Rays rally for two runs in 9th to stun Dodgers, 8-7, even series
BRETT Phillips singled to send home the game-winning runs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night at Arlington, Texas.
Phillips, who came on as a defensive replacement in the top of the inning, singled home Kevin Kiermaier with two outs. Randy Arozarena also scored on an errant throw from center that got away from the catcher, as Tampa Bay completed the comeback off Kenley Jansen (0-1) to knot the series at two wins apiece.
Game 5 will take place today.
Brandon Lowe hit a three-run home run for the Rays, and Arozarena, Hunter Renfroe and Kiermaier each hit solo shots. John Curtiss (1-0) earned the win in relief.
Corey Seager had given the Dodgers a 7-6 lead in the eighth. He finished with a home run and four hits, as did Justin Turner. All seven Los Angeles runs were scored with two outs.
The Dodgers led 4-2 entering the bottom of the sixth before Lowe hit his third homer of the series the opposite way off Pedro Baez for a one-run Rays lead.
Los Angeles wasted no time battling back as Seager singled and Turner doubled to start the seventh. After two strikeouts, Cody Bellinger was intentionally walked to load the bases for pinch-hitter Joc Pederson. Pederson’s two-run single off the glove of Lowe at second gave the Dodgers a 6-5 edge.
Kiermaier knotted the score at six with a homer off Baez in the bottom of the inning.
Turner homered in the first inning for the second straight game—a first in World Series history. The homer was his 12th as a Dodger in the playoffs, a new franchise record.
Seager slugged his eighth blast in the third to temporarily tie for the single postseason record, but Arozarena grabbed sole possession of the mark when he hit his ninth of the playoffs to lead off the fourth.
With three hits, Arozarena also tied Pablo Sandoval in 2014 for most hits in a postseason with 26.
Max Muncy’s RBI single in the fifth gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead before Tampa Bay got back within one on Renfroe’s homer in the bottom of the inning. An Enrique Hernandez run-scoring double in the sixth made it 4-2 Dodgers.
Julio Urias started for Los Angeles, allowing two runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out nine. Ryan Yarbrough surrendered two runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings for Tampa Bay.
AROZARENA SETS HR RECORD
Tampa Bay Rays rookie Randy Arozarena set an MLB record when he hit his ninth home run of the postseason in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night.
Arozarena went deep on the first pitch he saw from Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning of the contest played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Arozarena had tied the record shared by Nelson Cruz (2011), Carlos Beltran (2004) and Barry Bonds (2002) when he homered in the ninth inning of Game 3.
Arozarena, who singled in his first at-bat, also singled in the sixth to match Pablo Sandoval’s record for most hits in a single postseason at 26. Sandoval set the mark in 2014. Arozarena also holds the record for total bases in a postseason with 58.
Arozarena, 25, made his season debut for the Rays in late August after overcoming COVID-19. He hit .281 with seven homers in 23 regular-season games, carrying his success over to the postseason, where he entered Saturday batting .354 with his eight homers and 11 RBIs.
Earlier Saturday night, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager hit his eighth homer of the playoffs to match the previous record held by Arozarena, Bonds, Beltran, and Cruz. — Reuters
