The 2018 Fall Classic kicks off Tuesday night at Fenway Park, with the Los Angeles Dodgers facing off against the Boston Red Sox for the first game of the best of seven series.
The two franchises haven’t played a game against each other since 2016, and they both have gone through dramatic changes to their rosters since then.
Tuesday’s game will feature two of the best pitchers in the league, with Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers taking on Chris Sale of the Sox, and both teams are riding a wave of momentum: Los Angeles is coming off a Game 7 win against the Milwaukee Brewers, while Boston eliminated last year’s champions,Justin Verlanderand the Houston Astros, in just five games — though there wassome controversy along the way.
The Dodgers are hoping to end a 30-year championship drought this year — their last one was in 1988 — while the Sox are aiming for their first World Series win since 2013.
With so much on the line heading into Tuesday’s game, here is everything you need to know when two of the most popular teams in all of sports go against each other for the biggest prize in baseball.
Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos/Getty; Steven Martine/MLB Photos/Getty
This is the first time the franchises have met in the series in more than a century
The last time the two franchises faced off in the World Series was in 1916, when Babe Ruth was on the Sox and the Dodgers were known as the Brooklyn Robins.
While the Dodgers and Red Sox have not been rivals since then, L.A. and Boston do have another heated competition in the sports world: the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, who met a record 12 times in the NBA Finals. The Celtics won the NBA championship against the Lakers in 2008, and the Lakers returned the favor in 2010. Expect the rivalry between the two cities to bleed over into this series.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has a place in Red Sox history
Dave Roberts, who became Dodgers’ manager in 2016, is well known in Boston thanks to his role in securing the Red Sox’s first championship in 86 years.
Roberts was able to steal second base in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, which set off what has become known as one of the greatest comebacks in sports history — the Sox were able to surmount a 3-0 series deficit against New York, and would go on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series.
In another twist, Roberts will be going against his former teammate, Alex Cora, who is now the first minority manager of the Red Sox. This is the first timetwo minority managerswill face off in the World Series.
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The Dodgers are hoping to avenge last year’s World Series loss
Los Angeles reached their first World Series in 29 years in 2017 and took the Astros to seven games before losing in front of their home crowd. This year, the Dodgers had a streaky start to the season but made mid-season trades that have given them added depth.
Though the championship has been elusive, the Dodgers have only improved for each of their last three seasons, having lost in the NLDS, in the NLCS, and the World Series. If the pattern continues, a World Series win is next in line.
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The Red Sox have the best record in the league
But in order to clinch the win, the Dodgers will have to beat the hottest team in baseball.
The Red Sox ended the season with 108 wins for the best record in the MLB, and then went on to defeat the 100-win New York Yankees and the 103-win Astros in the postseason. The Sox are enjoying a four-game win streak, and with Game 1 on their home turf in front of a rowdy Boston crowd, it can easily continue.
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Boston fans’ hate for Manny Machado is nothing new
Clayton Kershaw can opt out of his contract with Dodgers
Kershaw, widely thought as the best pitcher in the league, can opt out of his contract with the Dodgers — the team that drafted him. If the team loses two World Series in a row, Kershaw, who is 31, may want to jump ship if he believes the team has run its course. It would be a dramatic loss for Los Angeles, and Kershaw has recently said he hasn’t made up his mind yet.
“I have not made a decision,” Kershaw toldESPNlast week. “And to my understanding, you get 10 days after the World Series [to decide]. So, should be a busy 10 days.”
source: people.com
