How three players from the DFW area helped Dodgers close in on the World Series title
Texas is known as a football state, even as the state’s Big 12 Conference teams flounder this season, and the Metroplex routinely churns out high school state championships and players who make a splash in college and the NFL.
But some awfully good baseball players first learn their craft in Texas before going on to do big things in Major League Baseball. Hall-of-Fame things. Cy Young and MVP things.
Three from the DFW area did some significant World Series things Sunday night in Game 5 to put the Los Angeles Dodgers on the brink of their first championship since 1988.
Clayton Kershaw allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings, Max Muncy hit a key home run, and Dustin May recorded five key outs in relief as the Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 at Globe Life Field.
The Dodgers hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series and capture the franchise’s seventh World Series on Tuesday after an off day Monday.
The win is what mattered most to the DFW trio, who have a chance to win their first titles in their hometown.
“To be honest, I don’t know that any of use are thinking about that,” Muncy said. “We’re just worried about trying to get a W for our team. I think all three of us came out tonight and did something tonight to help us win. That’s all we care about.”
Here’s a breakdown of what each did.
Clayton Kershaw
Kershaw, who is from Highland Park, won his second start of the World Series and improved to 4-1 this postseason. Haunted by some postseason failures in his career, the left-hander could be on his way to MVP honors.
The future Hall of Famer did his best pitching in the fourth inning, after Manuel Margot walked, stole second and went to third on an error with no outs with the Rays down 3-2.
Kershaw also walked Hunter Renfroe, but got Joey Wendell to pop out and struck out Willy Adames.
Kershaw was trying to get Kevin Kiermaier for the third out when Margot attempted to steal home as Kershaw was coming set. Kershaw stepped off the rubber and threw home to get Margot on a close play that ended the Rays’ threat.
“That’s happened to me before,” said Kershaw, who became the career leader in postseason strikeouts (207). “It’s just instinct to step off. Fortunately, I heard Muncy say, ‘Step off,’ and I stepped off and threw it home.”
Max Muncy
The escape was magnified in the next half-inning as Muncy, the Dodgers first baseman, launched a 99-mph fastball from Tyler Glasnow an estimated 434 feet into the right-field seats for a solo home run.
The exit velocity was 112 mph.
Muncy also singled in the first inning as the Dodgers scored twice, and the Keller High School graduate took his 20th walk of the postseason in the third. The 20 walks is tied with Gary Sheffield for the second-most in MLB postseason history.
But the homer ... man, that felt good.
“It’s one of those things that there’s not too many times you’re going to connect with 100 mph right on the barrel,” Muncy said.
Dustin May
May, from Justin, entered the game in the sixth inning to a chorus off boos from Dodgers fans.
They weren’t booing him, but rather manager Dave Roberts’ decision to remove Kershaw after he had recorded the first two outs on two pitches. Kershaw, though, said that was the plan discussed between innings.
“We felt that he was at the end and he just had enough to get two hitters,” Roberts said. “We talked about it. He held up his part of the deal.”
May quickly ended the sixth by striking out Margot and tossed a perfect seventh before allowing a single to start the eighth. He retired one more hitter before Roberts went to the bullpen again.
Roberts spoke with May before the game to put him on notice that he would be needed.
“I just gave him a heads-up that he was going to play a big role tonight,” Roberts said. “We had a little chat. Yeah, it was good.”
