| The World Series is two games old but it has already given us a lot: eight homers, 43 strikeouts, an early signal of intent and a sudden shift in momentum. There has been a Clayton Kershaw redemption story, a Game 2 identity crisis where each team seemed to assume the other’s personality, and, rather wonderfully, a fan so excited about snagging a home run ball that he accidentally threw his glove into the outfield. “And now it really starts,” FOX Sports MLB analyst and 2009 World Series champion Nick Swisher said, after the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays sit tied at one game apiece going into one of this postseason’s ultimate rarities – a rest day. For all the drama of the opening two games, the reality is that a best-of-seven series has now simply been boiled down to best-of-five, and by the end of the weekend, Major League Baseball will either have crowned a new champion or one of these teams will be no more than a single victory from the prize. Despite all the differences, headlined by the obvious one that the Dodgers spend eye-watering sums to stack their squad while the Rays tighten their belts beyond the boundaries of a bearable pinch, they are starting to find a lot more in common, according to Swisher. “It is getting past the point now where you can say the Dodgers are this huge favorite because of their squad and the money and all the rest of it,” Swisher added. “It all boils down to a few games left. Whoever goes out there and gets the job done will take it home. It is time to perform.” Game 3 will feature a pair of pitching studs. The Dodgers were so keen to get fireballer Walker Buehler an extra two days of rest that they turned Game 2 into a bullpen outing that didn’t quite go according to plan. While L.A. sends out Buehler, Tampa Bay will stand behind Charlie Morton on Friday, hoping his proven big-game capability continues and that the memories of his magnificent Game 7 outing in the ALCS are fresh. “He was throwing absolute filth,” Swisher added, glowingly, when discussing Morton’s decisive performance against the Astros, his former team. “Charlie Morton knows what this stage is all about and it’s a great matchup. “It is an extremely pivotal game in the whole thing. No one has true momentum right now, because of the Rays winning Game 2 and then the off day. Whoever wins the next one will carry a lot into the weekend.” If Buehler and Morton each hit their stride early, the scene at Globe Life Field has a chance to look like one of those more traditional baseball games, where the starter doesn’t just start, but actually makes it a decent way into the game. Game 2 was an oddity because it was the Dodgers piecing things together. L.A. used an opener against the team that invented the concept, utilizing Tony Gonsolin as the first of seven pitchers – one short of the all-time Series record for a nine-inning game. The Rays, masters of the makeshift, got four innings of excellence from Blake Snell before he began to stutter, then turned it over to their steadfast bullpen. And while it had been Tampa Bay struggling to find offense and striking out too often in recent postseason games, this time it was the Dodgers that fanned 15 times as their opponents collected 10 hits – the Rays’ most since the wildcard round. In truth, the underdogs from Florida, who are currently listed at +165 to win the series according to FOX Bet, may not have been able to survive going two behind. Now each team knows there is everything to play for. “I don’t think anybody in our clubhouse thought the series was over,’’ said Brandon Lowe after his two home run performance. “We took care of business, and played our game.” The series is alive and kicking and offers a fascinating look into the very fabric of the professional game. The Dodgers, most would agree, are the better team, but not by enough to make this the mismatch some thought it would be. L.A. manager Dave Roberts retains an air of confidence that, frankly, may not be shared by the team’s anticipatory yet nervous fan base. “We feel great,” Roberts said. “We’ve got Walker going, we’ve got Julio (Urias) going and then we’ve got Clayton. You look at where our relievers are set with the off-day, we’re in a great spot.” Given the disparity in how the teams got to this point, Swisher wonders what a Rays victory might do to the economic makeup of the sport. “If I am a player the last thing I want is for the Rays to win,” he said. “If they do, there will be owners all around the league thinking ‘If those guys can win it spending (a prorated $28.3 million), and we couldn’t win it with spending three or four times as much, maybe it is time to look at things differently?’” It is a worthy conundrum and one that will demand our attention if it comes to it. But it is a question for another day because there is a more immediate and pressing one right now, as this quirky, undulating and impossible-to-predict series moves into its most vital stage. What’s next? Here’s what others have said … Mike Oz, Yahoo Sports: “If we’re forecasting must-win games now, Game 3 looms large. Sure, every World Series game feels like a must-win, but the way the pitching slots in, this could really swing the advantage to either side. The Dodgers have their best pitcher on the mound in Buehler. Ideally, they count on winning the games he pitches. If they can win that and then enter Game 4 without a legit Rays starter to oppose them, they have to like their chances. Meanwhile, the Rays likely have to beat Buehler to win this series, so Game 3 is equally important for them. If they can, then the dominoes can fall much more easily — Urias and Kershaw next, then probably a repeat of Game 2 in Game 6. The Rays will take that if they can get it.” Gabe Lacques, USA Today: “They won 72% of their games this season, are appearing in their third World Series in four years and feature what seems like a bottomless trough of talent. Objectively, in both a short-and long-term sense, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the best baseball has to offer. So as casual viewers tuned into Game 2 of the World Series and saw a parade of pitchers head to the mound, only to get yanked, touched for a run or two here, slowly watching the game slip away and control of the series tilt back toward the Tampa Bay Rays, it was fair to wonder: The best team in baseball can’t do any better than this?” Michael Baumann, The Ringer: “The more this series becomes about bullpen depth and picking the right pitcher for the right spot, the more the scales tip in the Rays’ favor. The Dodgers would likely win an orderly series, but the Rays are at their best in times of chaos.” |
