BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn't want his lefties to feel left out.Even as Los Angeles loaded its lineup with right-handed batters to face Red Sox lefty Chris Sale, Cora stayed with Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers against left-handed Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night.Benintendi responded with four hits — going 3 for 3 against the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner — and three runs. Devers drove in one of them to lead the Red Sox to an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in a blustery Series opener."We're facing a guy who's one of the best of all time. And a lot of guys didn't have a lot of experience off of him; the first time a lot of us have faced him. Didn't really know what to expect," Benintendi said. "We had a good game plan. We stuck to it."Benintendi had one four-hit performance in the regular season but had never topped two in a postseason game during his career. The 24-year-old left fielder is just the second lefty ever to have... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Games averaged 3 hours, 35½ minutes during the playoffs, up 6 minutes from the 2017 postseason and more than a half-hour longer than this year's regular season.Strikeouts have topped hits in seven of eight postseason matchups. Starting pitchers usually don't finish the fifth inning and use of relievers is up markedly in an era when "bullpenning" has become a verb.Have the changes brought about by analytics made baseball less appealing to casual fans?"There's certainly something to be said for that, because ball in play, double plays, defense, that's always exciting," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said ahead of Tuesday night's World Series opener against Boston. "I know our series there was a lot of strikeouts, but there was the strategy part of it — I think that that's very exciting for a baseball purist that loves to see what managers think and how you can kind of match up against the opposition."Boston's 8-4 win in Game 1 took 3:52, ended at 12:03 a.m. and included... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings for starters is becoming the new norm.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories. Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens."I say it all the time, and I say it to my son, I've never seen an ugly win," Sale explained in a packed Boston clubhouse. "Obviously the stat line isn't the prettiest thing. It's not exactly how you draw it up or dream about it, but we got a win, so I'm good to go."For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings for starters is becoming the new norm.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories. Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens."I say it all the time, and I say it to my son, I've never seen an ugly win," Sale explained in a packed Boston clubhouse. "Obviously the stat line isn't the prettiest thing. It's not exactly how you draw it up or dream about it, but we got a win, so I'm good to go."For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn't hesitate to use his lefties against Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, and Andrew Benintendi delivered.The left fielder had four hits in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night and scored three times in Boston's 8-4 victory.Benintendi had one four-hit game in the regular season but had never topped two in a postseason game.The Dodgers' entire lineup was right-handed against Boston lefty Chris Sale. But Cora let lefties Benintendi, Rafael Devers and Jackie Bradley Jr. face Kershaw."For the most part we executed what we were trying to do," Benintendi said.The 24-year-old Benintendi became the second left-handed hitter to go 3 for 3 in a game against Kershaw."Up and down the lineup there's not an easy out. We're going to grind out at-bats," Benintendi said.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings have become a standard night.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories. Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens.For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts and one walk.But no pitcher has thrown a complete game in the opener since Philadelphia's Cliff Lee beat the New York Yankees in 2009. The last complete-game shutout in Game 1 was thrown by Oakland's Dave Stewart against San Francisco in 1989, part of a tradition of gems... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):12:03 a.m.Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on a chilly Tuesday night.Benintendi delivered four hits, Martinez drove in two early runs and pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez golfed a three-run homer to seal it. The 108-win Red Sox got a solid effort from their bullpen after an expected duel between aces Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw never developed.Xander Bogaerts hit into a go-ahead forceout in the fifth and Rafael Devers followed with an RBI single for a 5-3 lead.After Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh for his third RBI, Nunez homered over the Green Monster off Alex Wood in the bottom half.Boston's David Price faces Hyun-Jin Ryun in Game 2 on Wednesday. This marks just the third World Series in which both starting pitchers in the first two games are lefties.___11:35... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):11:35 p.m.Pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez's three-run homer off Alex Wood gave the Red Sox an 8-4 lead in the seventh inning.Manny Machado's sacrifice fly against Ryan Brasier had pulled the Dodgers to 5-4 in the top half. With runners on second and third, Eduardo Rodriguez relieved and retired Cody Bellinger on an inning-ending flyout.Andrew Benintendi led off the bottom half with a double against Julio Urias that kicked off the glove of Bellinger in short left, Benintendi's fourth hit of the game. Bellinger had just entered the game in the top half.Pedro Baez struck out Mitch Moreland, intentionally walked J.D. Martinez and struck out Xander Bogaerts.Nunez batted for Rafael Devers, Wood relieved and Nunez sent a knuckle-curve just over the Green Monster.___10:51 p.m.Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly used his 100 mph heat to restore order to a grinding game, preserving Boston's 5-3 lead after six innings.Kelly retired three straight Dodgers,... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):10:51 p.m.Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly used his 100 mph heat to restore order to a grinding game, preserving Boston's 5-3 lead after six innings.Kelly retired three straight Dodgers, the first solid effort by a bullpen guy this evening. Los Angeles reliever Julio Urias then did the same thing in the bottom half.Good hitters are coming for both teams as Game 1 heads to the seventh.___10:40 p.m.The Red Sox are back in the lead, 5-3, after five innings and the teams have turned it over to their bullpens in Game 1 of the World Series.Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw both got pulled after allowing baserunners to start the fifth. After the Dodgers tied it 3-3 in the top half and chased Sale, Kershaw walked Mookie Betts to lead off the bottom and then gave up Andrew Benintendi's third hit of the game.Ryan Madson loaded the bases by walking Steve Pearce on four pitches, bringing up J.D. Martinez, who already had two hits and two RBIs in... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):10:40 p.m.The Red Sox are back in the lead, 5-3, after five innings and the teams have turned it over to their bullpens in Game 1 of the World Series.Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw both got pulled after allowing baserunners to start the fifth. After the Dodgers tied it 3-3 in the top half and chased Sale, Kershaw walked Mookie Betts to lead off the bottom and then gave up Andrew Benintendi's third hit of the game.Ryan Madson loaded the bases by walking Steve Pearce on four pitches, bringing up J.D. Martinez, who already had two hits and two RBIs in the game. He struck out on three pitches.Xander Bogaerts gave Boston the lead with a fielder's choice groundout, then Rafael Devers made it 5-3 with a single.In all, Kershaw was charged with five runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out five and stands to take the loss if the Dodgers can't rally.__10:35 p.m.Red Sox starter Chris Sale is out of the game, leaving after walking... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):9:58 p.m.Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale left in the top of the fifth inning of the World Series opener despite a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.Sale walked Brian Dozier leading off the fifth and was replaced by Matt Barnes. Sale threw 91 pitches, allowing five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.Clayton Kershaw, starting his second straight World Series opener for the Dodgers, threw 69 pitches in the first four innings and retired five straight batters after J.D. Martinez's tiebreaking double in the third. Kershaw had given up six hits with five strikeouts and two walks.___9:40 p.m.J.D. Martinez put Boston ahead 3-2 with a booming double in the third inning — and also put a scare into Red Sox fans at Fenway Park.Martinez lined a long drive against Clayton Kershaw that hit off the garage door on the center field wall. But the big designated hitter slipped rounding the bases, his left foot skidding off the bag at... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):9:10 p.m.The Dodgers are liking this designated hitter thing.Los Angeles DH Matt Kemp homered in the top of the second inning on Tuesday night to cut Boston's lead in Game 1 of the World Series to 2-1. The 34-year-old spent most of his time as an outfielder in the NL this season but also played five games as DH, batting .389 with a homer in 18 at-bats.The designated hitter is used in the AL parks only in interleague play, including the World Series.Kemp hit a 3-2 pitch from Chris Sale 389 feet into the front row of the Green Monster Seats. Perhaps a bigger problem for Boston is that Sale needed 51 pitches to get through two innings.Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw was at 37 pitches, thanks in part to an inning-ending double play after Boston put runners on first and third in the bottom of the second.___8:45 p.m.Run-scoring singles by Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez against Clayton Kershaw in the first inning gave the Boston... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):8:45 p.m.Run-scoring singles by Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez against Clayton Kershaw in the first inning gave the Boston Red Sox a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series opener.Chris Sale pitched a one-hit top of the first, allowing a two-out single to David Freese before retiring Manny Machado on a flyout.After Freese allowed Mookie Betts' foul pop behind first to fall on a blustery night, Betts led off the bottom half with a single, stole second and scored on Benintendi's single to right.Yasiel Puig's throw home had little chance to catch Betts, and Benintendi took second on the toss. One out later, Martinez singled past a diving Machado at shortstop, and Benintendi came home without a play as Kershaw looked on in disgust.___8:30 p.m.The Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to start nine right-handed batters in a World Series game, none of them switch-hitters.There were 20 previous instances... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):7:55 p.m.Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts received a big cheer from the Boston fans when he was introduced before Game 1 of the World Series.Roberts is still beloved in Boston for his brief tenure with the Red Sox. It was his stolen base in Game 4 of the 2004 AL playoffs that turned things around for the long-futile franchise. The Red Sox came back to tie it the ninth inning and rally from an 0-3 deficit in the series to beat the New York Yankees and then win their first World Series in 86 years.But the love-fest didn't last long.Second baseman Brian Dozier was introduced next, and the cheers turned to boos.___6:45 p.m.The field at Fenway Park was cleared in anticipation of bad weather before the World Series opener."Attention fans: Due to severe weather in the area, please take cover in the concourse or under the grandstands immediately," a message on the video board read 90 minutes before the scheduled start as lightning... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):6:45 p.m.The field at Fenway Park was cleared in anticipation of bad weather before the World Series opener."Attention fans: Due to severe weather in the area, please take cover in the concourse or under the grandstands immediately," a message on the video board read 90 minutes before the scheduled start as lightning flashed. "Thank you for your patience."Afternoon showers were followed by clearing, and three rainbows appeared by the ballpark: two behind the Green Monster in left field and one in back of the stands on the first-base side. A narrow storm line could pass through just before or after the scheduled 8:09 p.m. EDT start.___5:25 p.m.A trio of gorgeous rainbows showed up over Fenway Park ahead of Game 1 of the World Series. There were two beyond the Green Monster, and another brilliant 'bow far past the right-field stands.A good omen for Boston? Well, there was a wonderful rainbow over Fenway in 2013 while the Red Sox... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):4:35 p.m.With a steady rain falling, batting practice has been canceled and the tarp is on the field for Game 1 of the World Series.But Major League Baseball says the game is still scheduled to start on time at 8:09 p.m.Forecasts had called for temperatures around 50 and rain during the afternoon. It was expected to taper off by game time.___noonThe Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers each added a fresh left-handed reliever to their World Series rosters.Boston put Drew Pomeranz on its roster Tuesday in place of right-hander Brandon Workman. Los Angeles swapped lefties, adding Scott Alexander and dropping Caleb Ferguson.Knuckleballer Steven Wright failed to make Boston's roster after throwing a simulated game Sunday. Wright was removed from the Division Series roster following the opener against the New York Yankees, a day after reinjuring his left knee during a workout.Pomeranz gives the Red Sox another matchup left-hander... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Games have averaged 3 hours, 35½ minutes, up six minutes from the 2017 postseason and more than a half-hour over the regular season.Strikeouts have topped hits in seven of eight postseason matchups. Starting pitchers usually don't finish the fifth inning and use of relievers is up markedly in an era when "bullpenning" has become a verb.Have the changes brought about by analytics made baseball less appealing to casual fans?"There's certainly something to be said for that, because ball in play, double plays, defense, that's always exciting," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said ahead of Tuesday night's World Series opener against Boston. "I know our series there was a lot of strikeouts, but there was the strategy part of it — I think that that's very exciting for a baseball purist that loves to see what managers think and how you can kind of match up against the opposition."Postseason games this year have averaged a record 18.8 strikeouts, according to the Elias Sports... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The World Series opens in October chill on Tuesday night, with Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw pitching at Fenway Park for the first time and facing a Red Sox team that had the best record in baseball.Kershaw will confront a lineup loaded with the likes of Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez that carried Boston to 108 wins this season.Chris Sale gets the start for Boston, pitching 10 days after his last outing and nine after he was hospitalized with what the team called a "stomach illness." What precisely was wrong with Sale is unclear. He joked — possibly — that it was from a piercing gone bad.Forecasts call for the temperature to be around 50 degrees for the first pitch a little after 8 p.m., with a drop as the night goes on.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):noonThe Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers each added a fresh left-handed reliever to their World Series rosters.Boston put Drew Pomeranz on its roster Tuesday in place of right-hander Brandon Workman. Los Angeles swapped lefties, adding Scott Alexander and dropping Caleb Ferguson.Knuckleballer Steven Wright failed to make Boston's roster after throwing a simulated game Sunday. Wright was removed from the Division Series roster following the opener against the New York Yankees, a day after reinjuring his left knee during a workout.Pomeranz gives the Red Sox another matchup left-hander to use against the Dodgers. He made 11 starts, then was sent to the bullpen in August and had a 5.96 ERA in 15 relief appearances, striking out 22 and walking 12 in 22 2/3 innings while allowing 27 hits.Workman allowed seven hits and three walks while facing 13 batters over three appearances in the Division and League Championship Series.Alexander... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The World Series opens in October chill on Tuesday night, with Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw pitching at Fenway Park for the first time and facing a Red Sox team that had the best record in baseball.Kershaw will confront a lineup loaded with the likes of Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez that carried Boston to 108 wins this season.Chris Sale gets the start for Boston, pitching 10 days after his last outing and nine after he was hospitalized with what the team called a "stomach illness." What precisely was wrong with Sale is unclear. He joked — possibly — that it was from a piercing gone bad.Forecasts call for the temperature to be around 50 degrees for the first pitch a little after 8 p.m., with a drop as the night goes on.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports