A Perfect Start

I'm not usually glad when I'm not very good at something. But, I'm not a very fast tweeter. I don't do it enough to remember where everything is, so it take me a second to find the button to compose a tweet and get everything to start out. So, last night I was too slow to be one of the endless tweeters who questioned Cora for pinch hitting Eduardo Nunez for Rafael Devers. I was lucky, because before I could hit “send”, Nunez had already deposited the ball into the Monster Seats for a three-run home run that broke the game open.

Because of course he did.

Because the start to this World Series went about as well as you could hope for the Red Sox. In the battle of the aces, your ace out-pitched their ace. (Sure, it wasn't exactly a battle of no-hitters. But still.) Your first three batters of the game reached, resulting in two quick runs. Every time the Dodgers fought back, you reminded them that they were the inferior team. It was like the Red Sox were playing with their emotions. Letting them think they had a chance before putting them away. The Sox bullpen continued its outstanding playoff performance. Eovaldi showed why he may be the best deadline deal of the year. And your closer seems to have remembered that he’s a dominant closer.

Even things that may have seemed like a problem in the beginning are probably going to end up better off. I wasn't exactly thrilled when Sale only went four innings. But, he looked healthy even if he was being squeezed at the plate. So, throwing fewer than 100 pitches is probably a good thing. He should be better off the next time he takes the mound. I'm not sure why Cora brought in EdRo with runners on. But, after getting out of it, I imagine he’s got an extra boost of confidence for next time.

Speaking of confidence, the Sox try to extend their lead tonight by sending out a newly confident David Price to the mound. It will be interesting to see how it goes now that he has that first win as a starter. If people are right, and his struggles were due to the weight of starting in the playoffs this should be fun. After all, his relief outings have shown us that he’s not phased by the pressure of pitching in October. If he's now no longer phased by “starting” in October, the Dodgers better watch out.

So I certainty expect more of the same tonight. The first inning will be huge to watch. A settled down David Price should at least pitch as well as Sale did last night. The Dodgers don't exactly have Kershaw on the mound tonight. Advantage Sox.

Hopefully a 2-0 advantage.