ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 11:20 p.m. The Tampa Bay Rays pulled off a stunning rally in the bottom of the ninth inning when Brett Phillips’ two-out single and a pair of Dodgers misplays resulted in two runs that beat Los Angeles 8-7 and tied the World Series at two games each. In a game full of late drama, the final turn came out of nowhere. The Dodgers, on the verge of a 3-1 lead in a push for their first title since 1988, took a 7-6 lead into the ninth. Kevin Kiermaier blooped a single with one out off Kenley Jansen and Randy Arozarena walked with two outs. Phillips, who batted a combined .196 for Kansas City and Tampa Bay this year, hit a soft single that Chris Taylor bobbled as the tying run scored. Arozarena appeared to be a sure out when he stumbled halfway home, but catcher Will Smith lost control of the ball as he spun around for a tag, allowing the winning run to score. Three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 10:55 p.m. Corey Seager scored Chris Taylor with his fourth hit of the game, a two-out single that put Los Angeles ahead 7-6 in the eighth inning of a topsy-turvey Game 4. The Dodgers and Rays combined to score in eight consecutive half-innings -- a span including the first two lead changes of this World Series -- before LA relievers Adam Kolarek and Brusdar Graterol shut out Tampa Bay in the bottom of the eighth. The Dodgers have scored 57 of their 94 runs this postseason with two outs, including all seven Saturday. Taylor led off the eighth with a long double off shaky bullpen ace Nick Anderson. Kiké Hernández popped up a bunt attempt and Mookie Betts grounded out before Seager blooped one into shallow left-center that dropped, bringing in Taylor with the go-ahead run. Justin Turner followed Seager with his fourth hit of the night, a single that pushed Seager to third, but Max Muncy grounded out against... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 10:20 p.m. A sleepy Fall Classic that hadn’t featured a single lead change halfway through Game 4 is suddenly taking dramatic twists and turns in rapid succession. Kevin Kiermaier hit a tying homer in the bottom of the seventh inning for the Tampa Bay Rays, who were tied 6-all with the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into the eighth. Pinch-hitter Joc Pederson delivered a two-run single with two outs in the top of the seventh that put Los Angeles ahead 6-5. Pederson’s line drive deflected off the glove of a diving Brandon Lowe. The second baseman, shifted into shallow right field, appeared to slip and stumble just a bit as he prepared to make a play on the ball. Pederson became the first Dodgers player with a go-ahead pinch hit in the World Series since Kirk Gibson’s famous home run to win Game 1 against Oakland in 1988. Kiermaier connected moments later against Pedro Báez, who also gave up Lowe’s three-run homer... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 9:50 p.m. Brandon Lowe hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning, giving the Tampa Bay Rays a 5-4 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series. With one out and runners on first and second, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Blake Treinen and put in Pedro Báez. Lowe then greeted Baez with a drive to left-center for his third homer of the Series. Randy Arozarena and Hunter Renfroe also connected for Tampa Bay, which is trying to tie the Series at two games apiece. Tampa Bay pulled within one on Renfroe’s leadoff homer in the fifth, but Los Angeles answered right away. With runners on first and second in the top of the sixth, Kiké Hernández hit an RBI double off Diego Castillo. It was the Dodgers’ fourth two-out run in Game 4 and No. 54 of this postseason. ___ 9:10 p.m. The Dodgers had a potential rally in the top of the fifth cut short on an unusual play at second base, and Tampa Bay slugger... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 4 of the World Series (all times local): 9:10 p.m. The Dodgers had a potential rally in the top of the fifth cut short on an unusual play at second base, and Tampa Bay slugger Hunter Renfroe hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to get the Rays within 3-2. LA’s Corey Seager hit a one-out single off reliever Pete Fairbanks and scored on Max Muncy’s two-out hit. Seager easily beat a throw home from Renfroe in right field, and Muncy took second when the ball went to the plate. Catcher Mike Zunino threw too late to nab Muncy at second, but Muncy tumbled after an aggressive pop-up slide and fell on top of shortstop Willy Adames, who was holding the baseball and tagged Muncy easily. Muncy argued unsuccessfully with second base umpire Mark Carlson that Adames pulled him off the base. Adames had his arms wrapped around Muncy as the pair hit the ground, but it was unclear if Muncy would have come off the bag anyway. The play was not reviewable. Renfroe... [More]

Up 2-1 in the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have math on their side against the Tampa Bay Rays. Here’s one number, courtesy of closer Kenley Jansen, that could mean as much as any: 95.2. After slumping for weeks with slipping velocity and toothless bite on his signature cutter, the big man at the back of LA’s bullpen delivered his hardest fastball in over a month while closing out a 6-2 Game 3 victory on Friday night. The 95.2 mph fastball that struck out All-Star Austin Meadows in the ninth was Jansen's hardest since Sept. 2. Despite allowing a homer to Randy Arozarena, the right-hander looked as if he has overcome the struggles that briefly cost him the closer's job he's held for years. Thirty-eight of 59 previous teams that won Game 3 for a 2-1 Series lead wound up lifting the championship trophy. Holding that advantage will be much easier if the Dodgers' longtime closer has his best stuff. Jansen has been a bullpen fixture for LA during its run of eight straight NL West titles,... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 3 of the World Series (all times local): 10:23 p.m. Walker Buehler struck out 10 over six dominant innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers showed off all their many talents, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. Justin Turner homered and doubled off a surprisingly hittable Charlie Morton to help the Dodgers take an early 5-0 lead, and also made a pair of sparkling plays at third base. Austin Barnes, batting ninth and in the Los Angeles lineup to catch Buehler, added a homer and also bunted home a run. That was plenty for Buehler, who allowed just a run on three hits and brought flashbacks of another lanky Dodgers right-hander -- Orel Hershiser, who pitched Los Angeles to its last title in 1988. The Dodgers, who posted the best record in the majors during the pandemic-shortened season, send hard-throwing Julio Urías to the mound for Game 4 on Saturday night. The Rays plan to string together several relievers that include... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 3 of the World Series (all times local): 9:45 p.m. Blake Treinen pitched a perfect seventh inning after Walker Buehler turned in a dominant performance, and the Los Angeles Dodgers led the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 heading into the eighth in Game 3 of the World Series. Buehler allowed three hits, struck out 10 and walked one in his 11th career postseason start. Treinen then retired Ji-Man Choi on a grounder to second and struck out Manuel Margot and Joey Wendle. The Dodgers are looking to a take a 2-1 lead in the Series as they try for the franchise’s first championship since 1988. Justin Turner and Austin Barnes homered for Los Angeles, and Max Muncy had two hits and two RBIs heading into the eighth. Barnes also drove in a run with a perfectly placed squeeze bunt in the fourth. Willy Adames doubled home Margot in the fifth to account for Tampa Bay’s only run so far. ___ 9:24 p.m. Austin Barnes’ two RBIs in Game 4 have looked very different. After dropping... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Andrew Friedman isn’t quite torn. The Dodgers’ president of baseball operations since October 2014, he helped build Los Angeles into a power that reached the World Series for the third time in four seasons. He had been Tampa Bay’s executive vice president of baseball operations since 2006, building a team that reached the World Series in 2008 and overseeing the acquisition of Kevin Kiermaier, Blake Snell and Diego Castillo and a staff with many holdovers still in place. With the Dodgers, he oversaw the acquisition of Mookie Betts and Brusdar Graterol, the drafting of Walker Buehler and the signing of A.J. Pollock, Max Muncy and Blake Treinen. "It kind of hit me today waking up and processing all the text messages and questions about it,” Friedman said Monday, a day before the Dodgers and Rays face each other in the World Series opener. “It’s definitely surreal. Some of my best friends in life are there. And we joked when I left the team that we were going to meet... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — More was not merrier for Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went with an opener against the team that invented the concept, sending Tony Gonsolin to start Game 2 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays as the first of seven pitchers -- one shy of the record for a nine-inning Series game. By the end of the Dodgers’ 6-4 defeat Wednesday night, which evened the Series at one game apiece, it appeared the Dodgers are down to essentially a two-man rotation of Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw. Coming off games on seven straight days against Atlanta in the NL Championship Series under this year's unique postseason schedule, with just Monday's off-day, Roberts felt he had no rested alternative. “We didn’t have anybody that was on regular,” he explained. Seems like a throwback to the Boston Braves of Spahn and Sain and pray for rain, as Gerald V. Hern of the Boston Post poetically memorialized the pitching tandem of Warren Spahn and Johnny... [More]

Randy Arozarena was a one-man show getting the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series. Big swings, bat flips, bustin' moves — he did it all — and his fast hands and fanciful feet didn't need much help capturing an AL pennant. Winning the Fall Classic, though, that could take an ensemble cast — something Brandon Lowe and the rest of the Rays' lineup finally began to provide Wednesday night. After being carried through this postseason by its breakout rookie, Tampa Bay's offense turned in a top-to-bottom team effort in a 6-4 Game 2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night that evened the Series at a game apiece. Lowe homered twice, Joey Wendle drove in three and the Rays combined for 10 hits — their biggest output since closing out the wild-card round against Toronto on Sept. 30. “I think today was a little bit better indicator of the kind of team that we are,” Wendle said. “Just a complete win, complete team win, everybody contributing at different parts of the game.” Only one... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — More was not merrier for Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts went with an opener against the team that invented the concept, sending Tony Gonsolin to start Game 2 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays as the first of seven pitchers -- one shy of the record for a nine-inning Series game. By the end of the Dodgers’ 6-4 defeat Wednesday night, which evened the Series at one game apiece, it appeared the Dodgers are down to a two-man rotation of Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw. Seems like a throwback to the Boston Braves of Spahn and Sain and pray for rain, as Gerald V. Hern of the Boston Post poetically memorialized the pitching tandem of Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain in 1948. Of the 125 innings pitched by the Dodgers in the postseason, Buehler is 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings and Kershaw is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings, a combined a 2.45 ERA . The rest of the staff is 6-3 with a 4.11 ERA. Gonsolin lasted just four outs, leaving... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday: ___ BULLPEN SAVED The Dodgers were so good in Game 1 of the World Series, they helped themselves for Game 2. Top relievers Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol should all be fresh for a bullpen game against Tampa Bay after they weren't needed in an 8-3 win Tuesday. Manager Dave Roberts will try to stitch together nine innings with a flurry of arms after the Dodgers burned through most of their rotation closing out the NL Championship Series against Atlanta over the weekend. Tony Gonsolin will pitch first for LA, but after throwing 41 pitches Sunday, his leash figures to be short. Jansen has more blown saves (three) than conversions (two) in two previous World Series and also struggled this fall, but he seemed to have himself righted by the end of the NLCS. The Rays have 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell tabbed for Game 2. Manager Kevin Cash — uncharacteristically slow to pull starter Tyler Glasnow in Game 1 — also... [More]

A capsule look at the best-of-seven World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers in Arlington, Texas, beginning Tuesday night: ___ Season Series: Did not play. ___ TAMPA BAY RAYS Record: 40-20. Playoff Entry: AL East champions. Playoff Seed: No. 1. Manager: Kevin Cash (sixth season). Projected Rotation: RHP Tyler Glasnow (5-1, 4.08 ERA, 91 Ks in 57 1/3 IP), LHP Blake Snell (4-2, 3.24, 63 Ks in 50 IP), RHP Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.74, 42 Ks in 38 IP), LHP Ryan Yarbrough (1-4, 3.56). Top Hitters: 2B Brandon Lowe (.269, 14 HRs, 37 RBIs, 36 runs, .916 OPS), LF Randy Arozarena (.281, 7, 11, 1.022 OPS in 23 games), SS Willy Adames (.259, 8, 23, .813 OPS). Top Relievers: RHP Nick Anderson (2-1, 0.55 ERA, 6 saves), RHP Diego Castillo (3-0, 1.66, 4 saves), RHP Pete Fairbanks (6-3, 2.70). Series Summary: It's the second American League pennant for the Rays, who began play as an expansion team in 1998. They lost the 2008 World Series to Philadelphia in five games. ... Tampa Bay opened... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Andrew Friedman isn’t quite torn. The Dodgers’ president of baseball operations since October 2014, he helped build Los Angeles into a power that reached the World Series for the third time in four seasons. He had been Tampa Bay’s executive vice president of baseball operations since 2006, building a team that reached the World Series in 2008, overseeing the acquisition of Kevin Kiermaier, Blake Snell and Diego Castillo and a staff with many holdovers still in place. With the Dodgers, he oversaw the acquisition of Mookie Betts and Brusdar Graterol, the drafting of Walker Buehler and the signing of A.J. Pollock, Max Muncy and Blake Treinen. "It kind of hit me today waking up and processing all the text messages and questions about it,” Friedman said Monday, a day before the Dodgers and Rays face each other in the World Series opener. “It’s definitely surreal. Some of my best friends in life are there. And we joked when I left the team that we were going to meet up... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers are having trouble figuring out the back end of their bullpen. Blake Treinen surrendered Austin Riley's tiebreaking home run leading off the ninth inning, and the right-hander combined with lefty Jake McGee to give up four runs in Atlanta's 5-1 victory over the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series opener Monday night. Treinen and McGee were two of the ninth-inning options because Kenley Jansen, the club's career leader in saves, has been struggling with his velocity and command. Manager Dave Roberts has chosen his words carefully while saying the bullpen roles are open in the ninth. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed Riley's homer with a double, and Treinen was gone after giving up Marcell Ozuna's RBI single. Treinen's only out was a long flyball to center by Freddie Freeman that moved Ozuna to third. After starter Walker Buehler allowed one run with seven strikeouts in five innings, Brusdar Graterol retired three straight to escape the sixth when... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have added left-hander Alex Wood as an extra pitcher for the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, while also bringing back infielder Edwin Rios after he missed the last round with a groin injury. Wood missed a month of the shortened season because of a shoulder injury in his first start, though he returned in September when seven of his eight appearances were in relief. Los Angeles is going with 15 pitchers, after having 14 on its roster in the three-game NL Division Series sweep of San Diego, and 13 in the wild-card round against Milwaukee. Terrance Gore was left off the NLCS roster after the speedy outfielder didn't appear in either series. Rios replaced Gavin Lux, who got only one at-bat against the Padres. The Dodgers' 28-player roster for the best-of-seven NLCS against the Braves that starts Monday night: LOS ANGELES Pitchers (15): RH Pedro Baéz, RH Walker Buehler, RH Dylan Floro, RH Tony Gonsolin, LH Victor... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Monday: WELCOME BACK For the first time since spring training shut in mid-March because of the virus, fans will permitted back in the ballpark. They will be allowed into Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, when the Dodgers and Braves meet in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series. About 11,500 tickets were available, sold in groups of four with each of those pods separated by at least six feet. That’s about 28% of the 40,518 capacity at the new $1.2 billion home of the Texas Rangers. There aren’t any fans inside Petco Park in San Diego for the ALCS between Houston and Tampa Bay. “I think it’s a step back towards the normalcy, where people have the right to be free and make a choice to go out and do what they want to do,” Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen said. “It’s not fun playing baseball without fans. ... We welcome it, we are excited for it.” REMEMBER ME? After getting the win for Houston in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series against the Los... [More]

A capsule look at the best-of-seven NL Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers in Arlington, Texas, beginning Monday night: ___ Season Series: Did not play. ___ ATLANTA BRAVES Record: 35-25. Playoff Entry: NL East champions. Playoff Seed: No. 2. Manager: Brian Snitker (fifth season). Projected Rotation: LHP Max Fried (7-0, 2.25 ERA, 50 Ks), RHP Ian Anderson (3-2, 1.95, 41 Ks, 32 1/3 IP, 6 starts), RHP Kyle Wright (2-4, 5.21, 30 Ks), RHP Josh Tomlin (2-2, 4.76), RHP Bryse Wilson (1-0, 4.02, 1 save in 15 2/3 IP) or RHP Huascar Ynoa (0-0, 5.82). Top Hitters: 1B Freddie Freeman (.341, 13 HRs, 53 RBIs, 51 runs, 1.102 OPS), DH Marcell Ozuna (.338, 18, 56, 77 hits, 1.067 OPS), OF Ronald Acu�a Jr. (.250, 14, 29), C Travis d'Arnaud (.321, 9, 34). Top Relievers: RHP Mark Melancon (2-1, 2.78 ERA, 11 saves), LHP Will Smith (2-2, 4.50), LHP Tyler Matzek (4-3, 2.79, 43 Ks in 29 IP), RHP Chris Martin (1-1, 1.00, 1 save), RHP Shane Greene (1-0, 2.60). Series Summary: Winners... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of qualifying offers for Major League Baseball free agents rose by $1.1 million to a record $18.9 million. Determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year, the figure announced Thursday is based on full salaries, not the prorated pay that players received in the pandemic-shorted season. The price had dropped last offseason for the first time, by $100,000 to $17.8 million. Among the top players eligible for free agency are pitchers Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, Liam Hendriks, Blake Treinen, Masahiro Tanaka, José Quintana and Alex Colomé; catcher J.T. Realmuto; outfielders George Springer and Marcell Ozuna; infielder DJ LeMahieu; designated hitter Nelson Cruz; and shortstops Didi Gregorius, Marcus Semien and Andrelton Simmons. A qualifying offer can be made through the fifth day after the World Series, and a player has a week after that to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another... [More]