FYI: Rodriguez First in 94 Years to Start World Series Game With No Rest
Eduardo Rodriguez worked — briefly — in Boston’s 3-2, 18-inning loss in Game 3 of the World Series Friday night. And there he was on Saturday night, the Red Sox starting pitcher, and turning in five shutout innings before the Dodgers struck for four runs in the sixth.
The Red Sox did rally for a 9-6 victory, and Rodriguez, who had thrown only 16 pitches in the 10 days before his start, became the sixth pitcher in World Series history to start a game after pitching the previous day.
He was the first since Firpo Marberry in Game 3 for the Washington Senators in 1924. Rodgriuez had a no-decision. The five previous were a combined 2-3, the wins going to Orval Overall in 1908 and Doc White in 1906. Red Ames had the heaviest workload the prior day, going four innings for the Giants in Game 5 of the 1910 World Series.
Warming Up for World Series Start
| Pitcher, Team | Year | Day Before | Start | Result | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox | 2018 | 1/3 inning | Game 4 | No Dec | 5 2/3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Firpo Marberry, Senators | 1924 | 1/3 inning | Game 3 | Loss | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Red Ames, Giants | 1911 | 4 innings | Game 6 | Loss | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Three Fingers Brown, Cubs | 1910 | 2 innings | Game 5 | Loss | 9 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Orval Overall, Cubs | 1908 | 1/3 inning | Game 2 | Win | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Doc White, White Sox | 1906 | 3 innings | Game 6 | Win | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
— Yaisel Puig’s three-run home run for the Dodgers in the sixth inning on Saturday was his third, tied with Jose Canseco and Tony Perez for most World Series home runs hit by a Cuban-born player. Yuli Gurriel is next on the list with two for the Astros against the Dodgers last year. Sandy Amoros, Bert Campaneris, Tony Oliva, and Zolio Versalles had one apiece.
— There is hope for the Dodgers, who are down 3-games-to-1, and attempting to avoid elimination on Sunday. A team trailing 3-games-to-1 has rallied to win a World Series in only seven of 36 World Series since the current format of 2-3-2 was adopted. The team trailing 3-1 has rallied each of the last two years, the Cubs knocking off the Indians in 2016, and Astros beating the Dodgers a year ago.
The other teams to overcome a 3-games-to-1 deficit? The Royals against the Cardinals in 1985; Pirates against the Orioles in 1979; Tigers against the Cardinals in 1968, Yankees against the Braves in 1958, and Pirates against the Senators in 1925.
—For the Dodgers to rally this year, the Red Sox would have to lose three in a row. The Red Sox longest losing streak during the regular season was three games, which happened four times. Only twice did they lose three in a row to the same team, getting swept at Oakland April 21-24, and Tampa Bay Aug. 24-26.
—Prior to Saturday’s loss, the Dodgers had been 54-0 in games in which they led by four runs this year.