Red Sox finish off Dodgers in 5

4th World Series crown in 15 seasons

LOS ANGELES – Chris Sale’s final pitch for this Boston juggernaut triggered a celebration on the Dodger Stadium infield, among thousands of fans who made their way to California – and even outside Fenway Park back home.

The quest is complete. Yes, these 2018 Red Sox really are that great.

A team to remember from top to bottom. A season to savor from start to finish.

David Price proved his postseason mettle, Steve Pearce homered twice and Boston beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 on Sunday to finish off a one-sided World Series in five games.

A tormented franchise during decades of frustration and despair before ending an 86-year championship drought in 2004, the Red Sox have become baseball’s team of the century with four titles in 15 seasons.

“Seeing all these grown men over there, just acting like kids, that’s what it’s all about,” Price said after pitching three-hit ball into the eighth inning on short rest. “This is why I came to Boston.”

After losing on opening day, Alex Cora’s team romped to a 17-2 start and a club-record 108 wins, then went 11-3 in the postseason, dispatching the 100-win New York Yankees and the 103-victory and defending champion Houston Astros in the playoffs. Cora, a player on Boston’s 2007 champions, became the first manager from Puerto Rico to win a title and just the fifth rookie skipper overall.             

Pearce, the World Series MVP, hit a two-run homer on Clayton Kershaw’s sixth pitch. Solo homers by Mookie Betts in the sixth inning and J.D. Martinez in the seventh quieted the crowd, and Pearce added a solo drive off Pedro Baez in the eighth.   

source: philstar.com

Red Sox LEAD WS 2-0; Dodgers pay d’ price

BOSTON –  From playoff flop to October ace in two legacy-shifting starts, David Price earned his second postseason victory in a row and moved the Boston Red Sox halfway to yet another World Series title.

The Red Sox left-hander pitched six innings of three-hit ball, and major league RBI leader J.D. Martinez broke a fifth-inning tie during another two-out rally to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers need a win to avoid a 0-3 deficit that no World Series team has ever recovered from.


“This is the biggest stage in baseball,” Price said after his longest postseason outing since signing a seven-year, $217 million contract to come to Boston in 2016. “To be able to do that, it feels good, for sure. I’m pumped for myself, pumped for all my teammates and coaches for us to be two wins away.”

Mookie Betts had three hits for the Red Sox, who have won 14 of their last 16 World Series games dating to a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004. They have won two more championships since then, in ‘07 and ‘13.

Not bad for a team that went the previous 86 years without a title.And Price had battled a curse of his own.

The one-time Dodgers draft pick has pitched like an ace in the regular season but was 0-9 in his first 10 postseason starts before this October. Whether with Tampa Bay, Toronto, Detroit or Boston, his team had never won a playoff game he started before this year.

But the Red Sox have now won his last three postseason starts, including the ALCS Game 5 clincher against the defending World Series champion Astros  in which he pitched six shutout innings.

source: philstar.com

Al Champs Red Sox on to... World Series

HOUSTON – What a birthday present for rookie manager Alex Cora. He’s taking the Boston Red Sox back to the World Series.

David Price put his postseason woes behind him, pitching the Red Sox past the defending champion Houston Astros 4-1 Thursday night in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series.

Next stop for the 108-win Red Sox is Fenway Park for the World Series opener Tuesday night against either the Los Angeles Dodgers or Milwaukee Brewers.


But before leaving Minute Maid Park, the Red Sox surrounded the 43-year-old Cora in the clubhouse and heartily sang “happy birthday!” Wearing goggles and championship gear, the team saluted the first manager from Puerto Rico to lead a team to the World Series.

Cora was hired a year ago as he prepared to go to the Series as Houston’s bench coach. He got the job a month after Hurricane Maria devastated his island homeland, and immediately went to work helping with relief efforts.

“I know right know for everything that we’re going through as a nation, as a country, for me to stand up here with this trophy, I know there’s a lot of people proud of me in Puerto Rico,” he said.

Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer as the Red Sox stunned Justin Verlander to win the best-of-seven set 4-1.

ALCS MVP Jackie Bradley Jr., outfielder Mookie Betts and the Red Sox will try to bring Boston its fourth crown in 15 years – this is their first trip since winning it all in 2013.

Los Angeles has a 3-2 lead in the NLCS going into Game 6 on Friday night at Miller Park.

“We got four more wins. That was very, very special, absolutely. But we want more,” Price said.

Pitching on only three days’ rest after Boston ace Chris Sale was ruled out while recovering from a stomach illness, Price struck out nine in six shutout innings of three-hit ball. The left-hander, who has had a rough time in Boston since signing a $217 million contract before the 2016 season, entered 0-9 with a 6.16 ERA in 11 career postseason starts.

Price was thrilled that he won’t be questioned anymore about not having a postseason win as a starter.

“That’s awesome,” he said. “I don’t have to prepare myself for it in spring training on Feb. 20 or September when I’ve still got five regular-season starts. I don’t have to answer that question anymore. And man, it feels good.”

Price was warming in the bullpen as Game 4 ended, perhaps jeopardizing his readiness for Thursday. Instead, that session may have keyed his dominant performance.

“It felt good. Honestly, it really started last night in the bullpen. Threw quite a few pitches to come in for the next hitter, found something out while doing that and kind of just carried that over to today,” Price said.

Price tipped his cap to a few hundred Red Sox fans assembled behind the Boston dugout while they cheered as he walked off the field following postgame interviews.

The only time thing that didn’t go smoothly for Price came when he brought 1-year-old son Xavier into the postgame news conference and the little one wouldn’t quit shrieking and wriggling away from him.     
 
source: philstar.com