Game Two was a reminder of what we like in the Fall classic. This wasn’t a game that you will remember for years to come but we saw a competitive, hard thought game. Game One was a disappointment to the fan with no vested interest, Game Two can at least remind the casual fan what they like in the game of baseball. Game Two had great pitching, situational hitting, power-hitting, and intense at-bats. The Rays evened the series Wednesday night with the 6-4 victory. However, the important notes are how they controlled this game and made the series competitive once again.
Blake Snell couldn’t have been better to start
Blake Snell was more than aware of the Dodgers lineup’s ability to do damage. Unlike Glasnow the night before, Snell knew he had to paint the corners as well as establish his off-speed pitches. At times, the risk looked like it was costing Snell, with many wild pitches that the Dodgers weren’t biting at. The risk was clearly worth the occasional inaccurate pitch. Snell struck out 9 Dodgers and held the powerful lineup to no hits through the first 4 innings.
Blake Snell not only nailed the corners of the strike zone throughout the night. Snell also mastered his breaking pitches and kept the Dodgers hitters flustered with the off-speed pitches. 7 of Snell’s 9 strikeouts came on pitches that were slower than 90 MPH. It comes to show that in a league so invested in high-velocity pitchers, those that can locate are most successful. The only true mistake that Snell made in the night was the first hit he surrendered. The 2-1 serving was barely in the strike zone but Chris Taylor was able to power the 79 MPH pitch to the opposite field to give the Dodgers 2 runs. Snell left the game only surrendering 2 hits. The scorers won’t give him the win, Snell won this game for Tampa Bay.
Lowe + Wendle bat in all 6 Rays runs to lead the victory
After leading the team in regular-season home runs, Brandon Lowe hit one homer in the last 28 days. Any manager would bench or list Lowe later in the batting order, but not Kevin Cash. Cash kept placing Lowe at the top of the order and it paid off tonight. The confidence and be said similarly about the other star hitter of the Night in Joey Wendle. Prior to Game Two, Wendle has two runs batted in the entire postseason. It’s a surprise that Kevin Cash keeps starting Joey Wendle when he can shuffle his infield and has plenty of batters that aren’t struggling just sitting on the bench.
Brandon Lowe was the first to prove that Cash is pulling the correct strings. In the opening inning of the game, Tony Gonsolin left a 3-1 fastball over the heart of the plate. Brandon Lowe as most hitters do was anticipating the 3-1 fastball and powered it over the left-center wall to put the Rays up out of the gate. In the 5th inning, we saw the same virtue to give Lose his second homer of the night. With a runner on base, Dustin May didn’t want to serve anything consequential to Lowe so he left an off-speed pitch on the outside part of the plate. Brandon Lowe once again was able to extend his swing and send the 0-2 pitch over the left-field fence. Lowe’s second opposite-field home run gave the Rays a commanding 5-0 lead which likely ended the game.
Joey Wendle knew he didn’t need a homer to be effective
While Lowe displayed power-hitting, Joey Wendle proved the importance of situational hitting needed to win the World Series. In the 4th inning, the Rays worked two runners on base for a prime scoring opportunity. Instead of swinging for the fences, Wendle rapped a hit into the gap in right-center field. The hit brought in both runners and gave the rays a commanding 3-0 lead. In the 6th inning, we saw Tampa Bay attack Joe Kelly with small-ball to put runners on the corners. Joey Wendle again knew that he just needed to power the ball into the outfield rather than swing for the fences. Wendle knocked a sac-fly to bring in the tagging Ji-Man Choi from third. The 6th Rays run became more valuable as the game progressed.
The Dodgers battle the Rays bullpen but come up short
After taking Blake Snell out of the game, the Dodgers had to feel hopeful that they could break through one of the relievers in the Rays bullpen. Chris Taylor knocked Snell out of the game with his 2-run blast but the lingering question was if the Dodgers could still come back from the deficit against the stack Rays bullpen.
In the 6th inning, we saw Will Smith take a low-inside pitch and crush it for a home run. In the 8th inning, we saw the NLCS MVP, Corey Seager get just enough on a pitch that was lazily left over the heart of the plate. Unfortunately for LA, both these hits were solo shots so the few mistakes by the Rays bullpen didn’t amount to much. Tampa Bay once again proved that they have a bullpen that is near-impossible to come back against. With a surplus of fresh arms that all prove to be matchup nightmares for any lineup.
What Game Two implies for the upcoming Game Three
I still don’t understand why Dave Roberts didn’t start Walker Buehler. After watching Kershaw dominate Game One, it would have been ideal to trot out your best pitcher the next game. A great start from Walker Buehler would likely give the Dodgers a 2-0 series lead and put Tampa Bay on the ropes. Instead the Dave Martinez chose to go with the opener strategy instead. The result was a reliever having the shortest outing since 2014.
Walker Buehler will be pitching the all-important Game Three instead. Walker Buehler and his tight pants will have to go up against another pitcher that has been dominant in the postseason in Charlie Morton. Buehler hasn’t surrendered more than 2 runs in any postseason starts this season and hasn’t in his last 8 postseason starts. Likewise, Morton has only allowed 2 total runs this postseason and hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in any of his last 8 postseason starts. Expect little runs to be scored, masterful pitching, and most importantly a great game.
