ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 10:10 p.m. With postseason star Julio Urías on the mound, the Los Angeles Dodgers are clinging to a 2-1 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays heading into the eighth inning. Brusdar Graterol got the first two outs of the seventh for the Dodgers before giving up a single to Mike Zunino, his first hit in 16 at-bats during this Fall Classic. Urías, the seventh Dodgers pitcher, entered and threw a called third strike past pinch-hitter Yandy Díaz. Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks worked around Will Smith’s leadoff double in the bottom of the seventh to keep it a one-run game. Smith’s drive went off the wall in the left-field corner by the 329-foot sign. ___ 9:30 p.m. The Los Angeles Dodgers pushed across two runs after Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash pulled a dominant Blake Snell in the sixth inning, taking a 2-1 lead over the Rays in Game 6 of the World Series. Cash came out... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 9:30 p.m. The Los Angeles Dodgers pushed across two runs after Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash pulled a dominant Blake Snell in the sixth inning, taking a 2-1 lead over the Rays in Game 6 of the World Series. Cash came out to get Snell after No. 9 hitter Austin Barnes singled with one out for the Dodgers’ second hit. Snell had thrown just 73 pitches, and the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner looked as if he disagreed with the quick hook. Mookie Betts then greeted Nick Anderson with a double, and Barnes scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Betts scored on Corey Seager’s grounder to first baseman Ji-Man Choi, easily beating the throw home. The pitching change likely will be questioned for years to come should the Rays lose, ending their title hopes. Betts had a .531 OPS against lefties this season, compared to 1.061 versus right-handers. ___ 9 p.m. Blake Snell is... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 9 p.m. Blake Snell is sailing along and dominating the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Tampa Bay Rays hold a 1-0 lead through five innings on Randy Arozarena’s homer in the first. Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner, has struck out nine and set down nine straight batters. The only baserunner he’s allowed came on Chris Taylor’s leadoff single in the third. The left-hander has thrown 69 pitches, 45 for strikes. Snell hasn’t pitched six innings in a game since July 2019. Snell joined Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers to pile up nine strikeouts through the first four innings of a World Series game. Koufax did it for the Dodgers in the 1963 opener against the New York Yankees. The only inning without a strikeout for Snell was the fifth, when he retired Will Smith on a fly to right, Cody Bellinger on a grounder to first and Taylor on a check-swing... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 8:40 p.m. Rays starter Blake Snell is cruising through the Dodgers lineup for a second time, helping Tampa Bay maintain a 1-0 lead through four innings. Snell overwhelmed the Dodgers’ 2-3-4 hitters in the fourth, striking out Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Max Muncy. Snell has nine strikeouts and only allowed one hit on 55 pitches. The left-hander hasn’t completed five innings since Game 1 of the AL Championship Series but seems primed to go deep in this one. The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner isn’t always so reliable in the middle innings. Snell limited batters to a .140 average the first time through the order in the regular season but allowed a .307 mark the second time around. Dodgers starter-turned-reliever Alex Wood completed two perfect innings by striking out a pair in the fourth. The left-hander with a funky delivery has punched out five over four... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 8:25 p.m. Blake Snell is through three innings and his Rays still lead 1-0. Chris Taylor hit a leadoff single to become the Dodgers’ first runner, but was stranded at second base when Snell struck out Mookie Betts for the second time in the game. Snell has fanned six in three innings. Tampa Bay keeps helping itself with its gloves, too. Third baseman Joey Wendle and first baseman Ji-Man Choi teamed up for one out and catcher Mike Zunino neatly blocked a breaking ball by Snell to prevent Taylor from advancing. Alex Wood became the Dodgers’ third pitcher of the game when he took over to begin the third, and he breezed through a perfect inning. ___ 8 p.m. Tony Gonsolin is gone early again, and Blake Snell hasn’t allowed a hit through two innings again at the World Series. The Los Angeles starter was replaced by Dylan Floro after walking Ji-Man Choi to put two... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 7:35 p.m. Randy Arozarena extended his postseason record with his 10th home run and Blake Snell struck out the side as the Tampa Bay Rays took a 1-0 lead after the first inning in Game 6 of the World Series, when a win by the Los Angeles Dodgers would give them their first title since 1988. It was Arozarena’s third homer in the World Series, the first time a rookie has hit three in the Series since Charlie Keller did it for the New York Yankees in 1939. Arozarena became the first rookie to drive in a run in four consecutive Series games. Arozarena went the opposite way in the top of the first, homering to right off rookie right-hander Tony Gonsolin with one out. Austin Meadows then hit a hard single and Brandon Lowe, who homered off Gonsolin in Game 2, walked before Manuel Margot had a flyout and Joey Wendle struck out. Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young Award... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 7:10 p.m. The Los Angeles Dodgers took a 3-2 World Series lead into Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night, one win from their first title since 1988. The Dodgers were in Brooklyn when they lost the World Series in 1916, 1920, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953, then finally won their first championship when Johnny Podres completed an eight-hit shutout in Game 7 in 1955 when Elston Howard grounded to Pee Wee Reese, who threw to first baseman Gil Hodges for the final out. After moving to Los Angeles following the 1957 season, the Dodgers added titles in 1959, when Larry Sherry was MVP after getting two wins and two saves, and 1963 and 1965, when Sandy Koufax went 4-1 and was twice MVP. Titles followed in 1981 and in 1988, the latter when Orel Hershiser earned the MVP by going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA. While Tony Gonsolin started Game 6 on Tuesday night,... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 5:45 p.m. The Tampa Bay Rays received some encouraging words from former President Barack Obama ahead of Game 6. Obama spoke at a rally in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday in support of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and referenced the Rays’ five-game loss to the Philadelphia Phillies 12 years ago. “I don’t know if we’ve got any Tampa Bay Rays fans here in Orlando,” Obama said. “Big game tonight. It’s do-or-die time. The last time the Rays were in the World Series in 2008, Florida sent me to the White House. The Rays fell just a bit short then, but, here in Florida, Democrats fell a little bit short in 2016 also. Over the next couple of weeks, Florida, you’ve got the chance to fix two mistakes. You’ve got the chance to set two things right. You can bring a World Series championship to the Sunshine State, and you can send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays (all times local): 5:20 p.m. The Tampa Bay Rays are going with the same nine players in the batting order for Game 6 against Tony Gonsolin, but shuffled the top four for their second game in this World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie right-hander. First baseman Ji-Man Choi is leading off Tuesday night, followed by left fielder Randy Arozarena, designated hitter Austin Meadows and second baseman Brandon Lowe. In Game 2 last Wednesday, when the Rays won 6-4, it went Meadows, Lowe, Arozarena and Choi. The rest of the lineup is the same, right fielder Manuel Margo batting fifth, ahead of third baseman Joey Wendle, shortstop Willy Adames, center fielder Kevin Kiermaier and catcher Mike Zunino. In the leadoff spot this season, Choi is hitting .115 (3 for 26) with one homer and four walks. Los Angeles has used the same batters in the top six spots for every game of... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Individual whistles echo during quieter moments, and a single fan with enough persistence can leave an impression with a chant during World Series games with the smallest crowds in more than 100 years. Because of the coronavirus, this year's Fall Classic is being held at a neutral site. A team from each coast is playing in Texas, drawing fans from Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida — along with curious Rangers supporters seeing the home squad's new retractable-roof stadium for the first time. The roughly 11,000 mask-wearing fans each night — well, they're supposed to be wearing face coverings — are roughly 11,000 more than players saw in the stands during the regular season and all of the American League playoffs. So 40,518-seat Globe Life Field might as well be full as far as the Tampa Bay Rays are concerned. “It certainly sounds like there’s 40,000 people in there,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Now, they might be 35,000 Dodger fans, which is OK. Any type of loudness and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Individual whistles echo during quieter moments, and a single fan with enough persistence can leave an impression with a chant during World Series games with the smallest crowds in more than 100 years. Because of the coronavirus, this year's Fall Classic is being held at a neutral site. A team from each coast is playing in Texas, drawing fans from Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida — along with curious Rangers supporters seeing the home squad's new retractable-roof stadium for the first time. The roughly 11,000 mask-wearing fans each night — well, they're supposed to be wearing face coverings — are roughly 11,000 more than players saw in the stands during the regular season and all of the American League playoffs. So 40,518-seat Globe Life Field might as well be full as far as the Tampa Bay Rays are concerned. “It certainly sounds like there’s 40,000 people in there,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Now, they might be 35,000 Dodger fans, which is OK. Any type of loudness and... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Since Orel Hershiser struck out Oakland’s Tony Phillips for the final out of the 1988 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have played 5,014 regular-season games and 113 more in the postseason in pursuit of their next title. They have spent $3.69 billion in player payroll over 32 seasons. One more win and that elusive seventh championship will be theirs. “I think it’s going to be really welcoming to the players, this generation,” Hershiser said Monday, a day before the Dodgers take a 3-2 World Series lead into Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s definitely a generational win for this group of guys and I’m thinking of the Kenley Jansens, the Clayton Kershaws, the Justin Turners, the guys that have been here through all the division titles.” Kershaw got his second win of the Series on Sunday, and Tony Gonsolin starts Tuesday against the Rays’ Blake Snell. The rookie right-hander hopes to keep the World Series from reaching a Game 7 for the fourth time in five... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Since Orel Hershiser struck out Oakland’s Tony Phillips for the final out of the 1988 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have played 5,014 regular-season games and 113 more in the postseason in pursuit of their next title. They have spent $3.69 billion in player payroll over 32 seasons. One more win and that elusive seventh championship will be theirs. “I think it’s going to be really welcoming to the players, this generation,” Hershiser said Monday, a day before the Dodgers take a 3-2 World Series lead into Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays. “It’s definitely a generational win for this group of guys and I’m thinking of the Kenley Jansens, the Clayton Kershaws, the Justin Turners, the guys that have been here through all the division titles.” Kershaw got his second win of the Series on Sunday, and Tony Gonsolin starts Tuesday against the Rays’ Blake Snell. The rookie right-hander hopes to keep the World Series from reaching a Game 7 for the fourth time in five... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tony Gonsolin found out after Game 2 that he would be starting Game 6 as well for the Los Angeles Dodgers. This time, they plan for the rookie right-hander to be more than an opener with the Dodgers having a chance to clinch their first World Series title since 1988. “Tony's a starting pitcher tomorrow.” manager Dave Roberts said Monday. “I’m going to watch him pitch and then we’ll see what we do after that. ... I want to go as long as he possibly can, that’d be great." Gonsolin went 1 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay in Game 2, a planned bullpen game for the Dodgers. He was the loser after giving up only one run — the one that put the Rays ahead to stay in the 6-4 win — two days after he pitched two innings in relief in the clinching Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves. “With the extra day, it worked out nicely, I took the next day off and then got my two lifts and my bullpen and on would have been Game 4,” Gonsolin said. “And... [More]

If it wasn’t exactly redemption for Clayton Kershaw, it sure was for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maybe Dave Roberts, too, though the jury will be out on the Dodgers manager until the moment his team finally hoists a World Series trophy. The Dodgers didn’t just win Game 5 on Sunday night to move within a game of doing just that. They also regained the swagger that could have easily been knocked out of them in a demoralizing loss the night before. They did it by shaking off the effect of a brutal walk off just hours earlier that might have destroyed lesser teams. They did it by getting just enough out of a pitcher whose Hall of Fame resume is lacking only one thing — a World Series ring. And they did it behind the chess moves of a manager who makes Dodger fans nervous every time he heads out to the mound. “I can’t get caught up with fan reactions to the decisions I make,’’ Roberts said. ”I wanted my talent out there and they made me look good tonight.’’ A night after Kenley Jansen blew a ninth... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ian Anderson doesn’t remember the last time the Atlanta Braves were in a Game 7. That’s because the 22-year-old rookie right-hander wasn’t born yet. Anderson will take a 15 2/3-inning scoreless streak at the start of his postseason career into the deciding game of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers after the Braves lost their second in a row, 3-1 on Saturday. It’s one game for a chance to meet Tampa Bay or Houston in the World Series, just the second NLCS to go the distance in 15 seasons and the first time since 2004 that both league championship series have gone seven games. If Tony Gonsolin goes for the Dodgers on Sunday night, it will be the first winner-take-all postseason game started by two rookies. It would also be a rematch of Game 2, won 8-7 by Atlanta when the Braves hung on in the ninth inning long after Anderson and Gonsolin were gone. “I think you have to go out there and compete,” Anderson said. “Whether you punch them first... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors Sunday: ___ SEVENTH HEAVEN The NL Championship Series is headed for Game 7, and the finale could hinge on the performance of two rookie right-handers. Ian Anderson gets the ball for the Atlanta Braves, who are looking to bounce back after blowing a 3-1 series lead. If Tony Gonsolin goes for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night, it will be the first winner-take-all postseason game started by two rookies. “I think you have to go out there and compete,” Anderson said. “Whether you punch them first or they punch you first, you have to find a way to stay in the fight and just compete as hard as you can.” The 22-year-old Anderson has a scoreless streak of 15 2/3 innings covering his first three playoff starts. If Dodgers manager Dave Roberts goes with Gonsolin, it would be a rematch of Game 2, won 8-7 by Atlanta when the Braves hung on in the ninth inning long after Anderson and Gonsolin were gone. Los Angeles also could go with three-time NL Cy... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Latest on Game 2 of the World Series (all times local): 10:50 p.m. Brandon Lowe hit two home runs to break out of an extended postseason slump and the Tampa Bay Rays held off the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4, tying the World Series at one game apiece. Down 5-0, the Dodgers closed within 6-4 on Corey Seager’s solo homer in the eighth. Aaron Loup relieved and struck out Cody Bellinger with a runner on base to prevent further damage. Joey Wendle also drove in three runs for Tampa Bay. Will Smith and Chris Taylor homered to help the Dodgers rally. After a day off, Game 3 will be Friday night at neutral site Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. Charlie Morton starts for the Rays against Walker Buehler in a matchup of pitchers who have both excelled in October outings. ___ 10:33 p.m. Corey Seager hit a leadoff drive in the eighth inning for his seventh homer this postseason, and the Los Angeles Dodgers trimmed Tampa Bay’s lead to 6-4 heading to the ninth in Game... [More]

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — After winning the Division Series and AL Championship Series in San Diego, the Tampa Bay Rays played before fans in the World Series opener for the first time since spring training. “Playing a playoff game with zero fans in it has got to be one of the weirdest, most bizarre things I’ve ever experienced in baseball,” Rays pitcher Charlie Morton, scheduled to start Game 3, said Wednesday. “But at the same time, one of the most memorable things I’ve ever experienced in baseball. I’ll appreciate everyone that made this possible for as long as I live.” He appreciated the atmosphere at Globe Life Field, where the opener Tuesday drew a crowd of 11,388. That was about 28% of the 40,518 capacity at the new $1.2 billion retractable-roof stadium of the Texas Rangers. “This stadium, even though it’s not filled to capacity, there’s something about this place,” Morton said. “It’s very robust. It’s big -- it feels big. They have the big screen right above the field. It’s feels... [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]