Dodgers defeat Rays in Incredible Series

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Photo used with permission from Google Commons

Max Muncy warms up before game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 21.

The MLB World Series was hard-fought between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the best-of-seven showdown, the Dodgers came out on top with a 4-2 series victory over the Rays.

The Dodgers are an incredibly old franchise dating back to 1883, when they used to be the Brooklyn Dodgers. They have had many World Series and playoff appearances since then, with seven World Series victories. The Rays are a fairly new team. Founded in 1998, the Rays have two World Series appearances and zero titles and were considered the worst team in the league in 2007.

Students had mixed predictions on who they thought was going to win. “I think the Dodgers are going to win because they had a really good regular season and acquired a lot of great players in the offseason coming into this season,” sophomore Ethan Goldstein said.

In game one, the Dodgers started off with a loud win 8-3 against the Rays. With an extremely strong offensive presence, the Dodgers made known to the Rays their hitting capabilities, with hits from almost everyone in their lineup including multiple hits from Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and Chris Taylor.

The Rays came back with a win in game two. With a score of 6-4, the Rays’ bullpen had an outstanding pitching performance, as well as a solid hitting performance. Notable players from this game include Rays’ second baseman Brandon Lowe, with two hits and three RBI’s, and Rays’ right fielder Manuel Margot, with two hits as well.

In game three, the Dodgers came back with a vengeance with a 6-2 win and continued to demonstrate their offensive dominance. The Dodgers had a total of 10 hits and had home runs from third baseman Justin Turner and catcher Austin Barnes.

Game four was a tight game but the Rays came out on top with an 8-7 win, making the series tied 2-2. Both teams played well. In fact, the Dodgers had more hits than the Rays, however the credit goes to the Rays’ defense which held up the Dodgers and sealed their team a win.

The Dodgers then plowed ahead with a 4-2 victory and led the series 3-2. The Rays brought their offensive strength in this game, tallying more hits than the Dodgers, however the Dodgers pitching performance seemed to do most of the talking this game with a total of 10 strikeouts throughout all their pitchers.

In a final stand, the Rays did their best to keep their head above water, but were finally eliminated with another Dodgers win 4-2, eliminating the Rays and making the Los Angeles Dodgers MLB Champions.

Some students were upset with the outcome of the championship. “I wanted the Rays to win the World Series after watching their breakout star Randy Arozarena break multiple hitting records during the postseason,” senior Nathan Bowman said.