By Tanner Rowland, Staff Writer
TRADITION: The Boston Red Sox took their ninth World Series title in the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) championship.
The World Series, an annual major league baseball showdown, is the event all aspiring baseball players hope to compete in one day. Beginning in 1903, it is the most renowned baseball event of the year and is a major attraction for the baseball community. In order to make it into the World Series, a team must win either the American League or National League. In the 2018 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers, winner of the National League, faced the Boston Red Sox, winner of the American league.
On Tuesday, October 23rd, game one took place at Fenway Park, home field for the Red Sox. It was a lengthy game with cold temperatures, reaching the mid-40s by the end of the game. The Red Sox took a quick two to zero lead at the bottom of the first, taking advantage of errant plays by the Dodgers, such as missed throws and wild pitches. After a hard fight from both teams, Boston ending up winning eight to four, putting them at a one to zero lead in the World Series.
Game two was held the following day again, at Fenway Park. Inning by inning, game two was much tighter than the ball game the night before, with several bases loaded and non-stop hits. The Dodgers, with a lead of two to one in the top of the fifth, ended up losing game two four to two. David Price, the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, was a major component of this victory, throwing pitches that made it difficult for the Dodgers to get on base. David Price stated that ¨We’re playing good baseball right now, but that’s a very good team over there. We need to go to L.A. and not let it go back to Boston.¨ Going up two to zero in this year’s World Series became a big confidence booster for the Boston Red Sox as they headed into game three, at Dodger Stadium.
Game three hit the record books as one of the longest ever baseball games ever played. The game lasted seven hours and 20 minutes, with a total of 18 innings. Altogether, 18 pitchers were used from both teams combined (nine pitchers per team), with a total of 516 pitches thrown. Beating the total time of the World Series in 1939 (seven hours and five minutes), game three of this year’s World Series will go down in baseball history. The Dodgers ended up winning three to two from a walk-off home run by Max Muncy in the bottom of the 18th.
Game four was hard to follow after such a historic game the previous night. After a slow start for the Red Sox offense, Mitch Moreland hit a home run, bringing in three runs. Following that, Steven Pearce hit a solo home run. Continuing with Boston’s good momentum, Rafael Devers hit a single, putting Pearce in the perfect position for a three-run double, which helped Boston seal game four. Winning nine to six, Boston was now only one game away from winning the World Series. With game five occurring the following day, Boston had a lot of pressure to close out the series.
Dodger Stadium was alive with both Red Sox and Dodgers fans for the intense Game five. Right off the bat, the night began with a Red Sox home run hit by Steven Pearce. Following the Red Sox, Dodgers batter David Freese scored, putting the Dodgers on the board before the first inning finished. Boston was able to take a three to one lead when Mookie Betts hit the first postseason home run of his career. Then, in the seventh inning, J.D. Martinez showed some Red Sox heat by hitting a mid-field solo home run. Putting Boston up four to one, their momentum was too much for the Dodgers, making the Red Sox the 2018 World Series champions. Bost the Dodgers and Red Sox battled throughout this year’s World Series. As the 2018 baseball season waves its final goodbye, it is safe to say that this year’s Red Sox’s victory will never be forgotten.