The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers will face off in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday night. The Dodgers came away with the win in Game 2 by a score of 8-3.
The first pitch of Game 2 is scheduled for 8:08 P.M. Eastern on FOX.
Game 1 Recap
The first runs of the game came by a two-run home run from Cody Bellinger in the fourth inning. The Dodgers didn’t look back after that, scoring another six runs in the next two innings.
After having that cushion, it was safe to pull Clayton Kershaw after six innings of work. He had eight strikeouts, giving up only one earned run.
Tampa Bay Need to Bounce Back
The Rays will have to bounce back in Game 2. Getting down 0-2 against this Dodgers team would not be ideal. It isn’t a must-win, but it is close.
Blake Snell will be getting the start for the Rays, and he will need to have a better performance than Tyler Glasnow had in Game 1.
Snell had a 3.24 ERA through his 11 starts in the regular season and is 2-2 this postseason. For his career in the postseason, he holds a 2.88 ERA.
But it won’t matter how he pitches if the Rays can’t put up any runs. They will need a stronger performance at the plate than they had in Game 1.
The team had six hits in Game 1, with many of those coming late in the game when it was already out of reach.
Dodgers Look to Carry the Momentum
If the Dodgers can take Game 2, it would be their series to lose. Kershaw had a dominating performance in Game 1, silencing some of the haters that insist he isn’t the same pitcher in the postseason and can’t get past his history of postseason struggles.
Tony Gonsolin will get the start for Los Angeles in this one. He was 2-2 and had a 2.31 ERA during the season. He has only thrown sixth and a third innings in the postseason this year but has a 9.95 ERA.
The Dodgers will be looking to stay hot at the plate. Mookie Betts was able to get his first postseason home run as a Dodger in Game 1, going deep to right field.
Prediction
The pressure is on the Dodgers to win the World Series, and they had the advantage on the mound in Game 1. However, the tale of the pitchers is a bit different in this one.
Snell has postseason experience and has seen success. The less experienced Gonsolin will likely need a lot of run support to stay in the game very long.
The Rays’ moneyline is at +125, while the Dodgers sit at -135. Tampa Bay has the advantage on the mound with Snell, so I’m going to take the Rays to bounce back and even up the series.
I do believe this comes with more bullpen action than Game 1. The over/under is set at eight runs, and I like the total amount of runs to hit the over.
The Rays make this World Series a little more interesting after winning Game 2.