NL West

Dave Roberts is well versed when it comes to the Boston Red Sox and steals. 

With the Los Angeles Dodgers one win away from the World Series title, Roberts reflected on the deal that brought Mookie Betts to L.A.

"We got a steal," he said, per Dodgers Nation. "I'm just so grateful that the deal was done because it's not just going to help us this year...it's going to impact players not even drafted by the Dodgers yet."

One drawback to trading away stars at Betts' level is that it's almost impossible to get equal value in return. By waiting until the four-time All-Star was one year away from free agency, the Red Sox watched their leverage erode even more.

Theoretically, teams should've been lining up to throw trade offers Boston's way. The reality was that Betts' $27 million salary for 2020 was cost-prohibitive for a lot of general managers given how much more he would inevitably be earning from a long-term extension. He and the Dodgers agreed to a 12-year, $365 million deal.

As a result, the Red Sox wound up getting Alex Verdugo and a pair of minor league prospects, shortstop Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong. Of course, it bears remembering that Boston also sent David Price to Los Angeles as part of the trade. Price opted out of the 2020 season.

Verdugo finished with six home runs, 15 RBI and a .308/.367/.478 slash line in his first season in Boston. Those numbers are solid but below what Betts did with the Dodgers. 

The star right fielder had 16 homers, 39 RBI and a .292/.366/.562 slash line. He also has an .805 OPS in the playoffs and made a number of outstanding plays during the team's postseason run.

You generally need to wait before rendering any firm judgments about a transaction of this magnitude. Maybe the combined production of Verdugo, Downs and Wong surpasses what Betts would've given Boston in 2020 and beyond.

But it's certainly looking already like Roberts' view is right on the money.

On the way to winning the NBA championship, the Los Angeles Lakers adopted Kobe Bryant's famous "job not done" quote to keep themselves focused on finishing the goal.

With the Dodgers one win away from giving Los Angeles its second championship in the month of October, LeBron James is once again using the mantra.

Yessir!!!! 1 more. Job Not Done! FINISH YOUR BREAKFAST!! @Dodgers

— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 26, 2020

The Dodgers earned a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night to take a 3-2 lead in the 2020 World Series.

The victory was a necessary palate cleanser after the Dodgers' Bad News Bears-esque ninth-inning collapse in Game 4, which gave the Rays hope of winning their first World Series.

The Dodgers can close out their first title since 1988 on Tuesday.   

ARLINGTON, Texas – He has danced with 10 Octobers now, becoming as much a part of this month as homecoming, hayrides and Halloween. He's been hallowed at times, and he's been haunted too many other times.

What the Los Angeles Dodgers most needed after Friday night's debacle was an adult in the room to step up and take charge. No more nonsense. And from the first inning, when Clayton Kershaw shook off Yandy Diaz's leadoff single to induce a double-play ground ball from Randy Arozarena, the man the Dodgers needed most to take control did.

After his snappy 5.2 innings in a 4-2 Dodgers Game 5 win that set them up to clinch this World Series title over Tampa Bay as soon as Tuesday, Kershaw, as he often does, toted his three children into the interview room with him for the dissection of another night from one of the most well-decorated players in history.

"Any dad just wants his kids to be proud of him," Kershaw said at one point as daughter Cali Ann, five, and son Charley Clayton, nearly four, looked on (Clayton and Ellen also became parents to another son, Cooper Ellis, in January). "Cali told me she was, so I'll take that."

It was about as sweet a moment as you could possibly imagine for Kershaw in the postseason. He had pitched well, his team had won, his family was in the bubble with him a mere 20 or so minutes from where he and Ellen met, became high school sweethearts and where they still make their home, and the World Series title that has eluded him for his entire career now was as close as 48 hours away.

He held the Rays to two runs while whiffing six, running his postseason career strikeout total to 207, blowing past Justin Verlander (205) for the most in MLB history.

"It just means I've been on some great teams," Kershaw said, both correctly and modestly, during a World Series in which he's now worked 11.2 innings and surrendered just three earned runs for a 2.31 ERA while striking out 14 and walking only three. "I've gotten to the postseason a lot, and I've had a lot of starts in the postseason.

"It's a special thing to get to be a part of a team like this, and a part of those names."

He recorded his 13th career postseason win, ranking fifth in MLB history behind Andy Pettitte (19), John Smoltz (15), Verlander (14) and Tom Glavine (14).

Mostly what he wants, though, is the World Series ring he helped position his team for on a chilly, roof-closed kind of evening in Texas.

At 32, he is more philosophical now than he once was, more appreciative than ever of what he has.

"It's not easy when you've been working so long and so hard for one goal and it's getting closer and closer with each win," he said the other day before the Game 5 start. "It's getting harder not to think about the endgame and what that may be like."

Make a guy wait all these years, it's no wonder.

As you may have heard, it isn't always automatic when the leaves turn for the icon who, from April to September, has been the Dodgers' Mr. Automatic for the better part of the past decade. Three Cy Young Awards, one MVP Award, eight All-Star nods and five ERA titles haven't been able to shield him from October's minefields and barking dogs.

And there have been plenty, from Matt Adams crunching a game-winning homer for the Cardinals against Kershaw in St. Louis in 2014 to eliminate the Dodgers from the playoffs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto smashing back-to-back homers just last fall when the Dodgers leaned on Kershaw in relief of Walker Buehler in Dodger Stadium.

Those, too, helped send the Dodgers home for the winter, and that Division Series loss was the most painful of all. Because October also means that winter is coming, and those cold offseasons bleed into the next year and pretty soon, there are fewer days in front of you in a career than there are in the rear-view mirror.

Sometimes, it's been his fault. Other times, he's shouldered an unfair share of the burden. Take Game 5 of the 2017 World Series, in the middle of Houston's cheating scandal. Kershaw was dominant in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium before getting lit up in Houston. It turned out, he threw 39 sliders in that game and got just one swing-and-miss. Clearly, the Astros knew what was coming. Even after the revelations, Kershaw never complained about how unfair some of the criticism he's endured has been. He just wore it.

Last year's exit left Kershaw standing in the middle of the Dodgers clubhouse with red eyes and a crushed spirit. It was difficult to see.

"Everything people say is true right now about the postseason," he said that night with his postseason numbers then 9-11 with a 4.43 ERA. "I understand that. It's a terrible feeling."

He also eloquently noted last autumn that "every year that you make the postseason, you realize that it's one less year on your career, one less year that you have a chance to win. So you become more grateful and more appreciative every single time you get a chance to win a World Series."

Kershaw should have been pitching here on Sunday in a coronation setting. The Dodgers should have been up 3-1 with Kershaw pitching for their first World Series title since 1988.

Instead, because they blew Game 4 in a uniquely historical way—Tampa Bay racked up the first walk-off win in which there were two defensive errors made on the game's final play—the series was knotted at 2-2, and the stomachs of veteran Kershaw watchers were knotted as well.

No, not again…the baseball equivalent of a knuckle sandwich can't happen to this guy again, can it?

No, it wouldn't. It couldn't.

Even though his stuff wasn't as sharp as it was in Game 1—Kershaw said both his slider and curveball were better in the opener than they were Sunday—he maintained.

He was wobbly in the first two innings but held on to a 3-0 lead. He gave up two runs in the third but struck out Brandon Lowe—and got help from Austin Barnes, who threw out Arozarena trying to steal second—to keep the lead.

The turning point came in the fourth, when he walked Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe to start the inning and wound up in a first-and-third, nobody-out pickle. But he induced a pop-up to short from Joey Wendle and then harnessed a 74.3 mph curve to get Willy Adames swinging at strike three.

Then, with lefty Kevin Kiermaier at the plate, the fun began: Margot attempted to become the first player to swipe home plate on a straight steal in a World Series game since St. Louis' Lonnie Smith in Game 1 of the 1982 World Series.

Unlike the comedy of errors that ended Game 4, Kershaw had the presence of mind in the moment to slow the game down. First baseman Max Muncy first saw Margot break, so Muncy moved in toward the plate screaming at Kershaw, "Homehomehomehome!" and, as Muncy said, Kershaw took it from there.

Kershaw's version had Muncy screaming "Step off! Step off! Step off!"

Ah, details. While maybe the exact words weren't clear, Muncy's reaction and Kershaw's stepping off the rubber and making a great throw home were exceptionally clear. Barnes slapped down the tag a split second ahead of Margot's hands grabbing the plate in a head-first slide.

Margot tries to steal home and is called out 😳

(via @MLBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/NoND9t5eqs

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 26, 2020

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said it was Margot's play and not a call from the bench.

"You know, we try to do things and make decisions and allow players to be the athletes they are," Cash said. "And if Manny felt he had a read on it for whatever reason, it's tough for me to say yes or no because he's a talented baserunner. He might be seeing something I'm not right there."

In past years, maybe Margot is safe, the game blows up on the Dodgers and Kershaw is the target of the howling critics yet again.

This year, not so fast.

Kershaw retired the next five Rays in order over the fifth and sixth innings, including getting two outs on two pitches in the sixth before manager Dave Roberts called for reliever Dustin May to a chorus of roaring boos from many of the 11,437 in Globe Life Field.

Who doesn't love a story that has Kershaw earning redemption in the end, other than Rays fans?

Kershaw had thrown only 85 pitches, but his night was finished. This time, the Dodgers were determined not to push him too far, not to over-ask on what he could deliver.

"We talked about it before the inning," Kershaw said. "Even though it was just two pitches, which made it seem super fast, we stuck to the plan. Credit Doc [Roberts] for that one."

From the stands, the boos rained down. On the mound, third baseman Justin Turner lobbied hard for Roberts to keep riding his horse.

But the manager motioned for the bullpen anyway.

"I wouldn't say it's difficult. I just understand that fans and players get caught up in emotion," Roberts said. "And I'm emotional. But I still have to have clarity making decisions. Because ultimately my job is to help the Dodgers win the World Series."

Now just one win away, they can sense it. Actor and Dodgers fan Rob Lowe was seen in the Globe Life Field seats Sunday night. The Dodgers now have led Tampa Bay in 25 of the past 27 innings. Tony Gonsolin will start Game 6 with the bullpen oiled and ready to go.

Final preparations are in place. 

Now, it's just a matter of wading through one more off day to get to them.

    

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter to talk baseball.  

As Kenley Jansen deals with the fallout of his wild blown save in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday, the Los Angeles Dodgers closer was defiant when asked about his failure to seal the deal. 

"You can't beat yourself up," Jansen told reporters. "I didn't give up one hard hit. What can I do?"

The blame certainly does not all fall on Jansen, as the Rays earned an 8-7 victory when the Dodgers defense went full Bad News Bears on what turned out to be a game-winning single from Brett Phillips. First, center fielder Chris Taylor booted the ball to allow one run to score before catcher Will Smith whiffed on catching a relay throw from Max Muncy, allowing Randy Arozarena to score the game-winning run.

Had Smith been able to field the relay cleanly, the game likely would have gone into extra innings with Arozarena caught between third base and home. Jansen deflected when asked why he was not in position backing Smith up on the relay throw, which could have resulted in a play at the plate.

"It don't matter," Jansen said. "Tomorrow's another day. We're positive in there. I like the atmosphere in there. That's what we've done all year: pick each other up."

Jansen has been one of the Dodgers' biggest question marks this postseason after another up-and-down regular season. He's recorded two saves in eight appearances but has a 5.14 ERA and 1.14 WHIP and has given up runs in each of his two games against the Rays.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has shied away from using the "closer" definition of Jansen's role, instead insisting he'll use the righty in the highest-leverage situations of a game. It's at the very least concerning that Jansen looked to shift blame from himself, perhaps a sign that his struggles this season have gotten into his head.

The Dodgers remain a favorite to win the series despite blowing a game that would have given them a commanding 3-1 lead. Jansen will likely once again be handed the ball at some point in this series with a chance to close the Rays out. Don't be surprised if he's in the correct fielding position next time.

Game 5 is Sunday at 8:08 p.m. ET, with Clayton Kershaw going for the Dodgers and Tyler Glasnow starting for the Rays.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Go ahead, pick your poison.

You're on the hill against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and first up is the guy who may get his second MVP in three years. You'd better not feed Mookie a cookie.

So yep, work around Mookie Betts as best you can. Then comes Corey Seager, who was just named as the NLCS MVP against Atlanta and also will snag some regular-season MVP votes this year. Next you've got to deal with Justin Turner, who has one NLCS MVP already and is to October in Los Angeles what pumpkin spice is to Starbucks. Double pump, please.

On and on it goes, so deep and so fearsome that last year's NL MVP, Cody Bellinger, is hitting sixth, for crying out loud.

What we're watching now—these Dodgers who bludgeoned the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night to move to within two wins of a championship—are the Dodgers who have come as advertised over the years while piling up eight consecutive NL West titles and three NL pennants in the past four years.

But there is no false advertising this time.

These Dodgers are the deepest and best version of themselves, and they are beginning to serve notice nightly: Mess with them at your own risk. But your reflexes better be sharp, and you'd better be able to duck.

"It's not always about driving the ball," said Betts, who went 2-for-5 and stole two more bases in Game 3, giving him four in the first three games of this World Series. "I think we've proven we can do that, and we've proven we can take our singles too.

"We've done a good job putting pride aside for long ball and playing pepper. Sometimes, that's the way to play the game."

The Dodgers are relentless, a lineup that, in today's parlance, has enviable "length" and is as well-balanced as a team can be—right-handed batter, left-handed, right, left, right, left, right, left, right went the hitters one-through-nine who bludgeoned Rays starter Charlie Morton in Game 3.

They play the long game: Turner launched a 1-2 heater for a homer in the first inning.

Justin Turner first inning HR 💥

(via @MLBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/9EsLOoY6ra

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 24, 2020

They play the short game: Catcher Austin Barnes dropped a beautifully executed safety squeeze bunt to score Bellinger in the fourth.

Sometimes they do both: Barnes, after the RBI squeeze bunt, smashed an 0-2 pitch deep into the stands two innings later.

Long ball and pepper, by the way, sounds like an early treatment for a movie or a recipe to win a World Series. Betts dropped the pepper reference—noting shortened swings and sharpened approaches—when asked about the endless buffet of professional at-bats these Dodgers are producing, evidenced especially by this astounding number: The Dodgers this postseason now have scored an incredible 50 runs with two out.

"I didn't realize that," manager Dave Roberts, who oversees this embarrassment of riches, said. "I think it's just a credit to these guys, really every single at-bat, just fighting."

Roberts mentioned Turner's homer, Max Muncy's two-out, two-run single against Morton in the third that pushed Los Angeles' lead to 3-0.

"The fight, the at-bat quality, regardless of the game score, they're really competing in every at-bat," Roberts said.

Take Seager's leadoff at-bat in the ninth inning against Rays rookie left-hander Shane McClanahan. The Dodgers were leading 6-1, and the game was essentially over. Seager already had scored one run and reached twice, when he was hit by a pitch and when he walked.

So what happens? He locks in for what turned into an epic, 10-pitch duel with McClanahan. Seager won it with a single. Didn't mean a darn thing in this game, as things turned out. Except...

"Those are things that might help down road in this series," Roberts pointed out. "We've done it a lot in this series."

Indeed, go back to the third inning after Seager was hit by a pitch with two out: Turner battled Morton for six pitches before belting a double, and then Muncy worked six more pitches before rapping the RBI single.

Facing this Dodgers lineup is like seeing how long you can hold your breath underwater. And Tampa Bay's pitchers are bubbling up and gasping for air.

Meanwhile, after building three decks for his home and those of his fiancee's two brothers in his native Kentucky earlier this year, Buehler spent Game 3 building a bridge toward the title.

He blitzed the Rays with an assortment of 98 mph fastballs, 87 mph sliders, 82 mph cutters and 81 mph knuckle-curves. He became the first man ever to strike out 10 hitters in six or fewer innings in a World Series game (he went six). As analyst Rick Monday said during the Dodgers' radio broadcast at one point in Game 3, "He's not only throwing hard; he's doing surgery on the strike zone."

Buehler now has a 1.80 ERA this postseason and 39 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched. This was a bad matchup for Tampa Bay from the start, as the Rays offense struck out 608 times this season, more than any other MLB team. That includes double-digit strikeouts in seven consecutive games to end the season and in 18 of the Rays' last 25 beginning Aug. 31.

Bottom line, stars must play like stars in order for a team to win the World Series. And in Betts, Turner, Seager, Bellinger, Buehler and the rest of their constellation, these Dodgers are a baseball astronomer's dream.

Look, Tampa Bay is a good team and a fun story in a Little Engine That Could sort of way. And the Rays can still win this World Series. But their path there is a whole lot more hidden and complicated than Los Angeles'.

And if the Dodgers stars keep playing like stars, well, we all know how this ends. Especially if they keep punishing everybody in sight with two-out rallies. Talk about demoralizing for the other guys.

"You're one out away and a walk here, a single here, a double here. Next thing you know, you've given up couple of runs, and it's tough to stop the bleeding," Betts said.

Turner extended his postseason on-base streak to 11 games Friday. During that time, he's batted .285 with five doubles, two homers and two RBI while reaching base in 19 of 49 plate appearances.

Betts is hitting .316 this postseason with six doubles, a homer and six RBI, Muncy has six RBI in this World Series and Seager has clubbed seven homers this postseason.

The Dodgers hit more home runs than anybody during the season (118), led the majors with a +136 run differential and were the only team in the game not to be shut out in 2020. There are not enough bottles of Aleve at your local pharmacy to reduce the headache of facing them.

Turner said he's been off at the plate for much of this month and noted after Game 3 that Friday was the first time he felt good in all five plate appearances.

"How you see the ball, decision-making, pitches you're swinging at, pitches you're checking off on, finding barrels," Turner said. "I felt like I was in the best position I've been in all postseason in terms of swinging what I wanted to swing at and checking off on others, except for maybe that 3-2 cutter from Morton in my third at-bat [a strikeout]."

So now, the Dodgers stand just two wins away from their first World Series title since 1988. And it's worth pausing for a moment to think back to where all this was back in, say, April.

"There was a point during the [coronavirus] shutdown that I was on lot of those phone calls, and I wasn't sure if we'd get to the point of having season," said Turner, the Dodgers' player representative. "With all the stuff going on in the world right now, I'm proud of the players and staff. All the work that's gone into the protocols and making good decisions and the right choices to make sure we were able to have a season. ..."

And, this postseason.

This is a team that, at one point in April and May—had the season been canceled—faced the prospect of Betts moving on to free agency without ever playing a game in a Dodgers uniform and also seeing Turner's highly decorated tenure as a Dodger come to a stunningly quiet end.

Yeah, this is better for Los Angeles. And, it is Betts-er.

So much Betts-er.

                                               

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter to talk baseball. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to start rookie pitcher Tony Gonsolin in Game 2 of the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.

Gonsolin threw 41 pitches in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, meaning he may have to work as an opener with a cap of two or three innings in Wednesday night's game.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Julio Urias and Dustin May will both be available out of the bullpen for Game 2, although they both pitched in Game 7 of the NLCS as well.

Gonsolin will be contested by Rays starter Blake Snell when Game 2 of the World Series begins at 8:08 p.m. ET at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

L.A. owns a 1-0 series lead after winning Game 1 8-3 Tuesday. The Dodgers benefited from one of the best performances of Clayton Kershaw's postseason career, as he allowed just two hits, one walk and one earned run in six innings. He also struck out eight.

After going 2-2 with a 2.31 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 46 strikeouts in 46.2 innings during the regular season, Gonsolin has struggled in two playoff appearances.

In two NLCS outings against the Braves, including one start, he went 0-1 with a 9.95 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and eight strikeouts over 6.1 innings.

The sample size is small, and the fact that Gonsolin had such a long layoff between the end of the regular season and his first playoff appearance may have played a role in his poor showings.

Now, Gonsolin will attempt to give the Dodgers a strong outing on just two days' rest, although Game 2 profiles as one in which the Dodgers will get plenty of use out of their bullpen.

With ace Walker Buehler lining up to start Game 3 for the Dodgers, Game 2 becomes an even bigger deal for the Rays.

Tampa should have a huge advantage on the mound Wednesday, as Snell won the American League Cy Young Award two years ago. He went 4-2 with a 3.24 ERA during the 2020 regular season and has followed that up with a 2-2 record and a 3.20 ERA in four playoff starts.

Still, a loss in Game 2 would essentially put the Rays in a must-win situation against Buehler and his 1.89 ERA in the 2020 playoffs.

Everything went right for Clayton Kershaw to start off in his third World Series in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 32-year old lefty shook off his past Fall Classic demons to deliver six near-perfect innings to move to 3-1.

With 19 swings and misses, 11 on the slider, Kershaw was dominant on the mound.

Before he was pulled by manager Dave Roberts, he only gave up two hits and passed John Smoltz to move up to second on the all-time postseason strikeouts list with 201.

Not to be outdone, Mookie Betts became the first player with two steals, two runs and a home run in a single World Series game.

It was a rough night for Tampa Bay, except at the top of the seventh inning where they seemed to be building momentum.

But with two runners on base, reliever Victor Gonzales caught a bullet ball line drive off catcher Mike Zunino's bat and started the inning-ending double-play to hold the Dodgers' five-run lead, which they never relinquished.

           

World Series Game 2 Information

Start Time: 8:08 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Live Stream: FoxSports.com or Fox Sports app

        

Prediction

Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Tampa Bay 4

Tyler Glasnow really struggled in Game 1 for the Rays.

He was only on the mound for 4.1 innings, but he allowed three hits and six walks that put six runs on the board for L.A.

And with only three swings and misses on his signature curveball, it was a night that he'll likely want to forget.

Tampa Bay has Blake Snell starting Game 2, and if they want to have a better chance of stalling the Dodgers, they will need for him to pitch at least six strong innings.

While the 2018 Cy Young Award winner seems capable, he has yet to throw for more than 5 2/3 innings this season.

One pitch was all Mookie needed. pic.twitter.com/Jna3Le2g6E

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 21, 2020

As for L.A., they'll be starting Tony Gonsolin, who is only on two days rest since the Game 7 clincher against the Atlanta Braves.

Gonsolin was a bit off in the NLCS, but if he can get back to form, he'll be the right call for Roberts.

Cody Bellinger, who separated his shoulder in the closeout game against the Braves, went yard in Game 1 to open up the scoreboard and is cautiously optimistic about the Dodgers being just three wins away from its first World Series title since 1988.

"We understand how important Game 1 is and we want to go out and treat tomorrow like it's Game 1 and make sure we don't get too carried away with ourselves," Bellinger told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

If both Bellinger and Betts have repeat performances of Game 1, Game 2 is another notch in the win column for L.A.

         

Follow Maurice Bobb on Twitter, @ReeseReport

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference and MLB.com

Mookie Betts shined in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Tuesday's Game 1 of the World Series, and he discussed being the only African American player in the Fall Classic during a postgame interview with MLB Network.

"Obviously, there's got to be more of us here," he said while revealing he did not know he was the only African American player in the series until he was asked about it.

"It starts in the inner cities," he continued. "We have to give back and whatnot. I'm doing my part, putting some programs together to get us into baseball. But I hope everybody is out here watching because I'm 5'9" and 170 pounds just like the majority of us. So, anything is possible."

.@mookiebetts led the way for the @Dodgers in Game One!

He caught up with Harold and Greg on #MLBTonight.#WorldSeries | #LATogether pic.twitter.com/7u0Z7xQ5bG

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 21, 2020

In July, Betts told reporters "I think baseball did not do a good job with that," when discussing the league's response to the police killing of George Floyd and the worldwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism it sparked.

Liz Roscher of Yahoo Sports noted the league's statement at the time came after a number of other sports leagues and individual teams issued responses to the moment.

New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman was among those who noticed how long it took:

Took long enough...BLACK LIVES MATTER! 🖤 https://t.co/A8PlNVBXcY

— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 3, 2020

Betts, whom the Boston Red Sox traded to Los Angeles this past offseason, knelt during the playing of the national anthem ahead of the season opener against the San Francisco Giants as a means of protest against systemic racism and police brutality:

Dodgers star Mookie Betts takes a knee during the national anthem before his first game in LA pic.twitter.com/JeFFnE6HZS

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 24, 2020

On the field in Tuesday's game, he went 2-for-4 with a home run, two steals, two runs and a walk as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter in the straightforward victory. He showed off his versatility by making things happen on the basepaths and adding some power with the home run and likely took an early lead in the World Series MVP race as the best player on the field.

Betts won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2018 and appears primed to lead the Dodgers to their first title since the 1988 campaign.

Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger broke out a new toe-tap home run celebration in Game 1 of the World Series, and it may be here to stay, per comments relayed by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register/Southern California Newspaper Group: 

#Dodgers Cody Bellinger on going low with celebration after HR: I said it before the game -- if I hit one today, I'm not touching anyone's arm. I'm going straight foot."
Said he might keep the foot tap the rest of his career.

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) October 21, 2020

Bellinger suffered a dislocated right shoulder after an aggressive arm-slam celebration with Enrique Hernandez following his game-winning home run in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves:

Cody Bellinger says he popped out his right shoulder while celebrating the go-ahead HR in Game 7 😅 pic.twitter.com/KzGRRBHTZB

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 19, 2020

The 2019 National League MVP didn't miss any time, but he played it safe on Tuesday after smacking a two-run homer against the Tampa Bay Rays to give his team a 2-0 advantage:

No shoulder injury this time! 😂

Cody Bellinger now using the "foot celebration" after home runs. pic.twitter.com/MIuvRLbaNL

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 21, 2020

Bellinger now has four home runs and 12 RBI in 13 playoff games, and his efforts helped L.A. win Game 1 of the Fall Classic by an 8-3 score.

Game 2 of the World Series will be Wednesday at 8:08 p.m. ET in Arlington, Texas' Globe Life Field.

Sometimes in the postseason, unheralded contributors rise to the occasion and etch their names in October lore.

Other times, the best players are, well, the best players.

Game 1 of the World Series fell squarely into the latter category as the Los Angeles Dodgers rode a stellar effort by ace Clayton Kershaw and an offensive attack fronted by Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger to an 8-3 statement win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The series is far from over. But fresh off their thrilling seven-game National League Championship Series triumph against Atlanta, the Dodgers kept the momentum going thanks to the biggest, most potentially lethal advantage they hold over Tampa Bay: star power.

 

Notable Players of the Game

For Los Angeles:

• LHP Clayton Kershaw: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO. Kershaw entered Game 1 with a 4.31 career postseason ERA and the narrative about his October inconsistency alive and well. He didn't silence all doubters with his performance, but he certainly quieted them with six strong innings that set the tone for L.A.
• CF Cody Bellinger: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 HR. Bellinger showed no ill effects from the dislocated right shoulder he suffered during a home run celebration Sunday in Game 7 of the NLCS. The Dodgers center fielder swatted a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth that got the scoring started for Los Angeles.
• RF Mookie Betts: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB. Betts showed off his full assortment of top-shelf offensive tools as he stole two bases, hustled home from third on a ground ball with the infield drawn in and hit his first home run of the 2020 postseason.  

   

For Tampa Bay:

• RHP Tyler Glasnow: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 6 ER, 6 BB, 8 SO. Glasnow flashed the triple-digit heat that makes him an emerging ace. But the 27-year-old was undone by wonky command in his World Series debut as he issued six walks and couldn't make it out of the fifth inning.
• CF Kevin Kiermaier: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 HR. Kiermaier hit .217 during the regular season and was 7-for-36 in the first three rounds of the playoffs. But the veteran center fielder was Tampa Bay's offensive standout in Game 1 with a solo home run and two of the Rays' three runs batted in.
• 2B Brandon Lowe: 0-for-4, 1 SO. A key cog in Tampa Bay's offense during the regular season, Lowe continued his October struggles by going hitless in Game 1 and is now 6-for-56 this postseason with 19 strikeouts.

   

Differing Levels of Star Power

The Dodgers cruised to the best record in baseball during the regular season thanks to a deep roster. But they also leaned on their stars.

In his first season with Los Angeles, Betts hit 16 homers with 10 stolen bases and a .927 OPS in 55 games. Kershaw, while no longer the most dominant pitcher in baseball, posted a 2.16 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP, hit just .239 but swatted 12 home runs in 56 games.

There are plenty of other contributors in L.A.'s lineup and pitching staff. But it always felt like the surest way for this organization to get over the championship hump was for its highest-profile players to shine.

That's exactly what happened Tuesday in Arlington. Betts and Bellinger went deep, and the former created havoc on the bases with his speed, instincts and all-around acumen. 

Kershaw, meanwhile, threw six strong innings and moved into second place on the all-time postseason strikeout list with 201. Assuming he gets another start in this Fall Classic, he'll almost surely pass Justin Verlander's mark of 205.

Some will still question Kershaw's October mettle, but they aren't piping up at the moment.

Clayton Kershaw is tied for the 2nd-most #postseason games (6) with 8+ Ks & 1 ER or fewer (Schilling, Beckett). pic.twitter.com/oFoVTRvaXu

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) October 21, 2020

The Rays simply didn't have an answer. Tampa Bay finished with the best record in the Junior Circuit thanks to superb pitching and defense, and it won the pennant with that same formula while also leading all postseason clubs with 25 homers through the first three rounds.

But the AL representatives are a small-market squad with a roster devoid of household names. That doesn't mean they can't defeat richer, glitzier opponents, which they proved in their satisfying five-game division series win over the rival New York Yankees.

But in Game 1, at least, the contrast was stark. The Dodgers turned to their stars, both on the mound and in the batter's box, and their stars delivered. This is what they envisioned when they signed Betts to a 12-year, $365 million extension in July after acquiring him from the Boston Red Sox in February.

"I'm here to win some rings and bring rings back to L.A.—that's all I'm focused on," Betts told reporters at the time.

Now, he and Los Angeles are three wins away from accomplishing that goal and ending the constant mentions of 1988—the last year L.A. hoisted a Commissioner's Trophy.

Expect the Rays to answer. They showed their resiliency against New York and in a seven-game battle with the Houston Astros, against whom they lost three straight after taking a 3-0 series lead in the ALCS, only to gut out a win in Game 7.

After losing two of the last three World Series, the Dodgers know better than anyone that no hardware is awarded until it's over. But they sent a loud and clear message in Game 1.

And, perhaps most importantly, they let their best players deliver it.

   

Where the World Series Stands

• The Dodgers lead the series 1-0. Game 2 is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET on Wednesday from Globe Life Field in Arlington.
• Left-hander Blake Snell is slated to start Game 2 for Tampa Bay. Snell is 2-2 this postseason with a 3.20 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 19.2 innings. The Dodgers have not announced a Game 2 starter but are planning to utilize a committee approach with lefty Julio Urias and righties Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin all potentially in the mix.
• Game 2 will be a home game for Los Angeles, followed by an off day Thursday.

   

All statistics courtesy of MLB.com.