Facts and FIgures, World Series, Game One

The Dodgers beat the Rays in game one of the Series last night by a score of 8-3. One team looked ready to play, the other looked like it was caught in the headlights. The game featured a combined sixteen hits and eight walks. There were three homeruns to balance out the 21 total strikeouts. Tampa used four pitchers to five for the Dodgers, though that stat is a little misleading given that Clayton Kershaw held the Rays to one run on two hits through six innings. Manager Dave Roberts must’ve felt a need to use his pen. The game took 3:24 to play. Just for fun, let’s go back to the 1960 Series between the Pirates and Yankees. New York won game three, 10-0. There were sixteen total hits, five walks and ten strikeouts. The Yankees hit two balls out of the park in a game that took 2:41 to play. Whitey Ford went the distance for the pinstripes while the Bucs went through six pitchers. Maybe Pittsburgh manager Danny Murtaugh should be credited with the invention of “bullpenning.” Game six went to the Yankees, 12-0. There were a combined 24 hits, three walks and nine strikeouts. No one hit a homer for the Yankees while the Pirates again went through six pitchers. The game went 2:38. Such was baseball in the time before launch angles and power arms out of the pen.