Dodgers Dugout: Here we are again, Game 1 of the World Series

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and the Dodgers are four wins away from ... let’s not jinx it.

The World Series

Here we are again. After all the ups and downs, after all the emails from some telling me they had given up and were going to stop watching, after all the emails from some saying they would never give up hope, here we are hours away from World Series Game 1. Amazing, isn’t it?

—The Red Sox are the favorites to win the World Series, and they should be. They led the majors with 108 wins and had the best offense in baseball. That reminds of something I have heard before. In 1988, Oakland led the majors in wins and had the best offense in baseball. They were bigger favorites to win the World Series than the Red Sox. They lost (to the Dodgers) in five games.

—To win, the Dodgers need to do the following: Have one starter pitch like an ace, be it Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler or someone else. They need the bullpen to continue to pitch like it did in the NLCS. And they need a couple of guys other than Justin Turner and Manny Machado to hit way over their heads. They need to recognize situations in games. If there is a runner on third and one out, just try to get the runner home. You want to take one swing for the fences, fine, but just put the ball in play. Every run counts. That’s what the Red Sox do in the playoffs.

—The Dodgers will use Matt Kemp as the DH in Game 1. Perfect role for him. I still think he is due for a breakout game.

—The Dodgers made one change to their World Series roster: They added Scott Alexander and removed Caleb Ferguson. Seems like an odd switch to me.

—How did Cody Bellinger get named NLCS most valuable player? It should have gone to Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor or Manny Machado.

—We get to listen to Joe Buck and John Smoltz again in the World Series. What Red Sox player will Buck fall in love with? I’m going with Andrew Benintendi. Who do you pick? If the Dodgers win the World Series, will Buck actually yawn in the middle of the celebration announcement?

—“Google Assistant, can you please tell MLB and Fox that we are tired of Google Assistant in-game ads?”

—I’m not one for superstition or small sample size, but I might pitch Hyun-Jin Ryu in Dodger Stadium and not in Fenway.

—When the games move to Dodger Stadium, the Red Sox are considering moving Mookie Betts to second base so they can get J.D. Martinez in the lineup. Martinez is normally a DH, but the DH isn’t used in the NL park for the World Series.

—I predicted the Dodgers would win the NLDS in four games. They won in four games. I predicted they would win the NLCS in seven games. They won in seven games. If only I could use my powers to predict the winning Powerball numbers.

—World Series prediction: Dodgers in six.

—That’s it. There’s no reason to go on and on. We all want the Dodgers to win. Will they? We’ll find out soon. And I’ll be here the day after each game to talk about it.

Dodgers postseason stats

Chris Taylor, .360 (9 for 25), 1 double, 1 triple, 1 homer, 3 RBIs

Yasiel Puig, .333 (10 for 30), 3 doubles, 1 homer, 4 RBIs

David Freese, .300 (3 for 10), 1 double, 1 homer, 5 RBIs

Justin Turner, .279 (12 for 43), 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBIs

Joc Pederson, .259 (7 for 27), 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI

Manny Machado, .250 (11 for 44), 2 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBIs

Matt Kemp, .214 (3 for 14), 1 double, 1 RBI

Brian Dozier, .182 (2 for 11), 2 RBIs

Max Muncy, .182 (6 for 33), 2 homers, 5 RBIs, 10 walks

Cody Bellinger, .139 (5 for 36), 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBIs

Yasmani Grandal, .125 (3 for 24), 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI

Kiké Hernandez, .115 (3 for 26), 1 homer, 1 RBI

Austin Barnes, .111 (2 for 18), 2 RBIs

Pitching

Scott Alexander, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 IP

Pedro Baez, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.2 IP, 2 hits, 10 Ks

Caleb Ferguson, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 IP, 3 Ks

Dylan Floro, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 5 Ks

Kenley Jansen, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 saves, 6.2 IP, 10 Ks

Ryan Madson, 2-0, 1.42 ERA, 6.1 IP, 6 Ks

Clayton Kershaw, 2-1, 2.37 ERA. 19 IP, 11 hits, 16 Ks

Rich Hill, 0-0, 2.61 ERA, 10.1 IP, 10 Ks

Julio Urias, 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 3.1 IP, 3 Ks

Alex Wood, 0-1, 4.15 ERA, 4.1 IP, 7 Ks

Hyun-Jin Ryu, 1-1, 4.40 ERA, 14.1 IP, 15 Ks

Kenta Maeda, 0-0, 4.91 ERA, 3.2 IP, 4 Ks

Walker Buehler, 0-1, 5,40 ERA, 16.2 IP, 22 Ks

Red Sox postseason stats

Mitch Moreland, .444 (4 for 9), 1 double, 2 RBIs

Rafael Devers, .350 (7 for 20), 1 homer, 7 RBIs

Brock Holt, .333 (5 for 15), 1 double, 1 triple, 1 homer, 6 RBIs

J.D. Martinez, .313 (10 for 32), 1 double, 2 homers, 9 RBIs

Xander Bogaerts, .278 (10 for 36), 1 double, 1 homer, 5 RBIs

Steve Pearce, .269 (7 for 26), 1 double, 1 homer, 3 RBIs

Ian Kinsler, .250 (6 for 24), 3 doubles, 2 RBIs

Andrew Benintendi, .237 (9 for 38), 3 doubles, 4 RBIs

Christian Vazquez, .227 (5 for 22), 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBIs

Mookie Betts, .205 (8 for 39), 3 doubles, 3 RBIs

Eduardo Nunez, .188 (3 for 16), 1 double, 1 RBI

Jackie Bradley Jr., .185 (5 for 27), 2 doubles, 2 homers, 9 RBIs

Sandy Leon, .000 (0 for 7)

Blake Swihart, .000 (0 for 1)

Pitching

Randy Brasier, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 IP, 6 Ks

Heath Hembree, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.2 IP, 4 walks

Matt Barnes, 1-0, 1.42 ERA, 6.1 IP, 5 walks

Joe Kelly, 1-1, 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP

Nathan Eovaldi, 2-0, 1.88 ERA, 14.1 IP, 10 Ks

Chris Sale, 1-0, 3.48 ERA, 10.1 IP, 14 Ks

Rick Porcello, 1-0, 4.22 ERA, 10.2 IP, 12 hits, 6 Ks

David Price, 1-1, 5.11 ERA, 12.1 IP. 13 Ks

Craig Kimbrel, 0-0, 7.11 ERA, 5 saves, 7.1 IP, 6 walks, 8 Ks

Eduardo Rodriguez, 0-0, 7.36 ERA. 3.2 IP, 4 Ks

Brandon Workman, 0-0, 45.00 ERA, 1 IP, 7 hits, 3 walks

World Series schedule

Game 1: Tuesday, 5 p.m., Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw) at Red Sox (Chris Sale). TV: Fox

Game 2: Wednesday, 5 p.m., Dodgers (Hyun-Jin Ryu) at Red Sox (David Price). TV: Fox

Game 3: Friday, 5 p.m., Red Sox (TBA) at Dodgers (Walker Buehler). TV: Fox

Game 4: Saturday, 5 p.m., Red Sox (TBA) at Dodgers (TBA). TV: Fox

Game 5*: Sunday, 5 p.m., Red Sox (TBA) at Dodgers (TBA). TV: Fox

Game 6*: Tuesday, 5 p.m., Dodgers (TBA) at Red Sox (TBA). TV: Fox

Game 7*: Wednesday. 5 p.m., Dodgers (TBA) at Red Sox (TBA). TV: Fox

*-if necessary. All times Pacific.

Shameless plug

We have five top reporters covering every Dodgers playoff game for The Times: Andy McCullough, Jorge Castillo, Bill Plaschke, Dylan Hernandez and Bill Shaikin. If you are not checking out our website and reading their stories, you are missing out on some great stuff. So, what are you waiting for? Click here and start reading.

And if you aren’t near a TV or radio to monitor each game, I’m doing live updates for The Times every game. You can find them here.

And finally

The Dodgers win the NLCS. Click here to watch.

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