The Los Angeles Dodgers retook control of the World Series on Friday, besting the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 in Game 3 behind a brilliant effort from Walker Buehler and more timely hitting from their potent lineup en route to a 2-1 series lead. Here are a few takeaways from their Game 3 victory.
Dodgers hitters excel in any count
The Dodgers’ preposterously deep and star-studded lineup excels in so many ways. No team, for instance, hit for more power than Los Angeles during the abbreviated 2020 regular season. No team made quality contact at a higher rate, either. And no team did a better job hitting with two strikes.
Highest weighted-on base average (wOBA) with two strikes, 2020
The club’s collective knack for two-strike hitting has been on display throughout the postseason – half of Mookie Betts’ hits through Game 2 of the World Series came in two-strike counts, as did Cody Bellinger’s go-ahead home run in Game 7 of the NLCS – but never more so than in Friday’s victory.
Of the Dodgers’ 10 hits in Game 3, all but three came with two strikes, including all four of their most impactful hits by win probability added: Justin Turner’s solo shot off Charlie Morton in the first; Max Muncy’s two-run single in the third; Betts’ run-scoring single in the fourth; and Austin Barnes’ unexpected, lead-padding homer off John Curtiss in the sixth. The bulk of that damage was done off Morton, who allowed just one run through his first three postseason starts, and, more germanely, held hitters to a .170/.207/.284 line in two-strike counts this year.
Ultimately, Game 3 further evinced how difficult the Dodgers’ lineup is to navigate for opposing pitchers, not only due to its abundance of All-Stars and former MVPs, but because the team’s hitters, almost to a man, are comfortable hitting while behind in the count. Even with two strikes on them, they refuse to expand the zone, continuing to get off quality swings and produce.
Turner gets his moment
No player embodies the Dodgers’ ongoing futility in October like Clayton Kershaw. But Justin Turner, their venerable third baseman, has also been around for most of the recent heartbreak. And just like Kershaw had his moment in Game 1, and his memory to savor should the Dodgers finally end their championship drought this year, Turner has made his mark, too, following a 2-for-5, two-run effort highlighted by that first-inning homer, which tied him with Duke Snider for the most (11) in Dodgers postseason history.
Prior to Friday, Turner’s postseason had been somewhat of a disappointment. Through his first 14 contests, the Dodgers’ No. 3 hitter in each of those games had slashed just .216/.328/.353, a far cry from his robust regular-season numbers. Meanwhile, Turner had recorded a negative win probability added in all but four games, a byproduct of his struggles during run-scoring opportunities. To date, he’s hitting just .118 with runners in scoring position this postseason, and the veteran has driven in only three runs in 17 such at-bats.
Suddenly, however, Turner’s postseason is no longer a disappointment. He’s now poised, should the Dodgers pull this off, to be one of the heroes, which would be well deserved considering how important the 35-year-old has been to this powerhouse franchise.
Arozarena struggling with offspeed diet
Until the ninth inning of Game 3, the Dodgers had all but silenced Randy Arozarena, the rookie phenom who hit .382/.433/.855 with seven home runs through the first three rounds of the postseason. Much of that damage came off fastballs, and he’s generally experienced far more success against fastballs than any other pitch type throughout his nascent career.
So the Dodgers decided to feed the prodigious 25-year-old a steady diet of offspeed and breaking pitches. Through the first two games of the World Series, as Arozarena notched just one measly infield single in six at-bats (albeit with three walks), fastballs accounted for less than a quarter of the pitches he saw.
Split
FB%
wOBA
WC + LDS + LCS
41.5%
.513
WS Gms 1+2
24.1%
.281
That approach continued to pay dividends for the Dodgers in Game 3. Walker Buehler’s fastball is electric, but he threw Arozarena just four heaters over three plate appearances (and only two inside the strike zone), resulting in a three-pitch strikeout, a flyout to deep center, and another strikeout. And that fourth-inning flyout, which rocketed off Arozarena’s bat at 100.5 miles per hour and produced an expected batting average of .760, came off a fastball.
Yet, with two outs in the ninth inning and a four-run lead, deposed closer Kenley Jansen deviated from the plan that had been so effective to that point in the series, throwing Arozarena six straight fastballs while trying to secure the game’s final out. He failed.
Jansen opted to just let it eat, as he does – nine out of every 10 pitches Jansen throws is some kind of fastball, either a cutter or a sinker – and got burned for it, serving up a poorly located 3-2 cutter that Arozarena deposited into the left-field seats for his record-tying eighth postseason home run. It was also the game’s hardest-hit ball, with an exit velocity of 111.3 mph.
And as disheartening as it might’ve been for Jansen, it was an instructive at-bat for Los Angeles. Not only did it validate the Dodgers’ game plan and reinforce how untenable it is to throw Arozarena fastballs in the zone right now, but it also illustrated why Jansen is a poor matchup for the burgeoning star. His one-dimensional repertoire makes him particularly vulnerable against Arozarena, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts should avoid using him in high-leverage spots for the remainder of the series if the outfielder is due up.
Bold strategy, Dave
The vulnerability of the Dodgers’ bullpen looms large over this series. As such, it was a bit curious to see Roberts use three of his most trusted relievers – Jansen, hard-throwing rookie Brusdar Graterol, and ground-ball extraordinaire Blake Treinen – to close out a somewhat lopsided game, potentially limiting their availability (and/or reducing their effectiveness) over the next couple of games.
On one hand, neither Graterol nor Treinen had pitched since the NLCS finale, and Jansen hadn’t appeared since Game 6 of that series, so they were overdue for some work. However, one or more of them could now be asked to pitch on three consecutive days after not doing that during the regular season, which generally seems ill-advised, especially with the three-batter rule in place.
This may end up being a non-issue, but if any of those three falter over the next couple of days, it’ll be hard not to look back at Game 3 and wonder why, say, Victor Gonzalez, Jake McGee, and/or Dylan Floro weren’t asked to handle the late innings with the Dodgers staked to a comfortable lead.
Jonah Birenbaum is theScore’s senior MLB writer. He steams a good ham. You can find him on Twitter @birenball.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina‘s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before deciding to return for another college season.
Their decisions helped their teams earn top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and earned both players some preseason honors, too.
Sears was a near-unanimous selection for The Associated Press preseason All-America men’s basketball team released Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was right behind him, nabbing 51 votes.
They were joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the final spot, creating a six-man team that includes only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
Alabama twin bill
Sears was a key cog in the Crimson Tide’s first trip to the Final Four a year ago, orchestrating one of college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.
The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Division I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with at least 20 points.
Sears worked out for NBA scouts during the offseason before deciding to return to Alabama, earning the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.
“I saw the team that we had and I wanted to be a part of it, and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said.
Across the state at rival Auburn, Broome made a quick decision about his future, announcing in April that he would be back for a fifth season.
The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome worked hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason and his return earned Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking.
“My main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, to make it as far as I can in March Madness,” Broome said. “When a team shines, everyone shines individually.”
Along Tobacco Road
Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his fifth season at North Carolina.
The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.
“I know there’s more work to be done,” Davis said. “I know my jersey’s not going up until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied but I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”
Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with tons of hype. The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Flagg has the skills of a guard, but can also play inside and has worked hard on his perimeter shooting, giving him the potential to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He’s part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.
Big 12 duo
Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center lived up to the billing, averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.
Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.
The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after averaging 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers.
Love tested the NBA waters this summer before deciding to return.
“He’s had a very successful college career thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get better with this extra year, and so I just encourage him to take advantage of it.”
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CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of Cleveland‘s season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Sunday against Cincinnati, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
Watson will soon undergo surgery, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the results of imaging tests taken on his leg.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year.
The 29-year-old Watson went down without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson collapsed to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
As he laid on the ground, there was cheering by some Cleveland fans, leading to some of Watson’s teammates criticizing that behavior during the team’s fifth straight loss.
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s divisive stay with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks to Houston and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million in 2022. The deal came amid Watson being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions. He settled civil lawsuits in all but one of those cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games with the Browns and then made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
