For the entire baseball season, the Boston Red Sox were the best team, and they ended it that way on Sunday night. Steve Pearce stayed hot with two more home runs, two of four for Boston, who beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, in Game 5 to clinch their fourth World Series title in 15 years. It is the second straight season that the Dodgers have gone down in the "Fall Classic" as J. D. Martinez and Mookie Betts both went deep to seal MVP-caliber seasons for the Red Sox outfielders. Meanwhile ,David Price continued his sudden Postseason success, earning his third straight win this Postseason with seven innings of one-run baseball.
Price struck out five for his second win in the series, as he exited just one batter in to the eighth inning. Joe Kelly and Chris Sale ended things, with the left-handed Sale striking out the side to clinch the series. Kelly did the same in the eighth inning after Price allowed the leadoff batter to reach.
The four-title run began in 2004 for Boston, which snapped an 86-year playoff drought, and then they added titles in 2007 and 2013. The Red Sox added another title this season under first-year manager Alex Cora, who led his team to a 17-2 start after losing on Opening Day. They ended with a franchise-record 108 victories and then went 11-3 in the Postseason, beating the Houston Astros and New York Yankees en route to the World Series.
Clayton Kershaw took another Postseason loss after giving up a two-run shot to Pearce and then solo shots to Betts and Martinez. Pearce's second long ball was of the solo variety and came off of Sandy Baez in the eighth inning. The outfielder was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in June and finished with three home runs and seven RBIs in the final 11 innings of the series.
Boston outscored the Dodgers, 28-16, in the series to win their ninth title, despite posting just a .222 average, compared to the Dodgers .180. They are now tied with the Oakland Athletics for the third-most titles in the majors, behind the Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers, who fell in seven games to the Astros a year ago, could not bring the trophy home, despite adding Manny Machado, who will test free agency this winter.
Price struck out five for his second win in the series, as he exited just one batter in to the eighth inning. Joe Kelly and Chris Sale ended things, with the left-handed Sale striking out the side to clinch the series. Kelly did the same in the eighth inning after Price allowed the leadoff batter to reach.
The four-title run began in 2004 for Boston, which snapped an 86-year playoff drought, and then they added titles in 2007 and 2013. The Red Sox added another title this season under first-year manager Alex Cora, who led his team to a 17-2 start after losing on Opening Day. They ended with a franchise-record 108 victories and then went 11-3 in the Postseason, beating the Houston Astros and New York Yankees en route to the World Series.
Clayton Kershaw took another Postseason loss after giving up a two-run shot to Pearce and then solo shots to Betts and Martinez. Pearce's second long ball was of the solo variety and came off of Sandy Baez in the eighth inning. The outfielder was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in June and finished with three home runs and seven RBIs in the final 11 innings of the series.
Boston outscored the Dodgers, 28-16, in the series to win their ninth title, despite posting just a .222 average, compared to the Dodgers .180. They are now tied with the Oakland Athletics for the third-most titles in the majors, behind the Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers, who fell in seven games to the Astros a year ago, could not bring the trophy home, despite adding Manny Machado, who will test free agency this winter.
