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The Boston Red Sox moved to within one win of their ninth World Series championship with a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.
Following a record-setting 18-inning battle in Game 3 (a 3-2 Los Angles victory) on Friday night, all eyes were on the starting pitchers. Rich Hill started for the Dodgers and threw 6.1 innings of one-hit, one-run baseball, striking out seven. After recording one out on six pitches in Game 3, Eduardo Rodriguez took the ball for the Red Sox, allowing four runs in 5.2 innings.
Steve Pearce was the star of the night, going 2-for-4 with a walk and four RBI.
Mitch Moreland sparked the Boston offense with a pinch-hit three-run homer in the top of the seventh, with Pearce tying the game with a solo shot in the eighth. Pinch hitter Rafael Devers delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth.
Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez each went yard for Los Angeles.
Steve Pearce Showing Off as Boston’s Most Underrated Addition
When Boston acquired Pearce in a deal back in June, it was a move that likely didn’t land on many people’s radar.
However, Pearce is certainly grabbing everyone’s attention now.
The 35-year-old journeyman was solid for the Red Sox down the stretch, hitting .279/.394/.507 with seven home runs, eight doubles and 26 RBI in 50 games following the midseason trade.
Pearce carried that momentum into the postseason, recording hits in six of his first seven appearances, reaching base in all seven. Although he had cooled off as of late, manager Alex Cora stuck with him and penciled him into the 3-hole for Game 4.
That proved to be a brilliant decision.
While it took a pinch-hit home run by Moreland in the seventh to wake up the Red Sox’s bats, Pearce wound up stealing the spotlight. First, there was his game-tying homer in the eighth off All-Star closer Kenley Jansen:
Then, the first baseman did more damage by breaking the game open with a bases-clearing double an inning later:
That big night resulted in some history, per MLB Stat of the Day:
Not bad for someone who was held hitless through the first three games of the series.
Offseason signing J.D. Martinez certainly played a role in getting Boston to the World Series, but it was Pearce who delivered the biggest performance of the season for the Red Sox.
Rich Hill Justifies Dave Roberts’ Decision to Give Him Game 4 Start
Following the Game 3 marathon on Friday night, Los Angeles skipper Dave Roberts was rethinking who would get the start in Game 4, going as far as calling Saturday’s starter “TBD.”
Roberts had toyed with the idea of an unconventional approach, using an “opener” rather than a traditional starter. However, he decided to give Hill the nod after a conversation with the veteran southpaw.
“We were just kind of just potentially toying with the idea of an opener, and just kind of wanted to leave it open-ended,” Roberts said on Saturday afternoon, according to Matt Vautour of MassLive.com. “And just after more conversation and thought, just feel great about Rich starting and going through his normal routine.”
Well, Hill made his manager look very wise by delivering a gem.
The 38-year-old left-hander, whose injuries have made it tough to rely on him throughout his career, continued to shine on the World Series stage. After allowing just two total runs in two starts (spanning 8.2 innings) against the Houston Astros in last year’s fall classic, Hill was on top of his game from the very start on this night.
Hill took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before finally allowing a single to catcher Christian Vazquez. What makes that feat even more impressive is the fact that he had little room for error, as Rodriguez was matching him pitch for pitch, keeping the Dodgers off the board through the front five.
Even though starter Walker Buehler gave Los Angeles seven innings in Game 3, the bullpen still had to cover 11 innings on Friday night, with four relievers, including Jansen and Pedro Baez, going more than one frame. That type of workload had the potential to impact the game plan in Game 4—but Hill helped make Roberts’ job much easier by delivering 6.1 strong innings.
Not only did he give his team a chance to win Game 4, but eating innings was also key after Game 3. Then again, it appeared he could have gone longer, being yanked while cruising with 91 pitches.
Roberts and the Dodgers needed a good outing from Hill on Saturday, and he delivered more than they could have hoped for. Ultimately, a quick hook may have cost the Dodgers the game…and ultimately a World Series.
Dave Roberts Must Trust Bullpen Beyond Jansen to Win Series
Friday night’s marathon likely affected the way both Cora and Roberts managed Game 4.
It may have been the reason Cora tried to ride Rodriguez, who hadn’t thrown more than 44 pitches in a game since Sept. 20, until the wheels fell off as the result of the bullpen throwing 12.1 innings the night before. That ultimately proved costly, as a scoreless game became a 4-0 Los Angeles lead in the blink of an eye.
For Roberts, his bullpen management the last two games may have contributed to Game 4’s loss.
Saturday marked the second consecutive day in which Roberts turned to Jansen to try to close out a victory by getting the final six outs. It didn’t work in Game 3, and it didn’t work in Game 4. However, the latest blown save could have been impacted by his workload on the previous night.
It’s tough to extend a closer on back-to-back games like this—especially when he’s not used to that kind of workload.
Jansen reached the 30-pitch plateau just once during the regular season and never topped it. He has thrown 30-plus pitches twice in his past five appearances and may have made it three times had he been able to get through the eighth unscathed.
In fact, he never was asked to throw multiple innings on back-to-back days at all this season.
Nobody can blame Roberts for putting games on the arm of his best reliever. After all, this is a pitcher who has 268 career regular-season saves, making three All-Star teams and finishing fifth in Cy Young voting a season ago. But at some point, a manager has to be able to put his trust his setup relievers to bridge the gap.
Let’s not forget the Dodgers bullpen ranked second in all of baseball, first in the NL, with a 3.38 ERA during the regular season. Injuries certainly played a role throughout the season, but as a unit, there weren’t many better.
To be fair, Roberts did show faith in his bullpen in Game 4. He turned to Scott Alexander at the first sign of trouble, even though Hill had thrown “just” 91 pitches in 6.1 innings. That combined with the decision to go with midseason acquisition Ryan Madson one batter later proved costly, as the duo allowed a 4-0 lead to be cut down to just one.
At that point, Roberts called on his No. 1 reliever to try to slam the door shut to even the series. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Jansen blew his second save in as many nights after blowing just four during the regular season.
Would Los Angeles have won had Roberts used someone other than Jansen in the eighth? That’s impossible to say, especially since all six relievers he called on in the final 2.2 innings allowed at least one run. Perhaps that was the result of Friday’s 18-inning marathon.
Regardless, Roberts can’t be asking Jansen to go multiple innings in high-stress situations on back-to-back days when that’s just something he isn’t used to. After the last two days, it’s not clear what Jansen’s availability for Sunday’s Game 5 will be. And that could loom large if the Dodgers have a lead late in the game.
What’s Next
The Red Sox will have their first opportunity to clinch the 2018 World Series in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET. The Dodgers must win to keep their season alive and send the series back to Boston.
Probable pitchers: David Price (Boston) vs. Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles)
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