Dodgers Win the World Series

The Tampa Bay Rays were ranked first in the American League going into the 2020 postseason, with a 40 game win and 20 game loss record.  The Rays postseason began with a 2 win victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, in the Wild Card Series.  This win advanced the team to the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.  This series lasted for 5 games, and going into the last tournament, the teams were tied with two wins each.  The Rays won game five with a score of 2 to 1, which led them to the American League Championship Series.  The Rays were faced up against the Houston Astros and the series ran for 7 games.  Both teams went into the 7th game with 3 wins and the Rays ended up winning the Series with a score of 4 to 2, which brought them into the World Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers came into the 2020 postseason ranked first in the National League West division with a record of 43 game wins and 17 games losses.  The Dodgers started the postseason with a 2 win victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, in the Wild Card Series.  They then moved on to the National League Division Series and had a 3 win victory over the San Diego Padres.  After defeating the Padres, the Dodgers moved on to face the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.  This series ran for 7 games, with the two teams tied with 3 wins each going into the last game.  The Dodgers ended up defeating the Braves in the last game with a score of 4 to 3.  This meant the Dodgers would be going to the World Series against the Rays.

Now moving on to what went down in the final matchup of the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The anxiousness built as the team and avid sports fans awaited to see who would win the 2020 World Series. All of the games were played in Arlington, Texas, and the players were supposed to be held in a quarantine bubble when they weren’t playing.  The first game of the series took place on October 20th and the Dodgers beat the Rays 8 to 3.  The Rays were not put down by this win, and beat the Dodgers 6 to 4 the next day, meaning the teams were tied with 1 win each after the first two games.  The World Series is played best of 7, so whichever team gets 4 wins first, is the champion.  On the 23rd, the 3rd game of the series was played and the Dodgers beat the Rays 6 to 2, putting them ahead in the series once again.  Game 4 was played on the 24th and the Rays barely beat the Dodgers with a score of 8 to 7.  This meant that the two teams would be tied once again heading into the 5th game of the series.  According to the MLB, in game 5 the Dodgers pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, was playing in his hometown and played 5 ⅔ effective innings, stopping a Rays player from getting the first straight steal of home in the World Series since Jackie Robinson in 1955.  The Dodgers also ended up winning game 5, with a score of 4 to 2, which once again put them ahead of the Rays in the race to 4 games to win the championship.

Finally as the team approached game 6, the Rays could either tie up the wins, meaning a 7th game would take place, or the Dodgers could ultimately win the World Series. As a result, the Dodgers won the game 3 to 1 and won their first world series since 1988.