Snake Bytes 10/28: Put Down the Dying Dodger

World Series

[For The Win] Manny Machado insists he didn’t spike ‘best friend’ Steve Pearce on purpose - Manny Machado did it again. Just ten days after Machado stepped on Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar’s heel while sprinting down the line toward first base, a collision Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich called “a dirty play by a dirty player,” the Dodgers shortstop appeared to spike Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce late in Boston’s 9-6 win in Game 4 of the World Series. While trying to beat out an infield grounder during the Dodgers’ ill-fated comeback attempt in the ninth inning, Machado’s left foot clipped the back of Pearce’s right one.

[Sports Illustrated] Amidst the Action, Game 4 Was About the Moments In Between - We know now that the Red Sox won Game 4 of the World Series 9–6 on Saturday to bring themselves within one victory of a championship. But when Dodgers rightfielder Yasiel Puig beat out a double play in the eighth inning of a game tied at 4, all he knew was that his team still had a chance. Puig, 27, drives onlookers, opponents and occasionally teammates crazy with his antics—overthrowing cutoff men, admiring home runs—but his passion is obvious. He came here from Cuba under circumstances he does not discuss, and even as his time in the majors has been tumultuous, including a 2016 demotion to Triple A, he knows how lucky he is to be in Los Angeles, chasing something as wonderful and frivolous as a World Series. This was the second time in three hours that he keyed a potential rally. In the sixth inning of a 1–0 game, with both starting pitchers tiring and both bullpens depleted after the 18-inning debacle of the night before, Puig stepped to the plate with runners on the corners. Although he is righthanded, Puig had hit only .209 against lefties this season, so Boston manager Alex Cora allowed southpaw Eduardo Rodríguez to face him. Puig connected with a 3–1 two-seamer, dropped his bat and shot his arms into the air. He watched the ball sail so surely into the leftfield stands that the outfielders barely moved toward it. He trotted so slowly around the bases that he had not even reached first when the ball landed.

[Yahoo Sports] Even if Chris Sale’s fiery speech didn’t cause Boston’s epic Game 4 comeback, it certainly didn’t hurt - First J.D. Martinez walked by, and then Andrew Benintendi, and then Mookie Betts. They didn’t so much as blink at the crazy man screaming at the air. Compared to some of Chris Sale’s other antics, his dugout eruption during Game 4 of the World Series rated as rather milquetoast. His brow furrowed. His arms gesticulated. His mouth loosed a barrage of F-bombs. Boston’s ace did land one particularly sick burn on Los Angeles Dodgers starter Rich Hill, who for six innings had limited the Red Sox to a single hit: “He throws two [expletive] pitches!” This, like David Ortiz’s dugout speech to the Red Sox in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series and Jason Heyward’s to the Chicago Cubs during the Game 7 rain delay in 2016 and Justin Verlander’s to the Houston Astros in the midst of last year’s Game 2, is bound to be elevated into the annals of oratory legend should the Red Sox win the World Series, which they’re one game from after a stunning 9-6 victory Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. The speeches share no syntactic effervescence or illuminative genius but rather abide by a rule that is worth remembering: When good baseball players get pissed off, sometimes other baseball players respond.

[Sporting News] World Series 2018: Red Sox to start David Price over Chris Sale in Game 5 - Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced Boston’s starting pitcher for Game 5 of the World Series — and it came as a surprise to many. Cora said Saturday after the Red Sox’s 9-6 victory of the Dodgers that David Price will start for the Red Sox on Sunday. But it was announced earlier in the day that Chris Sale would be the Game 5 starter. “We talked about it before the game and this is a good spot for David, in a National League park to start a game,” Cora told reporters. ”Obviously he’s been throwing the ball well. It’s not that we’re playing with the lead, but we feel that for the team, for where we’re at pitching-wise it’s good for -- to go with David. We talked about it the whole day and we decided, I just talked to Chris and David, and that’s what we’re going to do.”