue any walks in six shutout innings. Go any further back than that and you will have those who insist he is one of the worst starters in postseason history and others who say he has not been nearly as bad as advertised. It’s a relatively small sample of games, but Price, in between his dominant stint as a reliever in Tampa Bay’s run to the World Series in 2008 and his great start last week pitched 74 innings and had a 5.72 E.R.A. He had allowed multiple runs in each of his 11 starts and his teams went 2-9 in those games.
Hyun-jin Ryu only pitched 82 and one-third innings this season as a result of a groin injury, but he was dominant in his 15 starts, with a 1.97 earned-run average and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings. The left-hander has often pitched well but has battled injuries since joining the Dodgers in 2013. He missed the entire 2015 season with shoulder surgery and at one point in his career went 973 days between wins.
It was 53 degrees when Chris Sale delivered the first pitch of Game 1 and with the game lasting 3 hours 52 minutes, it had dropped down into the mid-40s as the game progressed. It was quite a contrast from last year’s Game 1 of the World Series which took just 2 hours 28 minutes and had a first-pitch temperature of 103 degrees. Boston should be even colder tonight, with The Weather Channel predicting it to be around 44 degrees when the game starts and then slowly going down from there.
Boston has had its share of bullpen issues this season, but Nathan Eovaldi, a starter, has looked fantastic in two appearances as a reliever. He has faced eight batters and allowed just one single with his fastball being clocked in the high-90s. He will be a free agent this off-season and his time in Boston, both in effectiveness and versatility, will serve him well in his job search.
Benjamin Hoffman is a senior staff editor and regular contributor to the Keeping Score column in sports. He joined The Times in 2005. @BenHoffmanNYT • Facebook
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