World Series 2020 Champs!
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Kirk Gibson home run had endured, but it had also run its course. The clip remained a constant presence around the Los Angeles Dodgers, consuming their broadcasts and playing on a near-constant loop at their stadium.
Written content by Alden Gonzalez from ESPN
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Kirk Gibson home run had endured, but it had also run its course. The clip remained a constant presence around the Los Angeles Dodgers, consuming their broadcasts and playing on a near-constant loop at their stadium. It stood as the seminal moment from a bygone era, from a championship captured more than three decades earlier. A new memory had long since been desired.
“We’ve heard it a lot, and we’ve seen a lot of highlights, and it’s fantastic,” said Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ fifth-year manager. “But we wanna make our own mark on Dodgers history.”
On Tuesday, in a neutral stadium 1,400 miles from L.A., at the conclusion of a bizarre season played amid a global health crisis, these Dodgers finally made their mark. Their 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series won them their first championship since Gibson famously hobbled to the batter’s box in 1988. It was a fitting coronation for a dominant franchise.
Tony Gonsolin, counted on to function as a traditional starter, recorded only five outs. But four relievers — Dylan Floro, Alex Wood, Pedro Baez and Victor Gonzalez — retired 13 of the next 14 batters, keeping the game within reach long enough for the Dodgers to get past an electric Blake Snell and tap into the Rays’ bullpen.
After Rays manager Kevin Cash turned to Nick Anderson with one on, one out and the top of the order due up for a third time in the sixth, the Dodgers’ offense finally came alive. Mookie Betts doubled, Austin Barnes scored on a wild pitch, and Betts slid home safely on a grounder to the right side. Betts, the offseason acquisition who has somehow exceeded expectations, tacked on an important insurance run with a solo homer in the eighth, and closer Julio Urias cruised past the finish line, leading the Dodgers to the title 16 days after the Los Angeles Lakers completed their championship journey. Read more from ESPN.
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