World Series Preview

The Dodgers and the Red Sox made the World Series and start Tuesday night. The Red Sox beat the Astros 4-1, and the Dodgers beat the Brewers 4-3. The Red Sox are heavily favored to win the series although the Dodgers could upset them if things go their way. Here’s how the two teams compare:

Offense: The Red Sox offense is the best in baseball, so there’s no doubt that they’re favored offensively. Although they won’t have the luxury of a DH in LA, they won’t lose J. D. Martinez as he’ll likely start in the outfield and move Mookie Betts to 2B. In the postseason so far, they’ve done well, averaging over 6 runs per game. The Dodgers offense is no joke either though. Although they’ve struggled with runners in scoring position in the postseason, they are possibly the deepest offense in the National League. They’ve utilized extreme platooning, stacking one-handedness in the lineup to start the game and eventually pinch-hitting for them. Despite this, they are still at a disadvantage offensively compared to the Red Sox.

Defense: The Dodgers may be able to play every player everywhere, but the Red Sox still have the edge defensively. Their outfield defense of Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Jackie Bradley Jr. is amazing, although there could be some problems in games 3, 4, and 5. They won’t have the DH in a National League ballpark, which will put J. D. Martinez in the outfield. He’s a poor defender and will interrupt their outfield defense. The Dodgers have a different advantage defensively. They have several guys who can play multiple positions, giving them the ability to move guys around. Although this is beneficial, their defense is inferior to the Red Sox

Starting pitching: The Dodgers have the advantage in starting pitching. Clayton Kershaw leads the rotation, followed by Walker Buehler, Rich Hill, and Hyun Jin Ryu. Although they don’t have the power (besides Buehler) that many pitchers across the league do, they get outs effectively and still strike out people at a good rate. The Red Sox starters shouldn’t be underestimated either. Chris Sale is a strikeout machine and Nathan Eovaldi has pitched well for them too. After that though, it gets a bit iffy. David Price experienced a renaissance in the 2nd half of 2018, but his first half shouldn’t be ignored either. There’s also the fact that he can’t pitch in the postseason (5.04 ERA in the postseason). Rick Porcello is erratic and isn’t very dominant. The Red Sox could have some good postseason starts, but the Dodgers will probably outperform them in this area.

Bullpen: The Dodgers had the better bullpen over the course of the season, but the Red Sox’s bullpen is hot right now. Although Craig Kimbrel has been rather shaky in the postseason, the rest of the bullpen has been lockdown. Their bullpen has made up for some of the inability of the rotation and has done a great job. With that being said, the Dodgers have the more trustworthy bullpen. Kenley Jansen has done a great job this year and the Dodgers have shown willingness to use former starters in the bullpen (Kenta Maeda, Julio Urias, Alex Wood). Clayton Kershaw has even made an appearance this postseason, closing game 7 of the NLCS. They’ve got so many ways to get people out, and they have an advantage going into the World Series.