Brandon Lowe went deep twice and Joey Wendle drove in three to help the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the 2020 World Series on Wednesday. The series is tied 1-1, with Game 3 scheduled for Friday.
Here is TSN.ca’s running recap of the Rays’ Game 2 victory:
BOTTOM 9
Loup is back out to pitch the ninth inning with Diego Castillo throwing in the bullpen.
After a strikeout and a long fly ball out, Castillo is on to try to close out Game 2.
Castillo gets Chris Taylor on strikes to slam the door and even the World Series at 1-1.
TOP 9
Jake McGee is on to pitch the ninth for the Dodgers.
Yandy Diaz reaches with a one-out walk.
Randy Arozarena also reaches with a walk, but after both men are lifted for pinch runners the Dodgers get out of the inning.
BOTTOM 8
Corey Seager leads off the inning with a solo homer to slice the Rays’ lead to 6-4.
Justin Turner doubles to centre as the ball falls between two defenders in the outfield.
Aaron Loup enters the game for the Rays with two outs.
Turner is stranded at second, Rays lead 6-4 heading to the ninth inning.
TOP 8
Willy Adames doubles with two outs, but is stranded to end the inning.
BOTTOM 7
Pete Fairbanks comes out of the bullpen and throws a three-up, three-down inning using only six pitches.
TOP 7
Alex Wood takes over on the mound for the Dodgers.
Yandy Diaz hits a ball off the wall, but is held to a long single with one out.
Diaz advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and Randy Arozarena is given an intentional walk.
Wood strands both runners, Rays continue to lead 6-3.
BOTTOM 6
Will Smith hits a one-out homer off Nick Anderson to cut the Rays lead to 6-3.
TOP 6
Ji-Man Choi reaches with a single to lead off the inning.
Manuel Margot singles to left, Choi advances to third with none out.
Joey Wendle drives in Choi with a sac fly, Rays lead 6-2.
BOTTOM 5
A. J. Pollock reaches on a walk, the third issued by Snell tonight.
Chris Taylor hits a two-run homer, first hit Snell has allowed, Rays lead is cut to 5-2.
Mookie Betts draws a walk and Nick Anderson is heating in the bullpen for the Rays.
Corey Seager singles and Anderson is on to replace Snell with two on and two out.
Both runners are stranded, 5-2 Rays after five innings.
TOP 5
Austin Meadows reaches for the Rays with a two-out single.
Brandon Lowe hits his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to put the Rays ahead 5-0.
BOTTOM 4
Snell has eight strikeouts and has not allowed a hit through four innings.
TOP 4
Julio Urias and Dustin May are throwing in the Dodgers bullpen as Victor Gonzalez continues on the mound.
Randy Arozarena reaches with a one-out walk and is erased on a fielder’s choice after Kiké Hernández bobbles a double play ball, Ji-Man Choi is safe at first.
May enters the game to pitch for the Dodgers, their fourth pitcher of the game.
Margot slaps a single into right field, Choi advances to second.
Joey Wendle doubles into the gap, driving home both runners to extend the Rays’ lead to 3-0.
BOTTOM 3
Snell responds with a three-up, three-down third inning as the Rays continue to lead.
TOP 3
Floro records the first two outs of the third and Victor Gonzalez replaces him to record the third out and keep the score at 1-0 Rays.
BOTTOM 2
Max Muncy walks to lead off the second inning for the Dodgers.
Cody Bellinger also reaches on a walk, Muncy moves up to second with one out.
Both runners are stranded as the score remains 1-0 for the Rays.
TOP 2
Tony Gonsolin remains on the mound, with Dylan Floro heating in the bullpen for the Dodgers.
Manuel Margot draws a walk, steals second base and advances to third on a deep fly ball to centre field.
With one out in the second inning, Floro replaces Gonsolin on the mound for the Dodgers.
Margot is erased at the plate on a ground ball to Corey Seager, Willy Adames reaches on a fielder’s choice.
Adames is thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.
BOTTOM 1
Blake Snell takes the mound for the Rays with a 1-0 lead.
Corey Seager hits one to the warning track, but Globe Life Field holds it, keeping the Dodgers off the board.
TOP 1
Tony Gonsolin is on the mound and Game 2 of the 2020 World Series is underway from Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Brandon Lowe hits a solo homer in the first inning to put the Rays on top 1-0.
Pre-Game
Southpaw Blake Snell (2-2, 3.20 ERA) will take the ball for the Tampa Bay Rays as they look to even the 2020 World Series after a Game 1 defeat.
Tampa Bay Rays starting lineup
Tony Gonsolin (0-1, 9.95 ERA) will start for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are the home team for Game 2 of the Fall Classic from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.
The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.
The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.
Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.
The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.
The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.
Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.
Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.
Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.
RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.
Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.
This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.
“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.
The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.
Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.
“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.
Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.
“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”
The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.
New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.
The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.
“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”
Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.
“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”
The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.
The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.
While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.
“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.
Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.
It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.
“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”
But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”
“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.
The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.