Column: Rays hungry for more after evening up World Series

Game 1 of the World Series was all about Mookie Betts and his quest to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a title and fans across the country a free taco.

Game 2 gave us a $27.50 hot dog that could feed the family, and a reminder that the Tampa Bay Rays may be even better than the sum of their bargain basement parts.

Now Major League Baseball can only hope that fans are hungrier for more.

A World Series unlike any other is knotted 1-1 after the Rays jumped on a parade of early Dodger pitchers on their way to a 5-0 lead Wednesday night that they never relinquished. They did it behind two opposite field home runs from Brandon Lowe, who had been mired in a deep postseason slump, and a succession of pitchers who held the Dodgers to just five hits — though three of them left the park at spacious Globe Life Field in Texas.

Betts wasn’t a factor, but the Dodgers' makeshift pitching rotation was. A day after ace Clayton Kershaw pitched six strong innings, Tony Gonsolin got only four outs and the six pitchers who followed him weren’t terribly effective either.

The end result was a 6-4 Tampa Bay win that not only evened up the series but gave the underdog Rays a jolt of confidence just when they needed it the most.

“We’re good and we’re here to play," pitcher Blake Snell said. ”It’s not going to be an easy World Series. We’ve got chemistry and we can play really good together. They’re going to have to bring it every night just like we will.’’

Just when Dodger fans were beginning to believe this could be the year the team’s 32-year World Series victory drought could finally be over, Snell didn’t allow a hit in the first four innings to stake his team to the lead. He didn’t make it through the fifth but struck out nine of the 15 Dodgers who went down...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-Rays-hungry-for-more-after-evening-up-15666252.php