Dodgers Win World Series, Ending 32-Year Drought

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 to end the city's 32-year World Series drought.

Los Angeles hasn't won the World Series since 1988. This year's win is all the more sweet for Dodgers fans, who have watched their team dominate for years — always falling just short of the big prize. The low scoring game was not short on drama. As was the case throughout the series, it was the base hits and stolen bases that put the Dodgers over the top. Before the game would end, infielder Justin Turner would be pulled from the game after testing positive for the coronavirus. His team didn't let him down, however. Trailing most of the game 1-0, they never gave up against the Ray's stellar pitching effort. Once the Dodgers took the lead, they completely shut down Tampa Bay.

Austin Barnes caught the final out of the game, pocketing the historic ball.

"It is surreal," he told a Fox 11 reporter. "We've worked so hard, and we've had our hearts broken so many times."

The Dodgers took the lead in the 6th inning and never let go. The Dodgers tied the game with a stolen home base in the sixth inning and took the lead with a single RBI a few minutes later.

Mookie Betts set up the tying run with a sixth-inning double, scored the go-ahead run at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Betts crossed home first on an RBI by Corey Seager and then with homerun in the 8th inning. Seager's double helped earn him the Willie Mays World Series MVP Award. Seager reached base on 14 of his 26 plate appearances in the Series for a .538 on-base percentage, had a .400 batting average with eight hits in 20 at-bats with two home runs and five RBIs.

Seager was also the MVP of the National League Championship Series. He is the first player to be the MVP of a league championship series and World Series in the same year.

For his part, Betts became the third player in World Series history to log at least four stolen bases and more than two home runs, according to Fox 11.

Victor Gonzalez, the fifth of seven Dodger pitchers, was credited with the victory, retiring all four batters he faced, striking out three.

Julio Urias retired all seven batters he faced, striking out four, for the save.

Austin Barnes, the No. 9 hitter in the Dodgers' lineup, singled off Blake Snell with one out in the sixth. The hit prompted Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash to replace Snell with Nick Anderson.

Betts, the first batter to face Anderson, hit a 2-0 fastball for a double, advancing Barnes to third. Barnes scored the tying run on Anderson's wild pitch.

Corey Seager, the next batter, hit a ground ball to Rays' first baseman Ji-Man Choi. Betts broke for home and beat Choi's throw to the plate for what proved to be the winning run.

Tampa Bay scored its run when Randy Arozarena, its second batter, homered off rookie right-hander Tony Gonsolin.

Anderson was charged with the loss.

Dodger third baseman Justin Turner was removed from the game in the top of the eighth inning because of a positive coronavirus test, Fox Sports reported.

Dodgers fans, most of whom couldn't be in the stands to see the teams first World Series victory in a generation, took to the streets of East LA and Twitter to celebrate. Fireworks could be heard across Southern California.

It was the first time since 1988 that the Dodgers and Lakers were champions in the same year, and the first time ever they became champs in the same month. The moment was not lost on the Lakers LeBron James, who tweeted about his city of champions.

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City News Service contributed to this report.