Runs Will Be at A Premium Between Dodgers and Red Sox in Game 5
Boston will try to clinch the World Series on Sunday night in L.A. on Fox. After a high-scoring Game 4, the pitchers will take control of Game 5.
Game 5: Boston at Los Angeles Dodgers
Sunday, 8:15 ET (FOX)
MLB Pick: Under 7
L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73 ERA) is the king of defeating ugly rumors. The sensationalist media has claimed throughout the season that Kershaw’s star has faded. They said that he couldn’t stay healthy because of back and other lingering issues. They talked about how his slider wasn’t generating as many strikeouts, that he was pitching more to contact, that his fastball was less impressive. Yet, he still achieved one of baseball’s best ERA’s. The media also harps on Kershaw’s reputation for being poor in the playoffs. That reputation comes with a caveat: he is great at bouncing back after a poor outing. After his last four postseason starts in which he yielded four runs or more, he allowed two runs or fewer in his next start.
Kershaw relies primarily on a fastball-slider combo. Both pitches compose 82 percent of his arsenal. While it’s true that his slider is inducing fewer whiffs, it’s even more effective than it was last year despite the drop in velocity. He still throws it very hard. It also has a more bizarre mix of arm-side tail and strong vertical movement. Despite its funky movement, he commands it well enough to throw it in scenarios when he needs a strike. He throws it with over 25 percent frequency as his first pitch. Kershaw prefers to throw it with two strikes in order to finish off the batter, but he can also work backwards to stay unpredictable. He pinpoints his slider with 35 percent frequency in the three lowest-left spots in the strike zone. He also relies on deception—and not just with his slider but with all his pitches. Because he lets their vertical and horizontal release points intersect, the battle struggles to discern which pitch leaves the pitcher’s hand. Due to all these factors, Kershaw’s slider yields a .191 opposing BA.
Boston’s superstar hitters are still struggling. Mookie Bets is batting .222 in October. Xander Bogaerts is batting .216 this month.
Reliever Pedro Baez is L.A.’s top fresh option. He rested yesterday and has allowed one run in 10.1 postseason innings.
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David Price (16-7, 3.58 ERA) will start for Boston while Boston’s top pitcher, Chris Sale, will be available in the bullpen .Price had a reputation for performing poorly in the playoff but he is shrugging off that reputation. He’s yielded two runs in his last 12 postseason innings. The „under“ is hitting in 60% of Price’s road games and in 66.7% of his games against a southpaw starter.
The southpaw Price relies on four different pitches with between 14 and 33 percent frequency. Of the four, his fastball and sinker are most effective. They compose 48 percent of his arsenal. His fastball has strong glove-side motion. He loves to throw it inside against lefties and away from righties. With the movement and location, he toys with the batter’s perception of whether the pitch will land for a ball or a strike. By working up and inside against lefties, he also improves his perceived velocity. Price’s sinker has even stronger glove-side motion, making it elusive. For these reasons, his fastball yields a .202 opposing BA and batters hit .169 against his sinker.
The Dodgers match up poorly with Price. They rank 23rd in slugging against left-handed pitchers. They’ll struggle against Price as a team that is built around left-handed hitting in a ballpark that favors left-handed power. In the regular season, lefties hit only four homers against Price in 117 at-bats. The „under“ is hitting in 59.7 percent of L.A.’s games against lefties.
Besides top pitcher Chris Sale, Boston’s Heath Hembree and Ryan Brasier didn’t pitch last night. They allowed a combined one run in 13.1 postseason innings.
Boston will try to clinch the World Series on Sunday night in L.A. on Fox. After a high-scoring Game 4, the pitchers will take control of Game 5.
Game 5: Boston at Los Angeles Dodgers
Sunday, 8:15 ET (FOX)
MLB Pick: Under 7
L.A.’s Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73 ERA) is the king of defeating ugly rumors. The sensationalist media has claimed throughout the season that Kershaw’s star has faded. They said that he couldn’t stay healthy because of back and other lingering issues. They talked about how his slider wasn’t generating as many strikeouts, that he was pitching more to contact, that his fastball was less impressive. Yet, he still achieved one of baseball’s best ERA’s. The media also harps on Kershaw’s reputation for being poor in the playoffs. That reputation comes with a caveat: he is great at bouncing back after a poor outing. After his last four postseason starts in which he yielded four runs or more, he allowed two runs or fewer in his next start.
Kershaw relies primarily on a fastball-slider combo. Both pitches compose 82 percent of his arsenal. While it’s true that his slider is inducing fewer whiffs, it’s even more effective than it was last year despite the drop in velocity. He still throws it very hard. It also has a more bizarre mix of arm-side tail and strong vertical movement. Despite its funky movement, he commands it well enough to throw it in scenarios when he needs a strike. He throws it with over 25 percent frequency as his first pitch. Kershaw prefers to throw it with two strikes in order to finish off the batter, but he can also work backwards to stay unpredictable. He pinpoints his slider with 35 percent frequency in the three lowest-left spots in the strike zone. He also relies on deception—and not just with his slider but with all his pitches. Because he lets their vertical and horizontal release points intersect, the battle struggles to discern which pitch leaves the pitcher’s hand. Due to all these factors, Kershaw’s slider yields a .191 opposing BA.
Boston’s superstar hitters are still struggling. Mookie Bets is batting .222 in October. Xander Bogaerts is batting .216 this month.
Reliever Pedro Baez is L.A.’s top fresh option. He rested yesterday and has allowed one run in 10.1 postseason innings.
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David Price (16-7, 3.58 ERA) will start for Boston while Boston’s top pitcher, Chris Sale, will be available in the bullpen .Price had a reputation for performing poorly in the playoff but he is shrugging off that reputation. He’s yielded two runs in his last 12 postseason innings. The „under“ is hitting in 60% of Price’s road games and in 66.7% of his games against a southpaw starter.
The southpaw Price relies on four different pitches with between 14 and 33 percent frequency. Of the four, his fastball and sinker are most effective. They compose 48 percent of his arsenal. His fastball has strong glove-side motion. He loves to throw it inside against lefties and away from righties. With the movement and location, he toys with the batter’s perception of whether the pitch will land for a ball or a strike. By working up and inside against lefties, he also improves his perceived velocity. Price’s sinker has even stronger glove-side motion, making it elusive. For these reasons, his fastball yields a .202 opposing BA and batters hit .169 against his sinker.
The Dodgers match up poorly with Price. They rank 23rd in slugging against left-handed pitchers. They’ll struggle against Price as a team that is built around left-handed hitting in a ballpark that favors left-handed power. In the regular season, lefties hit only four homers against Price in 117 at-bats. The „under“ is hitting in 59.7 percent of L.A.’s games against lefties.
Besides top pitcher Chris Sale, Boston’s Heath Hembree and Ryan Brasier didn’t pitch last night. They allowed a combined one run in 13.1 postseason innings.
