Also congrats to Lance Bass.
And that’s a wrap! Thanks for spending your Sunday night with us for World Series baseball and a bunch of other (mostly L.A.-themed) sports as well. Congrats to the Boston Red Sox, your 2018 MLB champions — a worthy group that dominated all season long.
For 29 other teams, the quest to become the next champion starts tonight, and we’ll be on top of it all throughout the offseason. See you then!
Love this image:
Yeah, the Dodgers became the first back-to-back World Series losers since the 2010-11 Rangers. That team never made it back, and sadly for L.A., that’s kind of the norm. According to ESPN Stats & Info, only three teams lost two straight World Series then made it back for a third straight: The Tigers lost three straight WS from 1907-09; the Giants lost three straight from 1911-13. And the Yankees lost two straight in 1921-22 but won in 1923.
A eulogy for the 2018 Dodgers. They have become a mini-dynasty: six straight division titles, two straight NL pennants. They deserve a World Series championship. Hopefully they’ll get it someday.
“That was amazing, just to know I contributed at some point.” — Mookie Betts.
Mookie, you contributed far more than your share this season.
I’ve lived in Boston my entire life. The city has been blessed with more than its fair share of championships. The 2004 team will always be the most special to this town, but this was the best Red Sox team of my lifetime — and one of the best teams in MLB history, frankly.
This Red Sox team had baseball’s best record pretty much from wire to wire. This has to go down as one of the most dominating seasons in MLB history.
Love it when it ends on a swinging K. Nothing better.
OK, a Joe Carter walk-off is better.
The Red Sox win the World Series.
Fitting that Machado could be last out.
With a strikeout of Hernandez, the Red Sox are one out away.
Btw, ho-hum — all the Red Sox have done this inning to close out the game is bring in the all-time MLB leader in strikeouts per nine innings.
A man born in 1970 will have seen zero New York Jets championships.
And beyond that, when David Leonhardt wrote this post for The Upshot in June 2015, he found that the city of Boston had won the largest share of all potential championships of any city since 1965. All they’ve done since then is tack on another Super Bowl with the 2016 Patriots — and maybe another World Series here.
Assuming the Red Sox lock it up here, a child born in 2001 will have seen four Red Sox championships … and one by the Yankees.
Sale in to try to finish it out.
2001 Mariners won 120.
It’s not just of any World Series winner, Neil — I’m pretty sure it would be the second-most combined wins by any team, ever.
So Neil, you are saying the Yankees are better than the Red Sox? I’m confused.
My highly scientific poll of who should win MVP is within the margin of error.
Red Sox are closing in on their 119th win of the 2018 season. If they get these final three outs, ESPN Stats & Info tells us that Boston would have the second-most wins in a season by any World Series winner in MLB history. (Only the 1998 Yankees would have more, at 125.)
Kelly finishes Bellinger with a 99 mph fastball. On to the ninth.
Joe Kelly making his case for MVP. He’s now ahead of Price in championship WPA.
(OK, fine, that’s not gonna happen.)
That’s pretty amazing, going the extra mile to loop in Anaheim as well.
At the same time, I am happy to see Lance Bass finish a highly ambitious journey after his other one didn’t work out with the Russian Space Program:
We’ve got our super equinox finishers! This looks to be the only group that hit not only five sports in one day, but all six L.A. games.
Sale getting loose in bullpen —> not what Dodgers really want to hear.
Chris Sale is warming in the Red Sox bullpen. Alex Cora said before the game that he was open to using Sale as a reliever if the situation was “perfect.” Well, I’d say being in a position to clinch a world championship qualifies.
And just think, that doesn’t include a bunch of misguided “Steven Pearce” tweets.
Boston Twitter has spoken:
That’s it for Price, who threw 89 pitches in seven innings, giving up one run on three hits.
Ryan Madson and Dave Roberts, co-MVPs.
In a five-game series, Price gets two wins on two gems and comes into relief in one of the other games?
Hmm, I’m thinking Steve Pearce just got the edge, Geoff.
Now the Pearce/Price MVP debate is tight. I still think Price gets it because he’s a bigger name and a better story.
He’s following in the tradition of Bobby Kielty — complete randos who hit huge HRs in potential Red Sox clinchers.
Red Sox 5, Dodgers 1. Pearce with his second homer of game.
Steve Pearce for MVP.
I saw that the NFL Red Zone Channel posted the equinox schedule today during the Rams game and just put the Ducks in on the bottom in small font.
Another group of ambitious equinoxers did make the journey down to Anaheim today, with one of the screenwriters of the Mighty Ducks movie in tow!
The flip side of a great clutch run is what happens when all of that runs out. I’m not saying Red Sox haters can look forward to them going 71-91 next season, but they really captured lightning in a bottle this season in just about every way — from career years to great timely performances.
But Emily, they missed a good one! The Ducks fought back to tie the game in the 3rd period, 3-3.
Checking in on our Equinoxers, we’ve got our first to see all five sports! Of course, skipping the journey down to catch the Anaheim Ducks did help them finish faster.
Pedro Baez in the game for Kershaw.
Just remember, the Red Sox scored nine runs in their final three innings last night.
To Tom Verducci’s point about clutch hitting, since 2009, no team that stuck around in the playoffs longer than a handful of games even comes close to Boston’s .364 average with runners in scoring position this postseason.
After two epic, thrilling World Series in a row, we were due for a dud. This seems way more of the Mets-Royals variety.
Clayton Kershaw’s average fastball in 2015 was 93.6 mph. This season? 90.9. Tonight? 90.5. He threw 49 fastballs tonight and generated just two swinging strikes. Just not the guy who was the undisputed best pitcher on the planet a few years ago. Be interesting to see if he can get any of his velo back in 2019.
Given the earlier games in this series, you never want to say a game doesn’t have the potential to last until 3:30 a.m. But the Sox appear to be in great shape.