The Boston Red Sox breezed through the Houston Astros in the ALCS on their way to the World Series while the Los Angeles Dodgers needed seven games to topple the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS. Over the last nine World Series, the team that clinched a World Series berth first—like the Sox did—haven’t won a single series. Boston is off to a good start to be the first such team to capture a World Series championship since the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.
First pitch for the Game 2 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Red Sox is scheduled for Wednesday, October 24, 2018, at 8:09 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. The matchup will be shown on FOX.
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Odds Analysis
The Red Sox showed what they could do in Game 1. Boston took advantage of every little inch, capitalizing on an overturned call, getting key two-out hits, and relying on collection of different guys, including pinch hitter Eduardo Nunez.
Boston’s offense, of course, is excellent. Nobody scored more runs in baseball’s regular season than the Sox and nobody has scored more in the postseason either.
Mookie Betts looked better in Game 1 after struggling earlier in the postseason. J.D. Martinez is as good as they come, and Andrew Benintendi had a huge first World Series game, going 4-for-5 in the two-hole, scoring three runs.
There’s no denying the Sox’s offense is amazing. They’ve got the edge there over L.A., but the gap isn’t all that big.
Manny Machado had a three RBI Game 1 in the loss. Justin Turner collected three hits and David Freese has hits in his first two at-bats against the southpaw. We’ll see if he starts against Price, there were indications that Max Muncy would get the start instead.
Having Muncy start may be helpful for the Dodgers. The lefty hitter can handle lefty pitchers and was the league leader in homers. He’s a key part of the lineup like several other lefty bats. The Dodgers have gotten a bit cute with the platoons and matchups this postseason, particularly in the series against the Brewers. If they get back to the basics and start their best nine, that could help jumpstart the offense again.
Los Angeles has a great lineup, too. They led the NL in runs and homers. They’ve had a few guys go cold at the wrong time, but Yasmani Grandal showed patience and a good eye in his one at bat in Game 1. That’s a good sign.
Probable Pitchers
David Price and Hyun-Jin Ryu will toe the rubber for their respective teams in Game 2 of this series.
Price is a veteran southpaw with plenty of postseason experience, but not a whole lot of postseason success. He did throw well in his last start against the Astros in the ALCS, capturing his first ever playoff victory as a starter. With that start, he’s now 3-9 with a 5.04 ERA and 1.237 WHIP in 85.2 postseason innings. He’s pitched better in relief in the playoffs than as a starter.
The 32-year old has only faced the Dodgers twice, most recently in 2016.
Look for Price to be aggressive in his start. He’ll be out to build off his latest start and continue to try and re-write the postseason narrative about him.
In the regular season, he was solid, going 16-7 with a 3.58 ERA. He’s a career 3.25 ERA hurler and has 143 career wins to just 75 losses. He’s a grizzled veteran and a very good pitcher, but can he hold off his postseason demons? That’s the main question. The fact he’s not playing the Yankees should be helpful. He was bad against them in the ALDS and in the regular season. If not for New York, his ERA would have been sub-3 this year.
On the other side, Ryu’s regular season ERA was sub-2 at 1.97 though he only made 15 starts due to injuries. He threw just 82.1 innings.
Ryu’s had trouble staying healthy in his MLB career, but when he does pitch has been a great pitcher with a 3.20 ERA over parts of five seasons.
The southpaw out of South Korea is making his first ever appearance in Fenway Park and will try to rebound off a bad start, something he wasn’t familiar with this season.
The Brewers shelled him in Game 6 of the NLCS to force a Game 7. He allowed five runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in just three innings, taking the loss.
While that start against the Brew Crew wasn’t great, he did throw seven shutout innings against the Braves in his lone ALDS start, starting Game 1`of that series, showing how much confidence Dave Roberts has in him.
Live Betting
The Red Sox broke Game 1 open in the seventh inning, but still went to Nathan Eovaldi to pitch in the eighth inning. It’s been Alex Cora’s plan in the playoffs to use a starter in the pen. He’s now done in five times, primarily with Eovaldi and Rick Porcello.
Cora has dubbed this “the rover” and it mirrors what the Astros did in the playoffs last year to overcome their bullpen woes in route to a World Series win over this same Dodgers team.
While the plan has worked to this point for Boston, it does show a lack of trust in the options Cora has leading to Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. Ryan Braiser and Joe Kelly both pitched in Game 1, leaving more questions about the Sox pen going into Game 2.
As for Kimbrel, he was 5-for-5 in postseason save chances coming into the World Series, but he wasn’t exactly dominant. He was vulnerable, doing his job, but making things a bit too interesting. He’s still elite, but there are concerns. He was better in his Game 1 appearance. He was flat out nasty after making an adjustment late in the ALCS to avoid tipping his pitches.
As for the Dodgers, Alex Wood gave up a three-run homer in Game 1 against Eduardo Nunez to allow the Sox to break the game open. Despite that, the Dodgers’ pen is deeper than the Sox’s. They also have Kenley Jansen who wasn’t needed in Game 1, is well rested, and could easily go two innings for Dave Roberts, particularly with the day off on Thursday.
MLB Pick
The Red Sox took Game 1. Look for the Dodgers to get even in Game 2. Save for his Game 6 NLCS appearances against the Brewers, Ryu has been amazing all year. He’s limited free passes, forced the opposition to earn their way on base.
Look for Ryu to go into the sixth inning, turning the ball over to the bullpen. The Sox are a stacked offense, but L.A. has a fresh Kenley Jansen at their disposal and other options like Kenta Maeda to help bridge the gap.
While the Sox have the bats to keep any game close, Los Angeles has some great hitters, too. The Dodgers need this game. Look for them to get it, evening up the series as they transition to L.A. for the next three games.
MLB Odds: Dodgers 6, Red Sox 5
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