The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers will play Game 2 of the 2020 World Series on Wednesday night. The Dodgers secured a Game 1 victory on Tuesday, winning 8-3 behind strong performances from Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, and Mookie Betts. Historically, the team that wins Game 1 in a best-of-seven series has won the series more than 60 percent of the time.
The Tampa Bay franchise has never won a World Series in its 22-year long existence. The Dodgers are aiming for their first World Series title since 1988, however, the club is playing in their third Fall Classic in four years. L.A. lost to the Astros in 2017 and the Red Sox in 2018.
Now, let's set the scene for Game 2 with some essentials.
Viewing information
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 20 | Time: 8:08 p.m. ET
Location: Globe Life Field -- Arlington, Texas
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Odds: Los Angeles -135; Tampa Bay +125 | O/U 8.0
Pitchers: RHP Tony Gonsolin vs. LHP Blake Snell
Follow: CBS Sports App
Preview
The Dodgers and Rays were the best teams in baseball during the regular season. Los Angeles finished with the best record (43-17) and run differential (+136) in the National League, while Tampa Bay notched an American League-best record of 40-20 and finished in a tie with the Chicago White Sox for the best run differential (+60). Both clubs also boast deep and talented pitching staffs.
As far as the pitching matchup goes for the second game of the series, the Dodgers announced after Game 1 that Tony Gonsolin would get the ball to begin Game 2. Gonsolin will be making his third appearance of the postseason. In the previous two outings, he has allowed seven runs in 6 1/3 innings. Gonsolin does most of his work off three pitches: a fastball and a pair of chase secondaries, in his splitter and slider. He seldom pitches to his arm side.
The Rays' starter, meanwhile, will be Blake Snell. The former Cy Young Award winner will be making his first career World Series appearance. So far this postseason, he's posted a 3.20 ERA and just under a 2.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio across four appearances and 19 2/3 innings. The key for Snell will be coercing the Dodgers to expand their strike zones; no qualified pitcher threw their breaking balls inside the zone less frequently than he did during the regular season.
Prediction
For maximum entertainment purposes, we'll say that the Rays win Game 2 to even the series. Snell throws a game that gets backed up by the bullpen, and Tampa Bay pulls out a 2-1 win.
