Clayton Kershaw vs Tyler Glasnow.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat is going on??? How did the Boys in Blue go from staring elimination in the face (sans mask, no less) to barreling into their third World Series in four years?
Let us count the ways:
1. Timely hitting. And just enough of it. The Dodgers' margins of victory in their four NLCS wins: 12, 4, 2, 1. In Game 7, both Kiké Hernandez's and Cody Bellinger's ABs went like this:
- pitch #5: foul
- pitch #6: foul
- pitch #7: foul
- pitch #8: crucial HR
The Barves' pitching tightened up and somehow our bats, as Dr. Ian Malcolm might say, found a way.
Oh yeah, congrats to NLCS MVP Corey Seager! Keep mashing, Corey.
2. Pitching. While our starters have been variable, the bullpen has been the best we've seen lately. Let's hope Clayton can go deep into tonight's game and preserve those relief arms.
3. De-fense! De-fense! De-fense! Mookie Betts! Justin Turner (above)! Defensive Runs Saved might not be as sexy a stat as, say, dingers, but it all adds up (or subtracts down).
4. Managing. Let's credit Dave Roberts when he pushes the right buttons. Our first two openers in Game 7 (Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin) weren't great but Doc made the adjustments to settle the pitching down. He PHed Kiké at the right time and trusted Julio Urías to finish the game. No Clayton or Kenley in sight.
5. Luck. Finally, that last ingredient that no amount of money can buy. In Game 7 it came in the form of the double TOOTBLAN courtesy of Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley. We suuuuuure could use a few more of those types of plays by the Rays.
Will this finally be our year? Will the small-market Rays triumph over our clever, moneyed overlords? In 1988, both the Lakers and Dodgers handled their business. 32 years later, we're thisclose to it happening again.
GO BLUE!
