Game 4: Benintendi in OF, Freese leading off

October 26th, 2018

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers slugger made it a series with his 18th-inning walk-off homer in Game 3, and the gamesmanship was quickly cranked up, as both managers kept their Game 4 starters a secret before divulging their plans this afternoon.
Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will start for the Dodgers on seven days' rest. The club's only alternative was on short rest after a poor start, which would have been suboptimal, especially with Los Angeles needing Kershaw to start Game 5 on Sunday on regular rest.
:: World Series schedule and results ::
Hill gets nod as Dodgers try to tie WS
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said on Saturday that the Red Sox would start a lefty, and ultimately got the Game 4 nod over Chris Sale, who would have had to start on short rest. The Red Sox's only other left-hander, , hasn't pitched in nearly a month
The starting lineups
Red Sox: The top four spots in the lineup went 0-for-28 in Game 3, which might have compelled Cora to put back in there for this one, leaving Jackie Bradley Jr. to open Game 4 on the bench. J.D. Martinez shifts over to right field after starting in left in Game 3 and playing nine innings on a sore right ankle.
Official lineup

  1. , CF
  2. Andrew Benintendi, LF
  3. Steve Pearce, 1B
  4. J.D. Martinez, RF
  5. , SS
  6. , 3B
  7. , 2B
  8. , C
  9. Eduardo Rodriguez, P
    Dodgers: didn't appear in Game 3 until the 14th inning, but L.A. manager Dave Roberts slotted him at leadoff tonight with the left-hander Rodriguez starting. Freese homered and doubled when he batted leadoff against Milwaukee lefty in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series:
    Official lineup
  10. David Freese, 1B
  11. Max Muncy, 2B
  12. , 3B
  13. Manny Machado, SS
  14. , CF
  15. , RF
  16. Chris Taylor, LF
  17. , C
  18. Rich Hill, P
    Who are the starting pitchers?
    Red Sox: Cora said pitchers were lining up outside his office to volunteer to start, and he opted for the safest choice in Rodriguez. The left-hander faced just one batter in Game 3, though he hasn't pitched more than 3 2/3 innings since Sept. 13. Only five pitchers have ever started a World Series game on zero days' rest, the last coming in 1924.
    Dodgers: Hill last pitched during a clean one-inning relief outing in Game 6 of the NLCS on Oct. 19. He allowed one run in five innings of his NLCS Game 4 start on Oct. 16. Hill has shown improvement since adopting a full windup at the suggestion of , who noticed Hill was tipping his pitches with his previous mechanics.
    How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
    Red Sox: Though it was an 18-inning game, Cora didn't tax any of his key relievers, with the exception of . got four outs. Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly and recorded three each. recorded two outs, and it will be interesting if Cora asks him to pitch in relief on back-to-back days.
    Dodgers: It's complicated. , and pitched two innings each in the Game 3 marathon, went 1 2/3 frames. pitched one inning when Roberts said he didn't want to use him. Alex Wood will be the long man after throwing only one inning.
    Are there any relievers who are unavailable?
    Red Sox: Eovaldi and .
    Dodgers: Urias, one year removed from shoulder surgery, is probably unavailable.
    Any injuries of note?
    Red Sox: Nunez keeps hobbling along, but manages to keep getting up. Martinez seemed to emerge from Game 3 no worse for the wear.
    Dodgers: None known.
    Who is hot and who is not?
    Red Sox: Aside from Bradley (2-for-5), nobody swung the bat all that well for the Red Sox in Game 3. Benintendi will try to continue the momentum he generated in Boston when he went 4-for-8 with a crucial walk. Betts (0-for-7) and Bogaerts (0-for-8) were ice cold in Game 3.
    Dodgers: Los Angeles raised its team average from .175 to .177, so hot is a relative term. Barnes, Dozier and Taylor are a combined 0-for-20. , Cody Bellinger and Hernandez have one hit each in a total of 29 at-bats, but Pederson's was a home run.
    Anything else fans might want to know?
    The is the fifth consecutive World Series that has been 2-1 after three games. Of the 89 times a series has been 2-1, the team leading has won the series 58 times (65.2 percent), but only twice in the past five times.