World Series 2020 Game 5 Open Game Thread

he was like an airplane, in the night sky, like a shooting star | Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

It’d be pretty hard to top the excitement of Game 4...

Hello cats and kittens, what an absolutely delightful trip last night’s game was. Do I think the Rays were the better team? No! Is that baseball? Yes! I feel bad for Dave Roberts, getting flack in the media, and for Kenley Jansen, once again embattled and deserving better, but also, Literally Brett “Maverick” Phillips. Literally a guy who laughs like this:

Reason number 4,607 to be a fan of MiLB in general: you get to meet players like Brett Phillips and his zoo-adjacent laugh that much earlier, and watching him record the game-tying (and then game-winning!) hit was delightful in a way I can’t quite describe. Minor League Baseball! Catch the fever!

Tonight my rooting interests lie squarely with the Dodgers, both in the interest of getting as much baseball as possible—Seven! Games! Or Bust!—and because this guy is on the mound tonight:

Clayton Kershaw, once again staring down his playoff demons, in the World Series in his hometown? 2020 has shoveled a lot of shit in our general direction, but this, this is a gift.

Here’s how the rest of the squads shake out tonight:

Golden God Glasnow is up for the Rays to face Kershaw, and since both bullpens were heavily taxed last night, each team will be depending on their starter hanging tough for as long as possible. I would say Tampa Bay is at a slight disadvantage there since they had to use an extra pitcher last night, and the pitchers they had were more heavily taxed; Dodgers pitching faced 39 batters, while Rays pitching faced 44 total. However, Kershaw’s Bad Back is an annoying playoff specter that crops up at inopportune times and might be a factor tonight. Let’s hope not, and for this game to produce even a quarter of the electricity generated in the ninth inning of last night’s game.

The game starts at 5 PM on FOX—sorry, 5:08, for Reasons, I guess—and yes, most people in most places will be watching the Seahawks game, but try to elbow out a little corner for this World Series. It’s sure been a good one so far.