World Series Game 1 results & highlights
Kershaw vs. Sale in the opener (8 p.m. ET, FOX)
Two of the best left-handed pitchers of their generation face off in a wonderful pitching duel in Game 1 of the World Series, with Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale starting on the mound on Tuesday night at Fenway Park in Boston (8 p.m. ET, FOX).
The Boston Red Sox have home field advantage in the Fall Classic thanks to their 108 wins, the highest total in MLB in 17 years. Their ace Sale was a big part of that, posting a career-best 2.11 ERA in his 27 starts, with 237 strikeouts against only 34 walks in 158 innings.
Sale last pitched 10 days ago, in Game 1 of the ALCS, after which he was hospitalized for a stomach illness. It pushed back his planned next start to Game 6 against Houston, but the Red Sox were able to close out the Astros in five games.
World Series Game 1 TV & streaming info
- Teams: Dodgers (92-71) vs. Red Sox (108-54)
- Location: Fenway Park, Boston
- Time: 8:09 p.m. ET
- TV: FOX
- Online: Fox Sports Go, fuboTV
Kershaw started last Wednesday in Game 5 of the NLCS for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but pitched even more recently than that, tossing a scoreless inning to close out the Brewers in Game 7 on Saturday in Milwaukee. That technically puts Kershaw on two days rest for his Game 1 start in Boston.
“It was somewhat of a normal inning, which was good. I tried to throw as few pitches as possible in the bullpen before,” Kershaw told reporters Monday. “Obviously the intensity is different and things like that, but that’s why I came here yesterday to make sure everything was good, and should be good.”
Sale, like Kershaw, also pitched in relief in this postseason, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in Game 4 of the ALDS to help eliminate the rival Yankees.
The Dodgers’ ace, who had a 2.73 ERA in his 26 starts with 155 strikeouts and 29 walks in 161 innings, is the first pitcher to start Game 1 of the World Series in consecutive years since Cliff Lee did so in 2009 (Phillies) and 2010 (Rangers).
Kershaw and Sale have each been named an All-Star seven times. That makes Tuesday night the first World Series matchup of two starting pitchers with at least 14 All-Star appearances since Game 6 in 1962, between the Yankees’ Whitey Ford and the Giants’ Billy Pierce, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Both teams will use a designated hitter in the games at Fenway Park. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Matt Kemp will start at DH for the Dodgers in Game 1. The veteran outfielder hit .273/.320/.508 against left-handed pitchers in 2018. He has never faced Sale.
FOX will televise all seven games of the World Series, with Joe Buck and John Smoltz on the call along with reporters Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci. Online streaming is available through Fox Sports Go and fuboTV.