R
New York Post, Sunday, October 25, 2020
nypost.com
LOS ANGELES
DODGERSTAMPA BAY
RAYS
H H H H H H H H H HBy Mike PuMaThe 116th World Series lacked
gripping drama until the middle
innings of Game 4 on Saturday,
when suddenly all hell began
breaking loose.
Played at a fast-breaking pace,
with the thought of a safe lead
laughable, the Rays and Dodgers
staged a classic at Globe Life
Field in Arlington, Texas, that
showed both teams’ resolve and
moved this series into the up-
for-grabs category.
Brett Philips’ RBI single off
Kenley Jansen in the ninth and
catcher Will Smith’s misplay on
the throw home gave the Rays a
wild 8-7 walk-off victory to even
the series.
“We needed something to go
our way tonight and it did,” Rays
manager Kevin Cash said.
Jansen walked sizzling Randy
Arozarena — who earlier in the
game blasted his ninth homer of
this postseason, setting the MLB
record — to move the tying run
to second base with two outs be-
fore Phillips singled to right-
center. Chris Taylor bobbled the
ball, as the lead run scored, but
Arozarena stumbled rounding
third. He should have been
nailed at the plate, except that
Smith mishandled Max Muncy’s
cutoff throw, allowing Aroza-
rena to dive across the plate
with the game-winner.
“I was actually trying to get
back to third base,” Arozarena
said. “We had already tied the
game, so if anything I was just
trying to get into a rundown, but
then I saw the ball get past him
so I turned around and scored.”
Cash admitted he was con-
fused by the series of events.
“Everything happened so fast I
didn’t know what to do,” Cash
said. “I gave a bunch of hugs and
was just in disbelief.”
Corey Seager’s bloop single to
left-center in the eighth — his
fourth hit of the night — gave
the Dodgers a 7-6 lead. All seven
of the Dodgers’ runs scored with
two outs, extending their post-
season record to 57.
The Rays had tied it an inning
earlier with their second homer
in as many frames. Kevin Kier-
maier unloaded against PedroBaez, a shot leading off the sev-
enth that tied it 6-6.
Joc Pederson’s two-run single
off second baseman Brandon
Lowe’s outstretched glove in the
seventh had reclaimed the lead
for the Dodgers at 6-5, continu-
ing a frantic stretch.
“It was incredible, just one of
those games where both teams
were going back and forth and
both teams were fighting,” Aro-
zarena said. “We were both
fighting to try to win the World
Series and nobody gave up.”
Lowe resurrected the Rays in
the sixth with a three-run homer
against Baez that gave the Rays
their first lead since Wednesday.
Lowe, who hit two homers in
that Game 2 victory, cleared thefence in left-center against Baez,
who had entered after Blake
Treinen surrendered a leadoff
single to Arozarena and walked
pinch-hitter Ji-Man Choi.
The Dodgers turned it over to
Treinen in the fifth, after Julio
Urias allowed two earned runs
on four hits over 4 ²/₃ innings
with nine strikeouts and one
walk. The left-hander Urias en-
tered 4-0 with a 0.56 ERA in this
postseason.
Kiké Hernandez kept the
Dodgers’ two-out scoring band-
wagon rolling with an RBI dou-
ble in the sixth against Diego
Castillo that extended the
Dodgers’ lead to 4-2. Castillo
created his own trouble by
walking Cody Bellinger and A.J.Pollock in succession.
Max Muncy’s RBI single in the
fifth put the Rays in a 3-1 hole
after Seager singled against Pete
Fairbanks and took second on a
wild pitch.
Hunter Renfroe quickly re-
claimed the run for the Rays,
with a mammoth homer to left
against Urias leading off the bot-
tom of the inning. Renfroe’s 444-
foot blast was his second homer
this postseason.
An inning earlier, Arozarena
cleared the fence in right-cen-
ter to establish an MLB record
with his ninth homer this post-
season. He had shared the
record with Barry Bonds, Nel-
son Cruz, Carlos Beltran and
Seager, who joined the list onlyan inning earlier.
Seager unloaded against Ryan
Yarbrough in the third inning for
his second homer in this series
and gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
Justin Turner homered in the
first inning for a second straight
game — the first time in World
Series history that has occurred
— for his 12th career postseason
homer, which moved him ahead
of Duke Snider on the Dodgers’
all-time list. Snider hit all 11 of
his homers in the World Series,
in fewer than half the plate ap-
pearances Turner has received.
Yarbrough lasted 3 ¹/₃ innings
for the Rays and surrendered
two earned runs on five hits and
one walk.
[email protected]CLOUD 9! Brett Phillips flies around the bases after a single and
error by center fielder Chris Taylor allowed two runs to score,
including Randy Arozarena (below), after catcher Will Smith (inset)
missed the throw home to give the Rays a stunning 8-7 comeback
walkoff Game 4 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday. Getty Images (3)World Series
IN ARLINGTON, TEXAS
Game 1: Dodgers 8, Rays 3
Game 2: Rays 6, Dodgers 4
Game 3: Dodgers 6, Rays 2
Game 4: Rays 8, Dodgers 7
Series tied, 2-2
Game 5: Sunday
Dodgers vs. Rays
Game 6*: Tuesday
Rays vs. Dodgers
Game 7*: Wednesday
Rays vs. Dodgers
* if necessaryAll games
at 8:08 p.m.
on FOX and
ESPN (98.7 FM)