Jenny Rollins
BU News Service
The Boston Red Sox are World Series champions for the 9th time, and they made it look easy.
With three victories and one drawn-out loss in the longest World Series game in history, the Red Sox just had to win one more game to lock down the World Series championship and they were immediately on the front foot.
The first inning began with Steve Pearce hitting a gorgeous homer for the Red Sox, scoring Andrew Benintendi in the process.
The Sox fans’ spirits slightly dampened when the Dodgers’ David Freese hit an equally beautiful home run off of David Price’s very first pitch.
After that first hit, Price seemed a little off, walking Justin Turner. For a brief moment, it seemed like we were in for an even game to rival Game 3 and the first six innings of Game 4.
But that first hit turned out to be a one-off moment of joy for the Dodgers.
Because they were playing on the Dodgers’ home turf, the Sox had to follow National League rules, meaning that the team was forced to include Price in their batting order rather than a designated hitter.
There was a brief moment of panic in the third inning when David Freese made it to third after J.D. Martinez lost sight of a fly ball, which flew over his head and wide. Luckily, the inning ended before he could make it home.
The next couple of innings passed without much excitement, with the teams still fairly close until Mookie Betts hit his first postseason home run at the top of the sixth, making it 3-1.
J.D. Martinez made up for his missed catch by hitting a solo homer at the start of the seventh inning. Then in the eighth, Steve Pearce hit his second homer of the night, making the score 5-1.
Despite Price’s unfortunate beginning, he maintained endurance and consistency, surpassing expectations by pitching all the way into the eighth, making Price the first pitcher to pitch into the eighth in the World Series on one day of rest since 1957.
At this point, with a big lead and little game time left, excitement began amongst the Red Sox faithful – victory seemed inevitable. Sure enough, Chris Sale brought the game to victory in the ninth, striking out Justin Turner, Kike Hernandez and Manny Machado.
Many fans and sports critics give Price the credit for most of the team’s success in this game, only allowing one run the whole game, especially after his elbow injury a year and a half ago. However, Steve Pearce was named the MVP, with three home runs and eight RBIs.
With a record of 119-57, including the postseason, this year the Red Sox have made history as one of the all-time best.
The World Series victory parade will be kicking off at 11 a.m. on Halloween morning, with the athletes and their families riding on duck boats through Boston.
