By Tyler Stark.
The Los Angeles Dodgers put on an absolute clinic last night. They earned the 8-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays and are now up 1-0 in the best of seven World Series. Despite having made the World Series three of the last four years, the Dodgers have not won the World Series since 1988. However, when you look at the team they have this year something just seems different. It feels like this will be the year the Dodgers bring the trophy back to LA.
For more than a decade Clayton Kershaw has been the face of the Dodgers, and the best pitcher in all of baseball. In years prior the Dodgers would go as far as Kershaw would take them. Kershaw has a reputation for coming up short in the playoffs time and time again. The reason for this is in years past the dodgers relied far too much on him, they were far too top heavy.
However, this year although Kershaw is easily still the best pitcher on the team, which he made crystal clear with his monster game last night. other guys have stepped up in big ways. Pitchers like Walker Bueler and Joe Jelly of course come to mind. Another guy that played really well in this year’s playoffs is reliever Julio Urias. He made huge plays in the final game of the conference semifinals that definitely were crucial to the Dodgers advancing to the World Series.
Earlier this year when the Dodgers traded for former AL MVP Mookie Betts analysts and fans began wondering just how good Betts would be for the team. While Betts has certainly been solid on the offensive side this year defense has really been his bread and butter, especially in these playoffs. He has made incredible catches. These catches have not only been entertaining to watch, but they have helped his squad tremendously. His versatility has proved to be a huge reason that the Dodgers are in the position that they’re in.
When talking about The Los Angeles Dodgers there are so many things that come to mind. The greatness of Kershaw, the electrifying play by Mookie Betts, but the Dodgers biggest strength truly is their offensive firepower. This is a team that scored eleven runs in a single inning, which is the most runs scored by any team in MLB playoff history. Of course Mookie Betts, last year’s MVP and the always electrifying Cody Bellinger, emerging star Corey Seager has also had a huge impact on this offense. The big question going into last night was how the Dodgers offense would do against the Rays Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow. During the game Glasnow did not look good by any means, and the Dodgers absolutely are him alive. This offense is stacked, and when this team is at its best the offense is leading the way.
When you look at this Dodger team you just feel like this is their year. They have the most talented squad in baseball, they have 2 former MVP’s, they really don’t have a clear weakness. At the end of the day it’s the Dodgers year, and it’s only a matter of time before they are hoisting the trophy!
Tyler Stark
Tyler Stark ('24) is in his freshmen year, and this is his first year writing for the Redwood Gigantea. Tyler hopes to work for Sports Illustrated in the future. you can contact him by email with: tyler.st3800@vusd.us
Awesome job on this article! Glad to see you got this out ahead of Game 2! GO DODGERS!!!