World Serise Game 5 News, Match-Ups and Trends

Red Sox to start Sale in potential closeout game against Dodgers
MLB Breaking News | 28th October 2018

LOS ANGELES -- After a 24-inning offensive slumber that threatened to reset the World Series and turn it into a best-of-three affair, the Boston Red Sox found life again, putting them one victory from a fourth title since 2004.

Struggling to score runs for the second consecutive day, the Red Sox were reborn with nine runs in the final three innings Saturday. Boston can now clinch another title in Game 5 on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale had to like the looks of all that offense. He will be on the mound for Game 5 with the chance to push his team toward a championship.

Sale returned from a stomach ailment in Game 1 of the World Series to pitch four innings. The Red Sox ultimately won that game 8-4, although Sale was not involved in the decision.

But his biggest mark on the series might have actually come in Game 4 on Saturday. Sale was caught on camera barking stern words of encouragement to teammates right before the team's offense came together.

"He was fired up," Boston's J.D. Martinez said. "I think everyone was fired up. Everybody has been doing whatever they can do to get everybody going.

"It was one of those things where you had the late (game Friday) night, everyone is kind of tired, you go down 4-0. It's very easy to hang your head. The whole team I think has been doing a great job of just being positive and picking everybody up."

On Saturday, the Red Sox looked every bit like a team that had a marathon game stolen from them one day earlier. Losing 3-2 in 18 innings, as they did in Game 3, has a way of changing the mood.

Now the Red Sox can taste what they came for and what has been expected of them since getting off to a red-hot start in April and rolling to a 108-win season.

The Dodgers took a completely different path into late October, falling 10 games below .500 at one point and looking utterly lost as late as mid-May. They needed a 163rd game to win the National League West.

In essence, they have been playing catch-up for a long time now, and that won't stop now, needing three consecutive victories to overcome the Red Sox.

"We're all disappointed," said Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who blew leads in each of the last two games, giving up a home run to Jackie Bradley Jr. in Game 3 and one to Steve Pearce in Game 4. "We can't think about what happened. It's the same thing for all managers, coaches and players. We can't question ourselves.

"It's another day tomorrow. It's not over until it's over. We have another chance (Sunday) and we'll give it our best shot."

The Dodgers will have their own staff ace on the mound in Game 5 as Clayton Kershaw will make his second appearance of the 2018 World Series. Like Sale, Kershaw went four innings in Game 1, taking the loss after giving up five runs and seven hits.

For the most part, though, starting pitching has not been the Dodgers' problem. The bullpen has been vulnerable.

Not only has Jansen had his issues, right-hander Ryan Madson has allowed all seven of his inherited runners to score.

After Friday's seven-hour, 20-minute tussle earned the Dodgers' bullpen praise, Saturday's defeat showed how quickly fortunes can change.

"There are only two teams left in the big leagues right now and both teams are going to fight til the end," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "Sometimes in October we talk about mechanics and how you feel at the plate and all that, and sometimes it's will."

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Preview and Predictions 10-28-2018 in MLB

The Boston Red Sox will send David Price to the mound with a chance to clinch their fourth World Series title in 15 years when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 5 on Sunday. The Red Sox rebounded from a demoralizing 18-inning loss and battled back from a four-run deficit in Game 4 for an inspiring 9-6 victory that put them on the brink of their first championship since 2013.

"This team has a lot of fight and it was great to see how we responded," Boston's Steve Pearce, who tied the game with a solo homer off Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning and broke it open with a three-run double in the ninth, said during a television interview. Pearce, Rafael Devers and Mitch Moreland had the biggest hits in Game 4 for the Red Sox, and three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will try to cool off Boston's bats when he takes the mound on Sunday as the Dodgers attempt to stay alive and send the series back to Fenway Park. Yasiel Puig launched a three-run homer to give Los Angeles a 4-0 lead after six innings on Saturday, but its normally reliable bullpen imploded to put their championship dreams on life support. "We're in a situation where it's do or die. Now we have to bow are necks and win a game," Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts told reporters. "It's one at a time. ... Our guys are not done. We've got our best going (Sunday)."

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH David Price (2-1, 4.26 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Clayton Kershaw (2-2, 3.91)

Price threw 13 pitches in relief during Friday's Game 3 and was up in the bullpen Saturday, but manager Alex Cora decided to go with the former Cy Young Award winner and save ace Chris Sale for Game 6 if needed. Price has been outstanding in his last two starts of the postseason, throwing six scoreless innings against Houston to end the American League Championship Series and limiting the Dodgers to two runs and three hits over six frames in Game 2. Manny Machado has hit five career homers against Price and went 1-for-3 against him on Wednesday.

Kershaw has registered two brilliant performances in the postseason at home, but he did not fare well in Game 1 on Tuesday in Boston as he permitted five runs on seven hits and three walks in four frames. The 30-year-old Texan has given up one run on five hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts in 15 innings at Los Angeles during the playoffs. Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez each recorded two hits in Game 1 against Kershaw, who has served up one homer in 23 postseason innings after giving up 17 in 26 games during the regular season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Los Angeles 3B Justin Turner recorded three hits and a walk Saturday and is 8-for-21 in the World Series.

2. Moreland was 0-for-7 with four strikeouts in the series before his pinch-hit three-run homer in the seventh inning on Saturday.

3. The Red Sox are 6-1 while outscoring opponents 51-22 on the road this postseason.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 3