Brandon Lowe, Blake Snell, and Rays Bullpen Even Series
In 2017, George Springer was 0-6 with a walk and 4 strikeouts before getting a one out double off KJ in the 9th inning in Game 2. A sleeping giant had awoken. In 2020 postseason, the Rays best hitter, Brandon Lowe was in a miserable slump, but that ended when he took Tony Gonsolin deep in the first inning. And he wasn’t done. Gonsolin gives up a walk to Margot
In 2017, George Springer was 0-6 with a walk and 4 strikeouts before getting a one out double off KJ in the 9th inning in Game 2. A sleeping giant had awoken. In 2020 postseason, the Rays best hitter, Brandon Lowe was in a miserable slump, but that ended when he took Tony Gonsolin deep in the first inning. And he wasn’t done.
Gonsolin gives up a walk to Margot who steals 2nd and hustles to 3rd on a Joey Wendel fly to CF, that Belli just missed throwing out. But that was it for Gonsolin. Floro was up early. What a night a difference makes for both Dylan Floro and Victor Gonzalez. I am not about to speculate what that difference was, but both were sufficiently warm and pitched far better in Game 2, especially Floro. Floro gets Willy Adames to hit a ground ball to Corey Seager who fires a strike to Smith to get Margot, who was running on contact, at the plate. Smith then throws out Adames trying to steal 2B on a bang bang play who was originally ruled safe and then overturned.
Floro gets the first two in the 3rd and then turns it over to VGon who gets Austin Meadows to pop up on the first pitch.
At this point, Blake Snell is dealing. He is hitting all of his spots and is unhittable.
In the 4th VGon issues a one out walk to Arozarena, and induces a Ji-Man Choi ground ball to get the DP but it was not gloved cleanly by Kike’ and the Dodgers could not turn it. I am assuming that Doc wanted the RHP Dustin May to pitch to RHH Manuel Margot, and he is called in to relieve Gonzalez. Manuel Margot gets a single that was followed by a 2-run double by Joey Wendle, turning a manageable 1-0 game a much more difficult 3-0 game facing a tough Blake Snell.
In the 5th, May gets Kiermaier on a strikeout and Mike Zunino on a ground out. Austin Meadows follows to get his first WS hit, and then on an 0-2 curveball that did not break much at all, Brandon Lowe, hit a 2 run HR and pushing the lead to 5-0. No kind way to say it, once again neither May nor Gonsolin were effective.
Blake Snell is still pitching a no-hitter into the bottom of the 5th, and after striking out Belli and AJ Pollock, his 8th and 9th Ks, he walks Kike’. Then on a 2-1 pitch, Snell lost the no-hitter and shutout on a CT3 two-run HR. Mookie follows with a walk, and Corey Seager follows with his first hit of the 2020 WS. Kevin Cash then pulls Snell after 4.2 IP and not in a position to get a decision in the game, and brings in hard throwing RHRP Nick Anderson. Anderson gets JT on a strikeout to end the threat.
Joe Kelly took the bump in the 6th and surrenders back to back singles to Choi and Margot. Choi easily made 3rd on the Margot single. Joey Wendle followed with a sac fly and a 6-2 lead. In the bottom of the 6th, Fresh Prince crushes a 1-1 curveball into the left field stands cutting the lead to 6-3.
Much to the chagrin of many on this site, Alex Wood was summoned, and he proceeded to pitch 2 shutout innings. Some preferred Doc to Alex. I wonder if those same comments are going to be discussed about Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin after their last two performances. For me, I have never given up on Alex Wood, and I believe that both May and Gonsolin will come back to pitch very well in this series.
RHRP Pete Fairbanks entered to pitch the 6th for the Rays and retires Joc (PH for Kike’), CT3, and Mookie with 6 pitches. After 7 innings, LAD is behind 6-3, and the Rays just do not lose while winning after 7 IP. Fairbanks returns for the 8th. After just missing on an 87.7 MPH slider, Fairbanks tried again, and this time, Corey did not miss it. The score is now 6-4, and the Dodgers have JT, Max, Smith, and Belli coming up. JT gets a bloop double, and the Dodgers are in business. Muncy could not get JT over to third. Will Smith absolutely hits a seed but right at 3B Joey Wendle for out #2. Time to bring in LHRP Aaron Loup to face Belli. Belli goes down looking and that is the last look the Dodgers get as Loup and Diego Castillo shut down LAD in the 9th. LH hitters look to have their hands full against Aaron Loup. Belli and Rios looked lost against Loup.
Kevin Cash is a protégé of Tito Francona, and learned at his side to not be so predictable when it comes to relief pitchers. Francona showed everyone that Andrew Miller could be effective in any high leverage situation, not just the 9th inning. Cash uses Nick Anderson and Diego Castillo in any situation where critical outs are required. The Rays are masters in their usage of the pen. Dodger pitching has been solid against Randy Arozarena, but have now let Brandon Lowe get some confidence. Both Lowe and Wendle had 3 RBI’s. Margot is 3-7.
The 2020 Series is now tied at 1 apiece. The Rays will be the home team for games 3-5. Cash will send Charlie Morton to the mound, and Doc will counter with Walker Buehler. Doc has already named Julio Urias as the Game 4 starter, the Rays have not yet named one, but it certainly figures to be an opener. Clayton Kershaw will start Game 4
Nobody said this was going to be easy. Nobody predicted a sweep. The Rays have zero pressure on them, they are well disciplined, and now they have some confidence. They have now hit 28 post season HRs breaking the previous postseason record of 27 by the 2002 SF Giants, and 2017 Assterisks.
Dodgers Pitcher of the Game – Dylan Floro 1.1 innings while not allowing an inherited runner on third with one out to not score. Alex Wood also pitched well, just not as good as Floro.
Dodgers Offensive Player of the Game – Corey Seager; 2-4 with a HR, his 7th of the postseason. The 7th HR broke the record for postseason HRs by a SS previously held by himself and Carlos Correa (2020). His 7th HR ties him with Randy Arozarena for most in the 2020 postseason. If Corey hits another, he will join Nelson Cruz (2011), Carlos Beltran (2004) and Barry Bonds (2002) with 8. Corey’s 7th HR this year, now gives him 10 as a Dodger, tying him with JT and Steve Garvey in 2nd place, only 1 behind Duke Snider’s 11. Corey is having a fantastic postseason.
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Discussion (76)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Well said Badger and David!!! Snell was lights out with total command of his pitches… It hurts to repeat, that good pitching beats etc. etc.
May or Gonsolin… Have I got it wrong, or could a few games at the AAA level, helped them both for the pre season??? But then again it’s 2020 with all it’s problems…
A day off is good…Play with the family and lock and load for Fri…
We got outpitched. 5 hits and 15 strikeouts? Yoiks. The Rays are the best team in the American League. Anyone who thought we would sweep is not being realistic.
It wasn’t ruled an error but everyone who saw it knows 2 runs were unearned. And Kiké knows it. You could see it on his face. Can’t blame Doc for that, though I’m sure some might try.
I don’t know what’s wrong with May but his outing last night was terribly disappointing. His stuff is undeniable, but obviously he has a lot of work to do. Gonsolin got the L, but he wasn’t the loser, May was. And about Gonsolin, I saw it again last night, his splitter isn’t working. If he doesn’t have that pitch he’s hittable.
I agree with everything Hernandez wrote.
The Rays are in the WS for a reason. They’re not going to roll over. Still, I like our chances. We get a day’s rest, and then Buehler, Urias, and Kersh. That’s a formidable combination. And we are stronger offensively than the Rays. If we can do some damage in the first 6 innings, we should be fine.
I am really becoming a Will Smith fan. He is the real deal. I used to believe he was a solid defensive backup Catcher, but after they re-tooled his swing, he has shown that he is going to be an All-Star.
Will he stay at Catcher or maybe move to 3B? I guess that depends upon the other options and Ruiz’s progress. I can see him being an All-Star Catcher however – he is reminding me of a young Buster Posey. Posey is s little bigger, I but I still see similarities.
I am happy to be wrong in cases like this.
Woulda-coulda-shoulda turning point in 4th inning. Gonzalez does his job by getting Choi to hit a perfect double play ground ball to Hernandez for inning ending double play, but Kiké bobbles the ball, only gets one out, and Rays get two runs. No error charged under scoring rules, but Kiké makes that play 99 times out of 100. Will Smith’s line drive to third base was smoked! Very seldom do I see a major league player flinch like Joey Wendle as he was making the catch.
Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times has it figured out too:
Open on www.latimes.comhttps://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2020-10-21/dodgers-rays-world-series-starting-rotationIf we lose this series:
Not a second guess. Many of us said way back our starting pitching was vulnerable. We lost price, hill, stripling, ryu, and maeda. We were hoping the young guns could do it. May and Gonsolin are getting worse as the series moves forward. Doc would have to think long and hard before using these guys again. But, he doesn’t have anybody else.
Second, why In the he.. did the national league series end after the American League? That just seems unfair. I’m sure it is about money. Usually the best record goes first ends first. That should be the advantage of having the best record.
Maybe now you see why I did not predict how quickly this series would be won. Roberts, Friedman and Company know what kind of battle it is going to be. Some of you are losing your minds at how Doc used the bullpen last night, but this was a page out of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.” The bullpen usage was an organizational decision. DOC, AF and the brass likely scripted it. They knew that if Snell were on his game, this would be a tough one to win… and he was! So, essentially, they lost the battle by not throwing everyone in the bullpen, so as to live and fight another day. That day will be Game #3, where they are going to need all hands on deck.
Hopefully, Buehler has some “magic” for 5 or 6, and then you will see Treinen, Baez, Graterol, Kolarek, and Jansen… and maybe a couple from last night. The Ray have worked their pen pretty hard so far. The Dodgers have worked the weaker side of their pen so far. The strong side is now ready to go. You pick your battles and it looks like the Dodgers have picked Buehler and Urias to lead the charge in Games 3 and 4. These are the biggest starts of their respective careers!
Wood looked very useful last night. Floro and Gonzalez looked better and I still think Gonsolin and May will play an important role. When Glasnow got roughed up the first game, the Rays did the same thing the Dodgers did last night – they sucked it up and lived to fight another day! They could have smoked their pen, just like the Dodgers could have last night… and still lost. Last night’s bullpen usage was a strategic, planned action. Watch and learn!
One thing I still see is when a hitter pinch hits and makes an out “Doc is an idiot.” Of if he brings in a pitcher who gives up a run – “He can’t manage the pen.” It evidently has nothing to do with the hitter… or the pitcher. Doc is not responsible for their execution… just their lack of it! Geeeezzzzz!
Here’s something to think about:
Nick Anderson is extremely good! But, Anderson has had to face almost as many hitters in this postseason (51) as he faced all season (58). Is he tiring? That could be an issue!
If all goes as planned, Buehler pitches 7 innings in game 3. Urias 6 innings in the pivotal game 4. Kershaw pitches 7 in the game 5 clincher. Dodgers win WS championship and 32 year drought is over.
Rays earned this one. That can’t be denied. They’ve also shown themselves to be a class organization and spoken with much respect towards Dodgers after game one. They dealt, I just wish they hadn’t dealt so good and won’t deal so great moving forward THE REST of this series.
It seems pretty clear that the Dodgers are not going to pitch their starters on short rest. This hasn’t worked in prior post season years and they feel they have the depth to wear out their opponents and so far it has worked. On the other hand, it’s hard to believe the team with the best record in baseball can’t put a starting pitcher on the mound for the World Series. We scored 4 runs against a great starter and good bullpen. 4 runs usually wins games. Oh well. Go Blue!