ARLINGTON, Texas – The Latest on Game 3 of the World Series (all times local):
10:23 p.m.
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Walker Buehler struck out 10 over six dominant innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers showed off all their many talents, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series.
Justin Turner homered and doubled off a surprisingly hittable Charlie Morton to help the Dodgers take an early 5-0 lead, and also made a pair of sparkling plays at third base.
Austin Barnes, batting ninth and in the Los Angeles lineup to catch Buehler, added a homer and also bunted home a run.
That was plenty for Buehler, who allowed just a run on three hits and brought flashbacks of another lanky Dodgers right-hander -- Orel Hershiser, who pitched Los Angeles to its last title in 1988.
The Dodgers, who posted the best record in the majors during the pandemic-shortened season, send hard-throwing Julio Urías to the mound for Game 4 on Saturday night. The Rays plan to string together several relievers that include Ryan Yarbrough.
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10 p.m.
The Dodgers have unleashed the back of their bullpen to put away the Rays after Walker Buehler’s dominant start.
Brusdar Graterol cruised through the bottom of the eighth, maintaining LA’s 6-1 advantage in Game 3. Graterol and Blake Treinen have combined for two perfect innings, with Graterol retiring the side on just seven pitches.
The Rays have just three hits and have been largely stifled throughout the series. The team is just 19 for 93 (.204) at the plate.
Ryan Thompson pitched the top of the eighth for Tampa Bay and delivered a 1-2-3 inning.
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9:45 p.m.
Blake Treinen pitched a perfect seventh inning after Walker Buehler turned in a dominant performance, and the Los Angeles Dodgers led the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 heading into the eighth in Game 3 of the World Series.
Buehler allowed three hits, struck out 10 and walked one in his 11th career postseason start. Treinen then retired Ji-Man Choi on a grounder to second and struck out Manuel Margot and Joey Wendle.
The Dodgers are looking to a take a 2-1 lead in the Series as they try for the franchise’s first championship since 1988.
Justin Turner and Austin Barnes homered for Los Angeles, and Max Muncy had two hits and two RBIs heading into the eighth. Barnes also drove in a run with a perfectly placed squeeze bunt in the fourth.
Willy Adames doubled home Margot in the fifth to account for Tampa Bay’s only run so far.
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9:24 p.m.
Austin Barnes’ two RBIs in Game 4 have looked very different.
After dropping down a squeeze bunt to bring home a run in the fourth inning, the Dodgers’ nine-hitter launched a solo homer in the sixth, stretching Los Angeles’ lead to 6-1. It was the first home run of the postseason and second all year for LA’s backup catcher.
The only other player with a run-scoring sacrifice bunt and a homer in a World Series game is the Yankees’ Hector Lopez in Game 5 of the 1961 Series against Cincinnati, according to MLB.com.
Mookie Betts followed with a single and stole second base, his second of the game and fourth of the World Series. He was stranded there.
Barnes was primarily added to the lineup because of what he can do behind the plate with ace Walker Buehler. That plan has worked out, too. Buehler has cruised through six innings of three-hit ball. He struck out three in the bottom of the sixth and has 10 for the game on 93 pitches.
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8:56 p.m.
The Rays finally broke through against Walker Buehler, with Manuel Margot and Willy Adames hitting doubles in the fifth inning that cut the Dodgers’ lead to 5-1.
Buehler had been in complete control until then, striking out five through four hitless innings. But Margot pulled a hard grounder down the left field line with one out and Adames delivered with two outs.
That was the first run Buehler has permitted in the World Series play. In his only previous outing, he threw seven shutout innings against Boston in Game 3 in 2018.
Charlie Morton’s run as an October ace ended in the early innings, and he was pulled after a one-out walk to Max Muncy in the fifth. The Rays had hoped to get a few more outs from Morton to preserve their bullpen.
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8:26 p.m.
Walker Buehler dazzled through four hitless innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers had a 5-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays heading into the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series.
Buehler struck out five and walked one in the first four frames, throwing 51 pitches. Tampa Bay came close to scoring in the fourth, but Cody Bellinger hauled in Randy Arozarena’s deep fly ball for the final out of the inning.
Justin Turner homered in the first against Charlie Morton, and the Dodgers added two more in the third and the fourth. Austin Barnes drove in Bellinger with a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, and Mookie Betts made it 5-0 when he singled home Joc Pederson.
The Series is tied at one game apiece.
Morton was charged with five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander allowed a total of four runs over his previous five postseason starts.
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8:05 p.m.
Justin Turner sparked the Dodgers again for two more runs off Charlie Morton, and Los Angeles leads Tampa Bay 3-0 through three innings.
After Morton hit Corey Seager on the toe with a pitch, Turner drove a double down the left-field line. Both came around to score on Max Muncy’s single. Turner also hit a solo homer in the first.
Turner passed Steve Garvey earlier this month for most hits (now 75) in Dodgers postseason history and has the most RBIs (40). He entered the game batting .216 this postseason, but he has extra-base hits in three straight at-bats, including a double in the eighth inning of Game 2.
Morton has quietly been one of the best postseason pitchers ever with a 2.84 ERA.
The Rays got their first baserunner against Walker Buehler in the bottom of the inning when Kevin Kiermaier walked, but Mike Zunino then hit into an inning-ending double play started by Turner’s sharp snag at third.
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7:40 p.m.
Los Angeles ace Walker Buehler is cruising through two perfect innings in Game 3 of the World Series against Tampa Bay.
Buehler pushed his strikeout streak to four straight batters, getting Ji-Man Choi looking on a 98 mph fastball and Manuel Margot swinging at 99. Joey Wendle flew out to left to end the inning. Of the 22 pitches Buehler has thrown, 18 have been for strikes.
The Dodgers lead 1-0 on Justin Turner’s first-inning home run.
Tampa Bay starter Charlie Morton settled down with a 1-2-3 second after allowing Turner’s shot and a single in the first. Cody Bellinger flew out on the first pitch, Chris Taylor struck out and Joc Pederson grounded a slow roller to second.
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7:25 p.m.
Justin Turner put the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead 1-0 in the first inning, homering on Charlie Morton’s 14th pitch.
After taking a curveball with a 1-1 count for a strike with two outs, Turner turned on a high 94.8 mph fastball and drove it 397 feet over the left-field wall.
Turner’s home run, the Dodgers’ team record 24th this season, was his 11th postseason home run over 69 games with the Dodgers from 2014 to 2020. That tied the team record set by Duke Snider over 36 games with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 to 1959.
Max Muncy singled with two outs but was stranded when Morton struck out Will Smith.
Dodgers ace Walker Buehler struck out two in a perfect bottom of the first that required 11 pitches, half Morton’s total.
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7:10 p.m.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the visiting team for Game 3 of the World Series, and batting first.
Los Angeles, which had the best record in the majors during the regular season, was the home team for Games 1 and 2, and will be for Games 6 and 7, if the series goes that far.
In Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves last week, the Dodgers scored an MLB postseason record 11 runs in the top of the first. That was before Julio Urias threw his first pitch that night.
The roof was closed Friday night, and the temperature was 74 degrees inside. It was 53 outside of Globe Life Field.
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6:25 p.m.
The roof is closed for Game 3 of the World Series after it cooled down significantly in Texas. That could also affect how many runs are scored.
It is the first time in 13 postseason games that the roof has not been open at the new $1.2 billion Globe Life Field — and the Los Angels Dodgers have played in all of them. The Tampa Bay Rays played their American League series in San Diego.
An average of 10.42 runs have been scored in the postseason games in Arlington, including 21 total runs in the first two World Series games.
The roof was closed for 24 of the 30 regular-season home games the Texas Rangers played in their new ballpark this year. An average of 8.21 runs per game were scored with the roof closed, down from 11.83 runs a game when open.
Major League Baseball decided earlier in the day to close the roof because of the forecast for cooler temperatures, a wind chill and the possibility of rain. Close to first pitch, it was overcast, breezy and in the mid-50s outside — and about 72 degrees inside.
When Game 1 started Tuesday, it was 82 degrees, it was 81 for Game 2.
“It was chilly,” Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes said before Game 3. “I thought we were in Texas.”
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3:02 p.m.
Austin Barnes was back behind the plate to catch Los Angeles Dodgers ace Walker Buehler in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night.
Will Smith moved from catcher to designated hitter in place of A.J. Pollock, who was out of the lineup.
Joc Pederson was inserted in left field, Chris Taylor shifted from left field to second base and Kiké Hernández was out of the lineup.
Right fielder Mookie Betts hit leadoff, followed by shortstop Corey Seager, third baseman Justin Turner, first baseman Max Muncy, Smith, center fielder Cody Bellinger, Taylor, Pederson and Barnes.
Tampa Bay went with the same lineup and batting order as in its Game 2 win that tied the Series at one game apiece.
Designated hitter Austin Meadows led off, followed by second baseman Brandon Lowe, left fielder Randy Arozarena, first baseman Ji-Man Choi, right fielder Manuel Margot, third baseman Joey Wendle, shortstop Willy Adames, center fielder Kevin Kiermaier and catcher Mike Zuinino.
Rays starter Charlie Morton entered with seven straight winning postseason decisions, one shy of Orlando Hernandez’s record.
Tampa Bay is the home team for Games 3 through 5 after starting as the visitor.
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