LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):5:35 p.m.The temperature at game time Friday was 78 degrees, an increase of 31 degrees from Game 2 in Boston but 25 below the oppressive heat for last year's opener at Dodger Stadium.Boston ran up rookie Walker Buehler's pitch count in a 1-2-3 first inning that included 11 foul balls, with Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland seeing eight pitches each and Xander Bogaerts 10. The Red Sox had just two swings and misses.Rick Porcello retired Joc Pederson and Justin Turner, extending the streak of consecutive outs for the Dodgers to 18, then walked Max Muncy. Manny Machado hit into a forceout, ending Porcello's 19-pitch opening inning.___5:10 p.m.Game 3 of the World Series has started in a spectacular setting at Dodger Stadium.It was sunny and 78 degrees as the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers lined up for introductions as the crowd began to get loud. Brad Paisley strummed a guitar as he performed the national anthem, and... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):2:27 p.m.Boston benched left fielder Andrew Benintendi to make room for major league RBIs leader J.D. Martinez in the outfield as the World Series switched to the National League city for Game 3, resulting in the loss of the designated hitter.With right-hander Rick Porcello on the mound for the Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Robert restored his top four home-run hitters to the lineup: left-handed-hitting Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson and Max Muncy along with switch-hitting catcher Yasmani Grandal.Lefties Chris Sale and David Price started the first two games for Boston and the Dodgers became the first team in World Series history to start a batting order of nine right-handed batters, none of them switch hitters.Boston also benched first baseman Steve Pearce in favor of Mitch Moreland and second baseman Ian Kinsler in favor of Brock Holt.Martinez turned his right ankle in the opener, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Palm trees! Shorts! Sunglasses!While the World Series isn't quite a trip to the beach, the Boston Red Sox anticipate staying hot in balmy California, and the Los Angeles Dodgers hope a warm welcome will help them reverse a 2-0 deficit."I think the climate is a little different," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts deadpanned Thursday. "There's a familiarity, obviously, for us. There's been a lot of talk of outfield depth; we're very familiar with the ballpark."Walker Buehler, a 24-year-old rookie right-hander, will be the center of attention when he starts Game 3 for the Dodgers in Friday's late-afternoon twilight against Rick Porcello. Not so Wednesday, when Buehler flew home from Boston ahead of his team and went unrecognized.He missed a 4-2 win by the Red Sox at Fenway Park that opened a 2-0 Series lead. The Dodgers once again looked off-kilter in the cold of autumn in New England."We actually took off like 30 minutes before the first pitch and landed about 30 minutes before... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):6:25 p.m.Joc Pederson will return to the top of the Dodgers' batting order in Game 3 as manager Dave Roberts restores some left-handed pop to what had been a one-sided lineup.Roberts said during a day off Thursday he hoped Pederson could reach base and provide RBI opportunities to LA's top hitters. Brian Dozier led off the first two games against left-handers Chris Sale and David Price, and he was followed by eight more right-handed hitters both nights. With right-hander Rick Porcello pitching for Boston on Friday, Roberts is expected to get slugging lefties Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy back in the lineup, as well.Pederson is 3 for 17 during the postseason when at the top of the lineup. He hit 24 of his 25 regular-season home runs against righties while posting a .338 on-base percentage.___6:15 p.m.Rich Hill will be the Dodgers' starter in Game 4 on Saturday.Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts made the announcement during... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Maybe this World Series just isn't in the cards for the Los Angeles Dodgers.Trying to play the matchup game, manager Dave Roberts' team instead looked overmatched at Fenway Park. They staggered home after a 4-2 loss Wednesday night, down 2-0 to the do-everything-right Boston Red Sox."We've got to do a better job of responding," catcher Austin Barnes said.Not even a bit of new-age strategy — and a curious sight — could save them.The Dodgers led 2-1 in the fifth inning when right-hander Ryan Madson was summoned to replace lefty starter Hyun-Jin Ryu with the bases loaded and two outs.As Madson warmed up, a Dodgers bat boy trotted onto the diamond, where outfielders Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig were waiting. The bat boy gave each of them laminated cards, presumably with new alignments for defensive positioning for Madson on the mound.They didn't help when Madson walked Steve Pearce, forcing home the tying run and bringing cleanup man J.D. Martinez to the plate.Martinez... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings for starters is becoming the new norm.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories . Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens."I say it all the time, and I say it to my son, I've never seen an ugly win," Sale explained in a packed Boston clubhouse. "Obviously the stat line isn't the prettiest thing. It's not exactly how you draw it up or dream about it, but we got a win, so I'm good to go."For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Cora had an idea before his rookie season as a big league manager: to hang a picture in his clubhouse office from each Red Sox victory. Team photographer Billie Weiss eyeballed the wall behind a couch and figured there would be room for about 100."We figured we'll start with that and then go from there," Weiss said this week, taking a break from shooting the team's pre-World Series workout to explain how the project, like the Red Sox season, has expanded beyond anyone's expectations.The original array, with 11 columns of nine 8-by-12-inch photos each, filled up in early September. More photos went up behind the TV as the Red Sox cruised to an AL East title and a franchise-record 108 victories. Next to Cora's desk were seven more photos from the AL playoffs, including a matched pair of the team posing on the field after series-clinching victories in New York and Houston.They should've picked a bigger space.Like maybe Fenway Park's 37-foot-high Green Monster."Not enough... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings for starters is becoming the new norm.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories . Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens."I say it all the time, and I say it to my son, I've never seen an ugly win," Sale explained in a packed Boston clubhouse. "Obviously the stat line isn't the prettiest thing. It's not exactly how you draw it up or dream about it, but we got a win, so I'm good to go."For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn't want his lefties to feel left out.Even as Los Angeles loaded its lineup with right-handed batters to face Boston lefty Chris Sale, Cora stayed with Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers against left-handed Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night.Benintendi responded with four hits — going 3 for 3 against the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner — and three runs. Devers drove in one of them to lead the Red Sox to an 8-4 victory in a blustery Series opener."We're facing a guy who's one of the best of all time. And a lot of guys didn't have a lot of experience off of him; the first time a lot of us have faced him. Didn't really know what to expect," Benintendi said. "We had a good game plan. We stuck to it."Benintendi had one four-hit performance in the regular season but had never topped two in a postseason game during his career. The 24-year-old left fielder became just the second lefty ever to have three hits... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn't want his lefties to feel left out.Even as Los Angeles loaded its lineup with right-handed batters to face Red Sox lefty Chris Sale, Cora stayed with Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers against left-handed Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night.Benintendi responded with four hits — going 3 for 3 against the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner — and three runs. Devers drove in one of them to lead the Red Sox to an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in a blustery Series opener."We're facing a guy who's one of the best of all time. And a lot of guys didn't have a lot of experience off of him; the first time a lot of us have faced him. Didn't really know what to expect," Benintendi said. "We had a good game plan. We stuck to it."Benintendi had one four-hit performance in the regular season but had never topped two in a postseason game during his career. The 24-year-old left fielder is just the second lefty ever to have... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Games averaged 3 hours, 35½ minutes during the playoffs, up 6 minutes from the 2017 postseason and more than a half-hour longer than this year's regular season.Strikeouts have topped hits in seven of eight postseason matchups. Starting pitchers usually don't finish the fifth inning and use of relievers is up markedly in an era when "bullpenning" has become a verb.Have the changes brought about by analytics made baseball less appealing to casual fans?"There's certainly something to be said for that, because ball in play, double plays, defense, that's always exciting," Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said ahead of Tuesday night's World Series opener against Boston. "I know our series there was a lot of strikeouts, but there was the strategy part of it — I think that that's very exciting for a baseball purist that loves to see what managers think and how you can kind of match up against the opposition."Boston's 8-4 win in Game 1 took 3:52, ended at 12:03 a.m. and included... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings for starters is becoming the new norm.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories. Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens."I say it all the time, and I say it to my son, I've never seen an ugly win," Sale explained in a packed Boston clubhouse. "Obviously the stat line isn't the prettiest thing. It's not exactly how you draw it up or dream about it, but we got a win, so I'm good to go."For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings for starters is becoming the new norm.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories. Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens."I say it all the time, and I say it to my son, I've never seen an ugly win," Sale explained in a packed Boston clubhouse. "Obviously the stat line isn't the prettiest thing. It's not exactly how you draw it up or dream about it, but we got a win, so I'm good to go."For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn't hesitate to use his lefties against Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, and Andrew Benintendi delivered.The left fielder had four hits in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night and scored three times in Boston's 8-4 victory.Benintendi had one four-hit game in the regular season but had never topped two in a postseason game.The Dodgers' entire lineup was right-handed against Boston lefty Chris Sale. But Cora let lefties Benintendi, Rafael Devers and Jackie Bradley Jr. face Kershaw."For the most part we executed what we were trying to do," Benintendi said.The 24-year-old Benintendi became the second left-handed hitter to go 3 for 3 in a game against Kershaw."Up and down the lineup there's not an easy out. We're going to grind out at-bats," Benintendi said.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

BOSTON (AP) — Aces were out early in the World Series, where four-plus innings have become a standard night.The outings of the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and Boston's Chris Sale turned into short stories. Each failed to get an out in the fifth inning Tuesday night, just the fourth time both starting pitchers were chased that early in a Series opener and the first since 2004 — also at Fenway Park.They were long gone by the time Boston won 8-4 in what became a predictable postseason battle of bullpens.For a century, aces were baseball's studs, grabbing the mound for Game 1 as if by birthright and not letting go easily. Think Bob Gibson 50 years ago, pitching a five-hit shutout for St. Louis against Detroit with 17 strikeouts and one walk.But no pitcher has thrown a complete game in the opener since Philadelphia's Cliff Lee beat the New York Yankees in 2009. The last complete-game shutout in Game 1 was thrown by Oakland's Dave Stewart against San Francisco in 1989, part of a tradition of gems... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):12:03 a.m.Andrew Benintendi, J.D. Martinez and the Boston Red Sox came out swinging in the World Series opener, seizing every advantage in their quirky ballpark to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 on a chilly Tuesday night.Benintendi delivered four hits, Martinez drove in two early runs and pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez golfed a three-run homer to seal it. The 108-win Red Sox got a solid effort from their bullpen after an expected duel between aces Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw never developed.Xander Bogaerts hit into a go-ahead forceout in the fifth and Rafael Devers followed with an RBI single for a 5-3 lead.After Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh for his third RBI, Nunez homered over the Green Monster off Alex Wood in the bottom half.Boston's David Price faces Hyun-Jin Ryun in Game 2 on Wednesday. This marks just the third World Series in which both starting pitchers in the first two games are lefties.___11:35... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):11:35 p.m.Pinch-hitter Eduardo Nunez's three-run homer off Alex Wood gave the Red Sox an 8-4 lead in the seventh inning.Manny Machado's sacrifice fly against Ryan Brasier had pulled the Dodgers to 5-4 in the top half. With runners on second and third, Eduardo Rodriguez relieved and retired Cody Bellinger on an inning-ending flyout.Andrew Benintendi led off the bottom half with a double against Julio Urias that kicked off the glove of Bellinger in short left, Benintendi's fourth hit of the game. Bellinger had just entered the game in the top half.Pedro Baez struck out Mitch Moreland, intentionally walked J.D. Martinez and struck out Xander Bogaerts.Nunez batted for Rafael Devers, Wood relieved and Nunez sent a knuckle-curve just over the Green Monster.___10:51 p.m.Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly used his 100 mph heat to restore order to a grinding game, preserving Boston's 5-3 lead after six innings.Kelly retired three straight Dodgers,... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):10:51 p.m.Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly used his 100 mph heat to restore order to a grinding game, preserving Boston's 5-3 lead after six innings.Kelly retired three straight Dodgers, the first solid effort by a bullpen guy this evening. Los Angeles reliever Julio Urias then did the same thing in the bottom half.Good hitters are coming for both teams as Game 1 heads to the seventh.___10:40 p.m.The Red Sox are back in the lead, 5-3, after five innings and the teams have turned it over to their bullpens in Game 1 of the World Series.Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw both got pulled after allowing baserunners to start the fifth. After the Dodgers tied it 3-3 in the top half and chased Sale, Kershaw walked Mookie Betts to lead off the bottom and then gave up Andrew Benintendi's third hit of the game.Ryan Madson loaded the bases by walking Steve Pearce on four pitches, bringing up J.D. Martinez, who already had two hits and two RBIs in... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):10:40 p.m.The Red Sox are back in the lead, 5-3, after five innings and the teams have turned it over to their bullpens in Game 1 of the World Series.Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw both got pulled after allowing baserunners to start the fifth. After the Dodgers tied it 3-3 in the top half and chased Sale, Kershaw walked Mookie Betts to lead off the bottom and then gave up Andrew Benintendi's third hit of the game.Ryan Madson loaded the bases by walking Steve Pearce on four pitches, bringing up J.D. Martinez, who already had two hits and two RBIs in the game. He struck out on three pitches.Xander Bogaerts gave Boston the lead with a fielder's choice groundout, then Rafael Devers made it 5-3 with a single.In all, Kershaw was charged with five runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out five and stands to take the loss if the Dodgers can't rally.__10:35 p.m.Red Sox starter Chris Sale is out of the game, leaving after walking... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the World Series (all times local):9:58 p.m.Boston Red Sox starter Chris Sale left in the top of the fifth inning of the World Series opener despite a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.Sale walked Brian Dozier leading off the fifth and was replaced by Matt Barnes. Sale threw 91 pitches, allowing five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.Clayton Kershaw, starting his second straight World Series opener for the Dodgers, threw 69 pitches in the first four innings and retired five straight batters after J.D. Martinez's tiebreaking double in the third. Kershaw had given up six hits with five strikeouts and two walks.___9:40 p.m.J.D. Martinez put Boston ahead 3-2 with a booming double in the third inning — and also put a scare into Red Sox fans at Fenway Park.Martinez lined a long drive against Clayton Kershaw that hit off the garage door on the center field wall. But the big designated hitter slipped rounding the bases, his left foot skidding off the bag at... [More]