The final stage of the 2020 baseball season is here. After playing a 60-game regular season and an expanded playoff schedule, the 2020 World Series has arrived and features the two best teams in baseball — the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays. Game 1 of the World Series will air on Fox with the first pitch at 8 p.m. ET.
The Rays finished the regular season with a 40-20 record. This is the second time the team has reached the World Series with the first appearance being in 2008. The Rays lost the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1. Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow will take the mound in Game 1 and will face Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young winner and NL MVP in 2014.
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“It’s unbelievable,” Glasnow said on the Rays official website. “[Kershaw] is someone I grew up watching pitch. This is a special moment for me, for sure. But I’m going to treat it as any other start with just traditional gameplanning stuff.” The Rays were able to hold off the Houston Astros in the ALCS. Many baseball fans were happy to see the Rays beat the Astros due to their cheating scandal from the 2017 season.
The Dodgers finished the regular season with a Major League-best 43-17 record. They are playing in their third World Series in four years, but haven’t won a title since 1988. The franchise has won six World Series championships — one in Brooklyn and five in L.A. The Dodgers have also won a total of 24 NL Pennants. However, the Dodgers came close to having their season come to a shocking end. After being down 3-1 in the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers rallied to win the series. Cory Seager was named NLCS MVP after hitting five home runs in seven games.
“Obviously it wasn’t just me, though,” Seager said after Game 7 of the NLCS. “That was a complete team effort right there. One through 28 went out there and just absolutely grinded through that series. That was even a really fun Game 7 right there. That was a test every single night. We were up for it, and we’re up for the next step, too.” The World Series will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas in front of a limited number of fans.
