Scouts: I said yesterday that lastnight’s game was very important for the Rays and they needed to make a statement in a big way. Well, I’m not sure they made a big statement, but they did show everyone they did not come all this way to just roll over and give up. They struck back, and in doing so, helped erase the early advantage LA gave themselves.
Rays 6, Dodgers 4
Blake Snell gave the Rays the early advantage throwing a no hitter for 4.2 innings. It allowed the Rays to build an early 5-0 lead, in which Brandon Lowe homered not once, but twice.
It wasn’t until the 5th that Snell started to fall apart. He walked Enrique Hernandez with two outs in the frame, and then lost the no-hitter by giving up a two run homer to Chris Taylor. Following the homer, Snell allowed another walk and a single, before finally getting the call to the bullpen. Nick Anderson came in and ended the threat.
Both teams scored in the 6th, the Rays on a Joey Wendle sac fly, and the Dodgers on a Wil Smith solo homer. That brought the total to 6-3. The final run on the night came off a Corey Seager homer in the 8th. But it was too little, too late. LA wasn’t able to overcome the early lead the Rays built up, and the well rested bullpen did their job well.
Thursday will be a day off for the two teams. The series will pick up again on Friday, with the Dodgers sending out ace Walker Buehler and the Rays will send out Charlie Morton. Historically, the winner of game 3 in a seven game series which was tied up at 1 game each, has gone on to win the series 65 of 94 times. I’m not really sure what that’s supposed to mean, but it seems kind of impressive right?
Fan Interference 
For whatever reason, in the 5th inning the ump started calling pitches high in the strike zone balls and pitches low in the strike zone balls.
The Dodgers tried to out-Ray the Rays with a bullpen game even though Buehler could have started on normal rest.
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So baseball season is still going on? I had no clue.
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You betcha! Lolich and the Tiger’s just evened the thing up to one and one.
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Booooooo!!!
/throws popcorn
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As for odds of winning…a team that holds a one game lead (1-0, 2-1, 3-2) wins the series about 2/3 of the time. A two game lead (2-0, 3-1) ups it to 4/5 of the time.
Of course both of the league championship series showed being on the short end of the odds is not equal to
eliminated.
https://sabr.org/journal/article/world-series-game-situation-winning-probabilities-how-often-do-teams-come-back-from-behind/
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It’s a cool Saturday afternoon in Southern California, and perhaps the cooler weather is cooling heads. I just saw two masked men, one with a MAGA T-shirt and one wearing a Biden shirt, shaking hands in the grocery parking lot.
Both wore Dodger Blue caps.
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This is the heartwarming unity I need right now.
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After apple picking today, I’m kicking back with a martini my beloved made for me while he whips up some Lo Mein — somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good. Anyway, I have a moment, so…
All due respect to @professormaddog31, Smoltzy and Buck are turrible! Last night, they discussed getting pine tar out of a uni FFS. And, blessedly, the end of the game cut off a rambling story we are sure to finish tonight (hence, the martini). Do we need to know about players’ hair products? Sigh.
Announcers aside, this is a good series (and I read that article too while obsessively checking the predictions on fivethirtyeight). Snell is great to watch and continues to be a fantastic asset for the Rays. I can’t help but root for Morton, even though I thrill at every one of Bellinger’s bat drops. I texted “Kyle’s brother!” to my step-sister in Seattle, and she replied, “he’s on fire.” Essentially, these have been games any fan can get into. It’s a great series and I’m loving the substantial end to a lame season. Seriously, full seasons have given us such lesser playoffs. Thank you, Jobu, for not abandoning us in our time of pandemic need.
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