ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 8:25 p.m. Blake Snell is through three innings and his Rays still lead 1-0. Chris Taylor hit a leadoff single to become the Dodgers’ first runner, but was stranded at second base when Snell struck out Mookie Betts for the second time in the game. Snell has fanned six in three innings. Tampa Bay keeps helping itself with its gloves, too. Third baseman Joey Wendle and first baseman Ji-Man Choi teamed up for one out and catcher Mike Zunino neatly blocked a breaking ball by Snell to prevent Taylor from advancing. Alex Wood became the Dodgers’ third pitcher of the game when he took over to begin the third, and he breezed through a perfect inning. ___ 8 p.m. Tony Gonsolin is gone early again, and Blake Snell hasn’t allowed a hit through two innings again at the World Series. The Los Angeles starter was replaced by Dylan Floro after walking Ji-Man Choi to put two... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 7:35 p.m. Randy Arozarena extended his postseason record with his 10th home run and Blake Snell struck out the side as the Tampa Bay Rays took a 1-0 lead after the first inning in Game 6 of the World Series, when a win by the Los Angeles Dodgers would give them their first title since 1988. It was Arozarena’s third homer in the World Series, the first time a rookie has hit three in the Series since Charlie Keller did it for the New York Yankees in 1939. Arozarena became the first rookie to drive in a run in four consecutive Series games. Arozarena went the opposite way in the top of the first, homering to right off rookie right-hander Tony Gonsolin with one out. Austin Meadows then hit a hard single and Brandon Lowe, who homered off Gonsolin in Game 2, walked before Manuel Margot had a flyout and Joey Wendle struck out. Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young Award... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 7:10 p.m. The Los Angeles Dodgers took a 3-2 World Series lead into Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, one win from their first title since 1988. The Dodgers were in Brooklyn when they lost the World Series in 1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953, then finally won their first championship when Johnny Podres completed an eight-hit shutout in Game 7 in 1955 when Elston Howard grounded to Pee Wee Reese, who threw to first baseman Gil Hodges for the final out. After moving to Los Angeles following the 1957 season, the Dodgers added titles in 1959, when Larry Sherry was MVP after getting two wins and two saves, and 1963 and 1965, when Sandy Koufax went 4-1 and was twice MVP. Titles followed in 1981 and in 1988, the latter when Orel Hershiser earned the MVP by going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA. While Tony Gonsolin started Game 6 on Tuesday night,... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Since Orel Hershiser struck out Oakland’s Tony Phillips for the final out of the 1988 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have played 5,014 regular-season games and 113 more in the postseason in pursuit of their next title. They have spent $3.69 billion in player payroll over 32 seasons. One more win and that elusive seventh championship will be theirs. “I think it’s going to be really welcoming to the players, this generation,” Hershiser said Monday, a day before the Dodgers take a 3-2 World Series lead into Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s definitely a generational win for this group of guys and I’m thinking of the Kenley Jansens, the Clayton Kershaws, the Justin Turners, the guys that have been here through all the division titles.” Kershaw got his second win of the Series on Sunday, and Tony Gonsolin starts Tuesday against the Rays’ Blake Snell. The rookie right-hander hopes to keep the World Series from reaching a Game 7 for the fourth time in five... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Since Orel Hershiser struck out Oakland’s Tony Phillips for the final out of the 1988 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have played 5,014 regular-season games and 113 more in the postseason in pursuit of their next title. They have spent $3.69 billion in player payroll over 32 seasons. One more win and that elusive seventh championship will be theirs. “I think it’s going to be really welcoming to the players, this generation,” Hershiser said Monday, a day before the Dodgers take a 3-2 World Series lead into Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s definitely a generational win for this group of guys and I’m thinking of the Kenley Jansens, the Clayton Kershaws, the Justin Turners, the guys that have been here through all the division titles.” Kershaw got his second win of the Series on Sunday, and Tony Gonsolin starts Tuesday against the Rays’ Blake Snell. The rookie right-hander hopes to keep the World Series from reaching a Game 7 for the fourth time in five... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tony Gonsolin found out after Game 2 that he would be starting Game 6 as well for the Los Angeles Dodgers. This time, they plan for the rookie right-hander to be more than an opener with the Dodgers having a chance to clinch their first World Series title since 1988. “Tony's a starting pitcher tomorrow.” manager Dave Roberts said Monday. “I’m going to watch him pitch and then we’ll see what we do after that. ... I want to go as long as he possibly can, that’d be great." Gonsolin went 1 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay in Game 2, a planned bullpen game for the Dodgers. He was the loser after giving up only one run — the one that put the Rays ahead to stay in the 6-4 win — two days after he pitched two innings in relief in the clinching Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves. “With the extra day, it worked out nicely, I took the next day off and then got my two lifts and my bullpen and on would have been Game 4,” Gonsolin said. “And... [More]

If it wasn’t exactly redemption for Clayton Kershaw, it sure was for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maybe Dave Roberts, too, though the jury will be out on the Dodgers manager until the moment his team finally hoists a World Series trophy. The Dodgers didn’t just win Game 5 on Sunday night to move within a game of doing just that. They also regained the swagger that could have easily been knocked out of them in a demoralizing loss the night before. They did it by shaking off the effect of a brutal walk off just hours earlier that might have destroyed lesser teams. They did it by getting just enough out of a pitcher whose Hall of Fame resume is lacking only one thing — a World Series ring. And they did it behind the chess moves of a manager who makes Dodger fans nervous every time he heads out to the mound. “I can’t get caught up with fan reactions to the decisions I make,’’ Roberts said. ”I wanted my talent out there and they made me look good tonight.’’ A night after Kenley Jansen blew a ninth... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 5 of the World Series (all times local): 10:40 p.m. Clayton Kershaw beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the second time in six days, escaping a fourth-inning jam with a quick reaction throw to cut down a runner trying for a rare steal of home plate, and the Los Angeles Dodgers held on for a 4-2 win Sunday night and a 3-2 World Series lead. With one more victory, the Dodgers would claim their first title since 1988. Mookie Betts and Corey Seager sparked a two-run first inning, and Joc Pederson and Max Muncy homered off long-ball prone Tyler Glasnow, whose 100 mph heat was no match. Kershaw was cruising when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts removed the 32-year-old left-hander in favor of Dustin May with two outs in the sixth inning. The mostly pro-Dodgers fans in the pandemic-reduced crowd of 11,437 booed when Roberts walked to the mound, well aware that closer Kenley Jansen wasted a ninth-inning lead in Saturday’s stunning 8-7 loss. May got five outs and Victor... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 5 of the World Series (all times local): 10:40 p.m. Clayton Kershaw beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the second time in six days, escaping a fourth-inning jam with a quick reaction throw to cut down a runner trying for a rare steal of home plate, and the Los Angeles Dodgers held on for a 4-2 win Sunday night and a 3-2 World Series lead. With one more victory, the Dodgers would claim their first title since 1988. Mookie Betts and Corey Seager sparked a two-run first inning, and Joc Pederson and Max Muncy homered off long-ball prone Tyler Glasnow, whose 100 mph heat was no match. Kershaw was cruising when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts removed the 32-year-old left-hander in favor of Dustin May with two outs in the sixth inning. The mostly pro-Dodgers fans in the pandemic-reduced crowd of 11,437 booed when Roberts walked to the mound, well aware that closer Kenley Jansen wasted a ninth-inning lead in Saturday’s stunning 8-7 loss. May got five outs and Victor... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 5 of the World Series (all times local): 9:50 p.m. Dustin May is keeping the Rays’ bats quiet with an impressive relief outing -- and making Dodgers manager Dave Roberts look smart for summoning him to replace an effective Clayton Kershaw. The rookie right-hander with the wild shock of bright red hair has retired all four batters he’s faced (two on strikeouts) to protect a 4-2 lead for Los Angeles through seven innings. May, who had been struggling in the postseason, is consistently throwing 99-101 mph with major movement. A fired-up May struck out pinch-hitter Austin Meadows to begin a 1-2-3 seventh that was aided by Joc Pederson’s nice running catch in deep left-center field. May entered with a 5.00 ERA in six previous appearances covering nine innings this postseason. He had allowed nine hits and walked six. Tampa Bay reliever Diego Castillo made quick work of the first three hitters in the Dodgers’ lineup in the top of the seventh. The best-of-seven... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 5 of the World Series (all times local): 9:31 p.m. Two pitches, two outs for Clayton Kershaw in the sixth. And then, just like that, he got pulled by manager Dave Roberts. Perhaps that was the plan Sunday night, maybe that’s what the book said, yank him after 21 batters, no matter what. But the Dodgers lefty was done after 85 pitches. Not that the LA fans at Globe Life Field liked the decision -- a few thousand of them booed, before cheering for Kershaw as he walked off. Struggling reliever Dustin May entered and struck out Manuel Margot with a 101 mph fastball to end the inning with the Dodgers ahead 4-2. Rays manager Kevin Cash went to his bullpen to begin the sixth, taking out starter Tyler Glasnow. Relievers Aaron Loup and Diego Castillo combined for a hitless inning. ___ 9:15 p.m. Max Muncy launched a no-doubt homer into the right-field seats, and the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 through five innings. Muncy turned on a 99... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 5 of the World Series (all times local): 9:15 p.m. Max Muncy launched a no-doubt homer into the right-field seats, and the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 through five innings. Muncy turned on a 99 mph fastball from Tyler Glasnow and whipped his bat to the ground as he admired it from the plate. It was the first homer of the World Series for Muncy and lifted his batting average to .412. The 30-year-old also walked earlier in the game and has 20 free passes this postseason, tied for second most ever behind Barry Bonds’ 27 in 2002. Glasnow has allowed a record nine homers this postseason, including eight on his fastball. The 6-foot-8 right-hander seemed to have settled after a rocky start, setting down eight straight before Muncy’s shot. After escaping a thorny fourth inning by thwarting Manual Margot’s attempted steal of home, Clayton Kershaw cruised through the fifth, retiring the side in order, including two strikeouts. ___ 8:50... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 8:25 p.m. Yandy Díaz hit an RBI triple off Clayton Kershaw and scored on Randy Arozarena’s record-breaking single to cut Tampa Bay’s deficit to 3-2 after three innings. A scuffling Tyler Glasnow remains on the mound for the Rays, trying to find his rhythm. The 6-foot-8 right-hander worked around a leadoff single and another wild pitch in the top of the third, striking out Will Smith and Cody Bellinger before Chris Taylor grounded out to end the inning. Kevin Kiermaier beat out an infield single to begin the bottom half on a ball charged and fielded by Kershaw. Díaz then sliced a line-drive triple into the right-field corner that skipped past Mookie Betts, allowing Kiermaier to score. It was Díaz’s first RBI since Aug. 29. Arozarena singled through the left side on a hanging breaking ball to make it 3-2. A frustrated Kershaw yelled and pounded his glove, and Arozarena signaled for the souvenir ball to be... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 8 p.m. Joc Pederson kept up the Dodgers’ attack against Tyler Glasnow, hitting a leadoff home run in the second inning that made it 3-0. Pederson stood at the plate for a moment to admire the shot into Tampa Bay’s bullpen in left-center field while Glasnow covered his head with both hands. Pederson became the eighth different Dodgers player to homer in this Series, tying the Bash Brothers of the ’89 A’s for the most ever. This is not what the Rays hoped for or needed from Glasnow. The 6-foot-8 ace has walked three so far, the outs against him are loud and he’s already thrown 51 pitches. He got a break, too, when Austin Barnes was caught stealing as he came off second base after beating the throw. For Glasnow, this comes after he walked six and threw a whopping 112 pitches in just 4 1/3 innings of Game 1. Clayton Kershaw also got some help in the bottom half. After Manuel Margot led off the inning with a... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 7:40 p.m. Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger singled in runs off an overthrowing Tyler Glasnow in the first inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 2-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays with the World Series tied at two games apiece. Seager advanced on a pair of wild pitches in the first by Glasnow, who was throwing at up to 100.6 mph. Mookie Betts doubled on a 99 mph fastball, driving the ball into left field, and scored two pitches later when Seager pulled a curveball into right field for a single and his 19th postseason RBI. Justin Turner took a called third strike, and Seager advanced on a wild pitch, a safe call by Laz Diaz that was upheld in a video review. Max Muncy drew his 20th walk of the postseason, Will Smith struck out and, after another wild pitch, Cody Bellinger hit a grounder that was stopped by second baseman Brandon Lowe on the right field grass with no play. Seager scored on the infield single,... [More]

The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 7:05 p.m. The Dodgers have three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw starting the pivotal Game 5 in the World Series. They could also have Walker Buehler available out of the bullpen against the Tampa Bay Rays. Buehler, who won Game 3 on Friday night and would start Game 7 on Wednesday night if the Series goes that long, didn’t throw his usual between-games side session before Sunday night’s game. The last time Buehler pitched in relief was June 28, 2018, when he was nursing a rib microfracture and rejoined the team after a planned rehab assignment. His only other relief appearances came in his eight games as a rookie in 2017. Big right-hander Tyler Glasnow started for the Rays, a rematch of Game 1 when Kershaw and the Dodgers won 8-3. ___ 5:25 p.m. The roof is closed for Game 5, and might not open again during this World Series. Along with the dreary, misty conditions outside Globe Life Field before the start of Sunday’s... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 3 of the World Series (all times local): 10:23 p.m. Walker Buehler struck out 10 over six dominant innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers showed off all their many talents, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. Justin Turner homered and doubled off a surprisingly hittable Charlie Morton to help the Dodgers take an early 5-0 lead, and also made a pair of sparkling plays at third base. Austin Barnes, batting ninth and in the Los Angeles lineup to catch Buehler, added a homer and also bunted home a run. That was plenty for Buehler, who allowed just a run on three hits and brought flashbacks of another lanky Dodgers right-hander -- Orel Hershiser, who pitched Los Angeles to its last title in 1988. The Dodgers, who posted the best record in the majors during the pandemic-shortened season, send hard-throwing Julio Urías to the mound for Game 4 on Saturday night. The Rays plan to string together several relievers that include... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 3 of the World Series (all times local): 9:45 p.m. Blake Treinen pitched a perfect seventh inning after Walker Buehler turned in a dominant performance, and the Los Angeles Dodgers led the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 heading into the eighth in Game 3 of the World Series. Buehler allowed three hits, struck out 10 and walked one in his 11th career postseason start. Treinen then retired Ji-Man Choi on a grounder to second and struck out Manuel Margot and Joey Wendle. The Dodgers are looking to a take a 2-1 lead in the Series as they try for the franchise’s first championship since 1988. Justin Turner and Austin Barnes homered for Los Angeles, and Max Muncy had two hits and two RBIs heading into the eighth. Barnes also drove in a run with a perfectly placed squeeze bunt in the fourth. Willy Adames doubled home Margot in the fifth to account for Tampa Bay’s only run so far. ___ 9:24 p.m. Austin Barnes’ two RBIs in Game 4 have looked very different. After dropping... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 3 of the World Series (all times local): 9:24 p.m. Austin Barnes’ two RBIs in Game 4 have looked very different. After dropping down a squeeze bunt to bring home a run in the fourth inning, the Dodgers’ nine-hitter launched a solo homer in the sixth, stretching Los Angeles’ lead to 6-1. It was the first home run of the postseason and second all year for LA’s backup catcher. The only other player with a run-scoring sacrifice bunt and a homer in a World Series game is the Yankees’ Hector Lopez in Game 5 of the 1961 Series against Cincinnati, according to MLB.com. Mookie Betts followed with a single and stole second base, his second of the game and fourth of the World Series. He was stranded there. Barnes was primarily added to the lineup because of what he can do behind the plate with ace Walker Buehler. That plan has worked out, too. Buehler has cruised through six innings of three-hit ball. He struck out three in the bottom of the sixth and has... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 3 of the World Series (all times local): 8:56 p.m. The Rays finally broke through against Walker Buehler, with Manuel Margot and Willy Adames hitting doubles in the fifth inning that cut the Dodgers’ lead to 5-1. Buehler had been in complete control until then, striking out five through four hitless innings. But Margot pulled a hard grounder down the left field line with one out and Adames delivered with two outs. That was the first run Buehler has permitted in the World Series play. In his only previous outing, he threw seven shutout innings against Boston in Game 3 in 2018. Charlie Morton’s run as an October ace ended in the early innings, and he was pulled after a one-out walk to Max Muncy in the fifth. The Rays had hoped to get a few more outs from Morton to preserve their bullpen. ___ 8:26 p.m. Walker Buehler dazzled through four hitless innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers had a 5-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays heading into the fifth inning... [More]