Playing to the Max

The Red Sox and Dodgers play 18 innings Friday night, the Dodgers coming out on top 3-2 as Max Muncy hits an opposite field home run off Nathan Eovaldi leading off bottom of the final frame. Both teams scored in the 13 inning, thanks in part to throwing errors. Scott Alexander‘s throwing error in the top of the 13th allowed the Red Sox to take the lead, but the run was earned as a subsequent Christian Vazquez double would have driven the run home anyway. That’s an official scoring decision, however, one does not know what would have happened in the absence of the error.

In the bottom of the 13th, Muncy walked, followed by two fly outs. On the second one, described as a foul out to third, Muncy tagged up and reached second. The video is on this page, showing Eduardo Nunez fallinng into the seats as he makes the catch. Puig then hit an infield single that Ian Kinsler threw away, and the Dodgers tied the game to keep it going.

It was the longest World Series game in history:

Maybe the best way to sum up the bizarre night at Dodger Stadium: Of the 50 players on both rosters, only four didn’t get into the game: Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz for the Red Sox and Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu for the Dodgers. The 46 players used on both teams was a record for any postseason game. The Red Sox burned through a record-tying nine pitchers, including Eovaldi, the projected Game 4 starter who pitched the final six-plus innings — leaving the Red Sox without a starter for Game 4 until Alex Cora announces one Saturday afternoon.

The Red Sox are still up in the series 2-1, but the Dodgers knew they needed this one.

“This was a must win for us, 100 percent, that’s why we were grinding until the last out, until the last run came across the board,” Dodgers third baseman Manny Machado said.

The game featured a wild 13th inning when both teams scored on errors. The Red Sox scored in the top the frame when Brock Holt walked and took second on a wild pitch. Eduardo Nunez dribbled a ball between the pitcher’s mound and first base, but second baseman Enrique Hernandez couldn’t handle the flip from pitcher Scott Alexander as Nunez slid headfirst into the base and Holt scored as the ball trickled down the first-base line.

The last time a go-ahead run scored in extra innings in a World Series game was the infamous error from former Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner in Game 6 in 1986 against the New York Mets.

Note that in the boxscore, the Red Sox keep switching up the outfielders. Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Mookie Betts would move from CF-RF to LF-CF for certain batters, with the weaker LF moving to RF. Every edge these teams could get they took. Clayton Kershaw pinch hit, and Austin Barnes, a catcher, pinch ran.

I wish I could have stayed up to watch. Luckily, at the video link above, there is a condensed version of the game.

The best news is there will be no sweep. There will be at least two more games this weekend.

Here is everyone who batter at least once in the game. Here’s everyone who threw a pitch in the game. Let’s not forget Walker Buehler‘s outstanding start, that helped make the tie possible.

from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2D58lyB