Looking to avoid falling behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers received an all-around effort in Game 3 that was driven by Walker Buehler and Justin Turner.
Buehler held the Rays without a hit until the fifth inning and allowed just one run over six. He finished the night with 10 strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher in World Series history to reach double-digits in six innings or fewer.
The 10-strikeout performance was the first in the Fall Classic since Clayton Kershaw had 11 in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series, and Buehler became just the seventh pitcher in Dodgers franchise history to accomplish the feat.
Furthermore, at 26 years and 87 days, Buehler is the youngest pitcher with a 10-strikeout game in the World Series since Josh Beckett did so at 23 days and 159 days old in Game 3 of the 2003 Fall Classic.
“He was unbelievable, he really was,” said Austin Barnes, who had a home run and two RBI in the Dodgers’ win. “He made it really easy on me. That might’ve been the best I’ve ever seen his stuff.”
That was a sentiment Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Justin Turner agreed with, though Buehler largely chalked it up as just another outing. “I think I physically felt better. I felt good with where my stuff was at, so that’s the biggest thing. It’s good to hear that,” Buehler said of the praise.
“I think the more you do these things the calmer you get. I don’t want to keep harping on it, but I enjoy doing this and I feel good in these spots.”
Turner ties Duke
Turner’s home run in the first inning was the 11th of his career in the postseason. That tied with Duke Snider for most in Dodgers franchise history.
“It means I’ve had the opportunity to play on really good baseball teams that have played deep in October and I’ve got a lot of ABs,” Turner said, continuing to put the team ahead of individual accomplishments. “Obviously it’s something that I don’t think I ever thought about or ever crossed my mind.
“It’s something that’s pretty cool that I can talk about when I’m done playing. It doesn’t mean a whole lot until we finish this thing off and win two more games.”
Turner is the Dodgers’ postseason leader in games played (69), hits (75), RBI (40) and total bases (128).
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