Clayton Kershaw will take to the mound at Dodger Stadium Sunday for Game 5 of the World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers try to extend their season.
A 9-6 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 Saturday night put the Dodgers down three games to one in the best of seven series.
Of the 47 previous times a team has taken a 3-1 lead, 40 have gone on to win the Series, 85 percent, with 26 wrapping up the series in Game 5.
Kershaw was also the Game 1 starter. He was relieved by Ryan Madson with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, runners on first and second and the score tied, 3-3.
Madson allowed both runners to score in an 8-4 loss Tuesday that dropped Kershaw’s career postseason record to 9-9.
Instead of starting Chris Sale as planned, fellow left-hander David Price will start for Boston, manager Alex Cora announced at the end of his postgame news conference Saturday.
“This is a good spot for David, in a National League park to start a game,” Cora said. “Obviously he’s been throwing the ball well. It’s not that we’re playing with the lead, but we feel that for the team, for where we’re at pitching- wise it’s good to go with David.”
Price was the winning pitcher in Game 2, allowing three hits and two runs in six innings, striking out five and walking three in the 4-2 victory Wednesday.
If a Game 6 is played, Sale would start, Cora said.
The Dodgers will try to bounce back from squandering a four-run lead with three innings to play in a game President Donald Trump was critical of manager Dave Roberts for taking out starting pitcher Rich Hill after he limited Boston to one hit over 6 1/3 innings.
“Watching the Dodgers/Red Sox final innings,” Trump tweeted at 8:46 p.m. PDT. “It is amazing how a manager takes out a pitcher who is loose & dominating through almost 7 innings, Rich Hill of Dodgers, and brings in nervous reliever(s) who get shellacked. 4 run lead gone. Managers do it all the time, big mistake!.”
When asked for a response to Trump’s tweet, Roberts responded, “I’m happy he was tuning in and watching the game. I don’t know how many Dodger games he’s watched. I don’t think he is privy to the conversation. That’s one man’s opinion.”
Roberts said he spoke with Hill before the start of the seventh inning.
“He said, `Keep an eye on me. I’m going to give it everything I have. Let’s go hitter to hitter and just keep an eye on me,”’ Roberts said.
“So right there, I know Rich did everything he could, competed, left everything out there. When I hear that and see what he’s doing, and he goes out there, and you want him to go as long as he can.”
Hill began the inning by walking Xander Bogaerts on a full count. He then struck out Eduardo Nunez.
“At that point you get an out and we’re talking about hitter to hitter, guys on first base, and you’ve got a lefty on the bench or in the pen that has done it all year long, getting lefties out, and trying to keep those lefties on the bench, (Mitch) Moreland, (Rafael) Devers,” Roberts said.
“So you figure you have a chance to get a guy who matches up really well against (Brock) Holt, and then to potentially go to (Christian) Vazquez and keep the other guys off the bench. So it was more of just the conversation I had, and just realizing that, man, this guy gave it everything he had and we’ve got to pick each other up.”
Roberts replaced Hill with fellow left-hander Scott Alexander. Alexander walked Holt on four pitches, prompting Roberts to summon Madson.
Madson got pinch-hitter Jackie Bradley Jr. to pop out for the second out, then allowed a three-run home run to Moreland, which cut the Dodgers lead to 4-3.
Madson has allowed all seven runners he inherited in the Series to score.
Kenley Jansen replaced Madson to start the eighth and allowed a solo homer to the second batter he faced, Steve Pearce which tied the score, 4-4.
Boston scored five runs in the ninth.
Holt doubled off Dylan Floro with one out. Devers then followed with the tie-breaking pinch-hit single.
Devers moved to second on pinch-hitter Blake Swihart’s ground out. Mookie Betts was intentionally walked. Roberts replaced Floro with Alex Wood, who allowed a single to Andrew Benintendi to load the bases.
Kenta Maeda then relived Wood. Pearce hit Maeda’s second pitch for the three-run double. Following an intentional walk to J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts singled in Pearce, increasing the lead to 9-4.
Kike Hernandez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for the Dodgers.
Corona High School and UC Riverside alumnus Joe Kelly, the third of four Red Sox pitchers, was credited with the victory, pitching two shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out three.
Floro, the fifth of seven Dodger pitchers, was charged with the loss, allowing three runs and two hits in two-thirds of an inning, with one walk.
The Dodgers opened the scoring with four runs in the sixth.
Leadoff hitter David Freese was hit in a leg by a pitch. Hernandez ran for him and moved to third one out later on Justin Turner’s double. Manny Machado was walked intentionally to load the bases.
Cody Bellinger grounded to Pearce, the Boston first baseman, who threw to Vazquez, the Red Sox catcher, for the force out on Hernandez at the plate.
Vazquez’s return throw to Pearce to attempt to complete the inning-ending double play was wild, allowing Turner to score.
Puig, the next batter, homered.
Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez surrendered four runs and four hits over the first 5 2/3 innings, struck out six and gave up an intentional run in his first postseason start. Two of the hits were in the sixth.
“He was amazing,” Cora said. “From pitch one, his stuff was there. He was in command. Probably his best outing of the season.”
Rodriguez threw six pitches in Game 3 Friday. He became the sixth pitcher to start a World Series game after appearing in the previous contest and the first since Firpo Marberry of the 1924 Washington Senators.
The Dodgers led in hits, 9-8, were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position, left eight runners on base and struck out 10 times. The Red Sox were 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position, left six runners on base and struck out eight times.