MLB: Mope in Hollywood – last hope: the left!

The Los Angeles Dodgers are 0-2 behind in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Especially the 2:4 defeat in game 2 at Fenway Park left little room for optimism. If the first game was still a more or less open exchange of blows, the second was actually only overwhelming from the point of view of the NL champion. Are there any reasonable hopes for a comeback?

All three hits were made by the Dodgers. It doesn’t really matter that they made two runs out of it and a 2-1 lead in the meantime. You weren’t able to hold them.

Surely one can and must criticize manager Dave Roberts for his uncharacteristically hesitant bullpen management. Like the night before his starting pitcher (Hyun-Jin Ryu) got too long a leash, on which Ryan Madson hanged himself afterwards. He took over with loaded bases after finding two men on base in game one. All five scores and decided the game.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that the Red Sox are showing an unbelievably cold-blooded offensive production this October that is historically unparalleled. As statistic freak Jayson Stark of The Athletic pointed out, the Red Sox as a team in this postseason have a Slash Line, which the maybe biggest hitter of all times, Ted Williams, nearly put down in 1941: .415/.564/.756/1.320. And the Sox did that with two outs alone!

Of course, each of these numbers (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS) would be an all-time record for a single postseason. So the truth may be that the Dodgers could have done what they wanted and yet no other outcome to the situation would have occurred.

With this knowledge in mind, however, it is by no means time to throw the shotgun into the grain. Rather, the question is what the Dodgers could do better. And there are a few things that come to mind.

First and foremost is the Dodger offense. She seemed inhibited and by no means free. Of course this was also due to the strong pitching of the Red Sox. Especially the bullpen was “lights out” and only allowed one run in its eight relief innings.

But the Offense never really played in the best line-up. Against the two left-handed starters Chris Sale and David Price, Roberts – as the analytics enthusiast he is – relied on a lineup consisting exclusively of right-handed people. In both games, all available left-handers were used later, but they were not really in rhythm at any time due to the lack of playing time.

At least in the first two games at Dodger Stadium now that will change. The Red Sox will use Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi as starters. Both are right-handers, which is why the left-handers who have been parked up to now are allowed to go. Means: The dynamic Left Fielder and Lead-Off-Guy Joc Pederson will be there, as well as NLCS-MVP Cody Bellinger and Rookie-Power-Threat Max Muncy.

The lineup will be different, one with significantly more power than before. And that’s where the Dodgers’ strength lies. They live from home runs, not from rallies cobbled together with great effort, which make the Red Sox so strong – and resistant to low forms. So far this power has only been used to a limited extent, but now it could awaken thanks to the left-handers and breathe new life into the team.

And as for his own pitching, the question remains whether Roberts might not be more aggressive again and take a weak starter out of the game earlier than before. Confidence in the strength of his pitcher is laudable, given the situation, which tolerates no error, but probably potentially fatal.

The Dodgers aren’t beaten yet. However, the situation is extremely dangerous, especially as the team that won the first two games of the World Series also won the title in the last 15 cases. So the Dodgers have their backs to the wall. But they don’t really have anything to lose anymore. Maybe that’s an advantage.

This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.