The short, sweet, unpredictable and unprecedented 2020 MLB season is over. The Los Angeles Dodgers, unequivocally baseball’s best bunch this year, are champions.
In the cold months ahead, there will be plenty of time to bemoan the absence of baseball. Let’s not do that just yet.
Instead, let’s look at the most memorable moments from a riveting World Series between the Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are five that stand out:
The decision
When Rays manager Kevin Cash emerged from his dugout in the sixth inning on Tuesday, Blake Snell dropped an F-bomb. In a game Snell was leading (and largely controlling), Cash had come to remove his ace — a move that was immediately questioned around the baseball world and surely will be for some time.
Game 6, and ultimately the series, turned in the moments that followed.
Nick Anderson entered in relief, promptly allowing a double to Mookie Betts to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. In the next at-bat, Anderson spiked a curveball that allowed Austin Barnes to score and Betts to advance to third. One pitch later, Corey Seager brought Betts home on a fielder’s choice to secure the lead.
Cash’s call to yank Snell was largely based on the fact that the top of the order (Betts, Seager and Justin Turner) was coming up for a third time. The third trip through an order typically spells bad news for pitchers, but in its first two go-rounds, the Dodgers’ top trio was 0-for-6 with six strikeouts.
Further complicating matters is the fact that Cash removed Snell (a lefty) for Nick Anderson (a righty) to face Betts, who slugged .218 versus lefties this year (fifth-lowest among qualified hitters) and .677 versus righties (second-highest). Anderson had also allowed at least one earned run in each of his six previous outings.
Cash called it a “gut-wrenching decision” after the game, and that almost seems like an understatement.
Seager’s MVP moment
Admittedly, Corey Seager’s World Series MVP resume was built over the entire series. But let’s not overlook the fact he brought in the championship-clinching run, too.
In the aforementioned meltdown of a sixth inning for the Rays, Seager managed to pull a curveball on the outer-third of the plate to first base, which allowed the speedy Betts to run on contact and score the eventual winning run.
Seager has had flashier swings this series, no doubt, but sometimes a good ol’ fashioned ball in play is enough to get the job done.
As a whole, Seager was truly the MVP of the Dodgers’ post-season run. Not only did he earn NLCS MVP honours, but the 26-year-old shortstop led the team throughout with a blistering 1.171 OPS in 18 games, bashing eight home runs and notching 20 RBIs along the way.
Not to get ahead of ourselves, but Seager is on track to be part of a loaded free-agent class next winter. What he accomplished this October is sure to pay dividends.
Kershaw stops steal attempt
Clayton Kershaw was in a groove and taking his time when something chaotic happened. But he didn’t panic.
In the fourth inning of Game 5, holding a 3-2 lead with two outs and runners on the corners, Kershaw started his motion from the stretch by slowly raising his arms skyward. Behind him, Manuel Margot took off down the third-base line on a rare attempt to steal home.
Kershaw took his left foot off the rubber and fired home in time to nab Margot, ending the threat and the inning. It was also the last whiff of drama for Kershaw, who retired the final five batters of his start.
As the victor of Game 5, Kershaw pushed his 2020 playoff stats to a 4-1 record, 2.93 ERA and .211 opponent batting average. Not bad for a guy whose post-season woes have been well-documented through the years.
Game 4’s insane ending
Words can’t really do this one justice, so let’s just make sure everyone’s memory is jogged on this first:
Trailing 7-6 with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4, the Rays sent Brett Phillips to the plate for just his third at-bat of the post-season. He singled and the Rays won, but it’s a bit more complex than that.
Phillips’ single to centre was booted by Chris Taylor, which enticed Randy Arozarena to try to score from first base. Taylor’s throw home was cut off by Max Muncy — which catcher Will Smithdid not anticipate — and Muncy’s relay throw got by Smith as he tried to catch the ball and perform a swipe tag in one smooth motion.
Arozarena, meanwhile, had come barreling around third so hard he somersaulted on the base path. He was momentarily frozen on the chalk, before scoring easily as the ball rolled to the backstop.
The image of an awestruck Arozarena smiling and smacking home plate is pure art.
Randy rewrites the record books
Goofy Game 4 ending aside, let us not forget about what Randy Arozarena did this month.
On Tuesday, the 25-year-old rookie smacked his 10th home run of the post-season, building upon a single-season record he already owned. He also set a record for most hits in a post-season (29), as part of his 1.273 OPS compiled over 20 games.
Arozarena’s thunderous arrival into baseball stardom is understandably overshadowed, given that the Rays came up short. But his playoff performance was one that transcends 2020, title or not.
And it’s fun to think about what he and others can do to make next year’s post-season even more memorable.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
