It wasn't the flashiest start or the longest, but Eduardo Rodríguez provided the Red Sox with exactly what they needed after Friday's marathon Game 3. LOS ANGELES —The last we saw the hero of the Red Sox’ 9-6 win in Game 4 of this World Series on Saturday night, he was disgustedly firing his glove into the pitching mound as the three-run homer he’d allowed was still sailing into the night. To understand why Eduardo Rodríguez was ultimately so pivotal to the result–and to Boston’s 3-1 series lead, and to the fact that new rings will now almost certainly be theirs–we first need to review the state of affairs about 19 hours earlier. By the wee hours of Saturday morning, Boston manager Alex Cora had exhausted every tactical trick he had to attempt to win Game 3 and to try to leave little doubt about the series’ ultimate outcome. Over the course of a record seven hours and 20 minutes and 18 innings, he had used all of his position players and nine of his eleven pitchers–including Nathan Eovaldi, the scheduled Game 4 starter whom Cora instead called upon to throw 97 pitches in relief–in an all-in attempt to give the Red Sox a 3-0 series lead, and then as many as four straight shots to win one more. It hadn’t worked. A finally tired Eovaldi had allowed a game-winning, opposite-field blast to Max Muncy. And now Cora had to face the possibility that the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory represented not just one victory, but two, given the depletion of his pitching staff. There were no analytics, and there was no precedent, that Cora could cite to explain why that wasn’t true. All he had left was faith. A Night After Heartbreak, Red Sox Erupt in Late Innings to Take 3-1 World Series Lead While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had succeeded in holding back his previously scheduled Game 4 starter, Rich Hill–as well as Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu–Cora’s only fresh arms were a pair of compromised southpaws: Drew Pomeranz, who hadn’t pitched since he’d finished the regular season with a 6.08 ERA some 28 days earlier; and Chris Sale, the recently injured and ill ace who hadn’t started a game on three days’ rest in six years. So Cora set about talking his team–and perhaps himself–into believing that Muncy hadn’t tied the series up, even turned it upside down, with one inside-out swing. “There are a few guys that are lining up in my office to start the game tomorrow,” Cora said, just 17 hours or so before Game 4 was to begin. “We’ll decide what we’ll do – and we’ll be fine.” “Somebody will start,” he added. “Most likely a lefty.” The choice was indeed a lefty–but neither of the widely anticipated ones. It was Rodríguez, who would become the first pitcher to start a World Series game on zero days rest since one Firpo Marberry in 1924. But Rodríguez threw just six pitches, to one batter, in Game 3. What did Cora expect? “We expect him to go out there,” he said. Watch: Yasiel Puig Crushes Three-Run Homer in World Series Game 4 To be fair, it’s always hard to know what you might get from the 25-year-old Rodríguez. He was 13-5 with a 3.82 ERA during the regular season, but look at his last four starts; two were one-run gems, and two were disasters in which he allowed five runs and failed to emerge from the fourth inning. In fact, he hadn’t even made a start in five weeks. It was clear, from the beginning, that this would not be one of his disasters. Rodríguez sailed through the first five innings, allowing just three baserunners and dueling Dodgers’ starter Rich Hill in a scoreless affair. Then came the sixth. He hit leadoff man David Freese with a pitch. He struck out Max Muncy. He allowed a double to Justin Turner, and then intentionally walked Manny Machado. Then Rodríguez got the inning-ending double play ball he needed: a hard bouncer by Cody Bellinger to first–but after securing the out at home, catcher Christian Vázquez’s throw back to first sailed in and hit Bellinger, allowing Turner to score the game’s first run. Five pitches later, Rodríguez threw what he would call the only mistake he made the whole game. It was a fastball right down the middle of the plate. Yasiel Puig crushed it to right. And Rodríguez slammed his glove into the mound. He had failed, he thought. The score was 4-0. “I never in my life felt an emotion like I did in that moment,” he said. He was dejected; to flounder, like that, on such a stage. Then something funny happened. Reliever Matt Barnes struck out Austin Barnes to get the Red Sox out of the inning, and all of the Red Sox trotted off the field and went immediately to Rodríguez. They knew something that he hadn’t yet realized. “Bro, that was the best game we’ve ever seen you pitch,” they told Rodríguez, as they dapped him up. “Bro, you did a really good job today.” “Bro–thank you. We’re going to win this game.” Donald Trump Criticizes Dave Roberts After Dodgers Blow Four-Run Lead They did, of course, thanks to a nine-run onslaught in the seventh, eight, and ninth. Mitch Moreland started the scoring with a three-run homer; Brock Holt had a key double; Steve Pearce drove in four runs; all were deservedly celebrated. But it was Rodríguez, the surprise starter, who gave the Red Sox the length they simply had to have, those 5 2/3 innings of work, but couldn’t expect. Cora admitted that he’d left Rodríguez in too long. “I pushed him too hard,” he said. “I had (Barnes) ready, and I was actually kicking myself for a few innings, before the comeback.” So the four runs on his ledger only distracted from the importance of his outing. A short stint would’ve been damaging; the bullpen almost certainly couldn’t have sustained a second straight night of heavy lifting, and that might’ve meant that Cora would have had to turn to David Price to cover the innings that Rodríguez hadn’t. But he didn’t have to. Aside from Rodríguez, Cora only had to use three other pitchers: Barnes threw 11 pitches, Joe Kelly threw 30, and Craig Kimbrel threw 28. Now Price is rested and ready to start Sunday’s Game 5, and the bullpen is no longer battered. “He was amazing,” Cora said–not of Moreland, or Holt, or Pearce, but of Rodríguez. “He was amazing.” When Rodríguez picked his glove up off the dirt and stalked off the mound, he hadn’t known that yet. But he knows it now.<doc-sep>One night after playing 18 innings in Game 3, the Red Sox and Dodgers only needed the standard nine innings to decide Game 4 of the 2018 World Series on Saturday night. The Red Sox emerged victorious thanks to a tremendous late-inning comeback that erased a 4-0 deficit. They won 9-6 (box score). Boston leads the series 3-1. Finesse lefty Rich Hill and power lefty Eduardo Rodriguez engaged in a pitchers' duel for five innings before the Dodgers broke through with four runs in the sixth. The Red Sox rallied to tie the game in the seventh and eight innings, and, in the ninth inning, Rafael Devers knocked the go-ahead single. The potentially decisive Game 5 is Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET, which can be streamed on fuboTV (Try for free). Here is everything you need to know about Game 4 of the World Series. The first pitch was excellent Kirk Gibson, the 1988 NL MVP with the Dodgers and author of one of the most iconic home runs in baseball history, threw out the first pitch prior to Game 4. Well, no. Gibson caught the first pitch. Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who served up said home run to Gibson, threw out the first pitch in an Athletics jersey. Check it out: Pretty cool. Eckersley has been such a great sport about the home run over the years. It's one of the most recognizable highlights in history and he could either be a grump about it, or embrace it. He's chosen to embrace it and that makes it that much more fun. Maximum Puig It wasn't until the sixth inning that a runner reached second base in Game 4. For either team! Not a single runner advanced beyond first base until Justin Turner pulled a double inside the third base bag with one out in the sixth. The double sent pinch-runner Enrique Hernandez to third and prompted the Red Sox to intentionally walk Manny Machado to load the bases. The Red Sox very nearly escaped the jam. Instead, the Dodgers broke the ice when catcher Christian Vazquez threw away a tailor made 3-2-3 inning-ending double play ball. First baseman Steve Pearce threw home for the force out, then Vazquez's return throw was off-line. That allowed Turner to score from second and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. One batter later, all Puig broke loose. Take it away, Yasiel Puig: Lordy. Puig's three-run home run seemingly broke the game open -- as much as a 4-0 lead can be considered "broken open," anyway -- and wow there's a lot to see there. Look at the bat flip. Look at Rodriguez spike his glove in frustration. Look at the crowd. So much emotion. I love everything about it. That is postseason at its best right there. That home run is the third career World Series home run for Puig, tying him for the most all-time among Cuban-born players. The list: Jose Canseco: 3 Tony Perez: 3 Yasiel Puig: 3 Yuli Gurriel: 2 Sandy Amoros, Bert Campaneris, Tony Olivo, Zoilo Versalles: 1 each The obvious question: Why was Rodriguez still on the mound to face Puig? It's possible the 18-inning game Friday night meant the Red Sox had a depleted bullpen, but Matt Barnes had been warming up in the bullpen and was presumably ready to come in. (He came in right after the homer.). Puig was much better against righties (.921 OPS) than lefties (.628 OPS) this year and has a reverse split for his career, though Puig was seeing Rodriguez for the third time. Given the final score, the decision to stick with Rodriguez ultimately didn't matter. Rodriguez started on zero days' rest OK, he threw only six pitches in Game 3 on Friday night and 16 pitches in the last 10 days, but Rodriguez still started Game 4 on zero days' rest. It had been nearly a century since a pitcher started a World Series game on zero days rest. The list: 2018 Game 4: Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox 1924 Game 3: Firpo Marberry, Senators Firpo Marberry, Senators 1911 Game 6: Red Ames, Giants Red Ames, Giants 1910 Game 5: Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, Cubs Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, Cubs 1908 Game 2: Orval Overall, Cubs Orval Overall, Cubs 1906 Game 6: Doc White, White Sox Firpo Marberry? Red Ames? Orval Overall? Folks, those are some excellent baseball names. MLB needs more Firpos. Anyway, Rodriguez handled himself quite well on zero days rest, at least up until the Puig home run. He threw 93 pitches after not throwing more than 30 pitches since Oct. 6 or more than 50 pitches since Sept. 20. Rodriguez threw 78 pitches total in the postseason prior to Saturday night. Eduardo Rodriguez BOS • SP • 57 2018 World Series Game 4 vs. Dodgers IP 5 2/3 H 4 R 4 ER 4 BB 2 K 1 HR 1 View Profile Also, Rodriguez was hit by a pitch in the third inning. Took a fastball to the right forearm. Rodriguez was the first pitcher to be hit by a pitch in the World Series in a half-century, since Tigers lefty Mickey Lolich plunked Cardinals righty Nelson Briles in Game 5 of the 1968 World Series. Hill dazzled What a performance by Rich Hill. There was some starting pitcher drama after Game 3 -- Hill was slated to start Game 4 before the Dodgers switched it to TBA and then back to Hill (manager Dave Roberts said they considered using an opener) -- but Hill did indeed take the mound in Game 4, and he held the Red Sox hitless through four innings. Vazquez's single to right was the only hit he allowed on the night. Rich Hill TB • SP • 2018 World Series Game 4 vs. Red Sox IP 6 1/3 H 1 R 1 ER 1 BB 3 K 7 HB 1 View Profile Hill is the first pitcher to allow no more than one hit in six-plus innings of work in a World Series game since Orlando Hernandez and David Cone did it back-to-back days for the 1999 Yankees in Games 1 and 2 against the Braves. Hill's the first Dodger with such a start in World Series history, if you can believe that. He was marvelous. He gave Roberts and Dodgers much more than I think they expected. Madson struck again Ryan Madson did it again. He is now 0 for 7 stranding inherited runners in the World Series. Roberts brought him into the seventh inning with two runners on base, and, after Jackie Bradley Jr. popped up to second for the second out of the inning, Madson left a changeup out over the plate to pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland. Moreland hit it near the top of the bleachers in right field for a three-run home run that turned a 4-0 deficit into a 4-3 deficit for the Red Sox. The Red Sox, who had two pinch-hit home runs during the regular season, now have two pinch-hit home runs in the World Series. (Eduardo Nunez had a pinch-hit homer against Alex Wood in Game 1.) Also, the Red Sox are only the third team ever with multiple pinch-hit home runs in one World Series, joining the 1975 Red Sox and 1959 Dodgers. Baseball is a flat circle. As for Madson, the seven inherited runners he's allowed to score this series are the most ever in a single World Series. He's only appeared in three games! Following Game 2, in which Madson inherited the bases loaded and allowed all three runs to score, Roberts said Madson has been "our guy for quite some time," and that's why he was in the game in a big spot. Roberts got burned using Madson with men on base in Games 1 and 2, and now again in Game 4. Another blown save for Kenley Another day, another two-inning save attempt, another game-tying home run allowed by Kenley Jansen. Bradley got to him for a solo shot in the eighth inning Friday night. On Saturday, Pearce got Jansen for a game-tying solo shot in the eighth. To the action footage: Game 4 was the eighth career World Series appearance for Jansen and, in those eight appearances, he's allowed four home runs. Kenley allowed 13 home runs in 71 2/3 regular season innings this year after never allowing more than six homers in any other season of his career. The dinger bug caught up to Kenley this year and this postseason. Also, know what's crazy? Prior to Pearce's homer, the 1-2-3-4 hitters in Boston's lineup were a combined 0 for 41 -- 0 for 41! -- in Games 3 and 4 in Dodger Stadium. That is almost impossible to believe given the talent the Red Sox have at the top of their lineup. Pearce's game-tying homer broke a very long collective slump for the top three hitters in the order. Devers provided the big hit Going into Game 4 the Dodgers were a perfect 54-0 when they took at least a four-run lead this season. They are now 54-1 after taking a four-run lead. Moreland and Pearce hit the home runs to tie it, and Devers provided the go-ahead single in the top of the ninth. Here is the proverbial big hit: Brock Holt set that up with a little cue shot ground ball double just inside the third base bag against the shift. Devers was announced as the pinch-hitter and the Dodgers seemingly tried to get Wood warmed up in the bullpen, but couldn't do it in time, so Devers faced righty Dylan Floro. His ground ball had eyes and gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead. Devers has driven in 14 runs in 14 career postseason games now. At 22 years and three days, he is the youngest player to drive in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning or later of a World Series game since Edgar Renteria's walk-off single in Game 7 of the 1999 World Series for the Marlins. After Devers gave the Red Sox the lead, Pearce and Xander Bogaerts combined to drive in four insurance runs, and Craig Kimbrel shut things down in the ninth to close out the win. (Kimbrel did allow a relatively meaningless two-run home run to Hernandez.) The Red Sox are one win away One more win and the Red Sox will be World Series champions for the fourth time in the last 15 years. Historically, teams that take a 3-1 series lead go on to win the series 84.5 percent of time. It's 86.7 percent of the time in the World Series. The Red Sox now have three chances to win one game. Only once during the regular season did Boston lose three straight games. They're in a great spot, for sure, but that last win is always the toughest. Relive CBS Sports' commentary and analysis from the Red Sox vs. Dodgers. If you are unable to view the live updates below, please click here. Thanks for stopping by.<doc-sep>
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images The Boston Red Sox moved to within one win of their ninth World Series championship with a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night. Following a record-setting 18-inning battle in Game 3 (a 3-2 Los Angeles victory) on Friday night, all eyes were on the starting pitchers. Rich Hill started for the Dodgers and threw 6.1 innings of one-hit, one-run baseball, striking out seven. After recording one out on six pitches in Game 3, Eduardo Rodriguez took the ball for the Red Sox, allowing four runs in 5.2 innings. Steve Pearce was the star of the night, going 2-for-4 with a walk and four RBI. Mitch Moreland sparked the Boston offense with a pinch-hit three-run homer in the top of the seventh, with Pearce tying the game with a solo shot in the eighth. Pinch hitter Rafael Devers delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth. Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez each went yard for Los Angeles. Video Play Button Videos you might like Steve Pearce Showing Off as Boston's Most Underrated Addition When Boston acquired Pearce in a deal back in June, it was a move that likely didn't land on many people's radar. However, Pearce is certainly grabbing everyone's attention now. The 35-year-old journeyman was solid for the Red Sox down the stretch, hitting .279/.394/.507 with seven home runs, eight doubles and 26 RBI in 50 games following the midseason trade. Pearce carried that momentum into the postseason, recording hits in six of his first seven appearances, reaching base in all seven. Although he had cooled off as of late, manager Alex Cora stuck with him and penciled him into the 3-hole for Game 4. That proved to be a brilliant decision. While it took a pinch-hit home run by Moreland in the seventh to wake up the Red Sox's bats, Pearce wound up stealing the spotlight. First, there was his game-tying homer in the eighth off All-Star closer Kenley Jansen: Then, the first baseman did more damage by breaking the game open with a bases-clearing double an inning later: That big night resulted in some history, per MLB Stat of the Day: Not bad for someone who was held hitless through the first three games of the series. Offseason signing J.D. Martinez certainly played a role in getting Boston to the World Series, but it was Pearce who delivered the biggest performance of the season for the Red Sox. Rich Hill Justifies Dave Roberts' Decision to Give Him Game 4 Start Following the Game 3 marathon on Friday night, Los Angeles skipper Dave Roberts was rethinking who would get the start in Game 4, going as far as calling Saturday's starter "TBD." Roberts had toyed with the idea of an unconventional approach, using an "opener" rather than a traditional starter. However, he decided to give Hill the nod after a conversation with the veteran southpaw. "We were just kind of just potentially toying with the idea of an opener, and just kind of wanted to leave it open-ended," Roberts said on Saturday afternoon, according to Matt Vautour of MassLive.com. "And just after more conversation and thought, just feel great about Rich starting and going through his normal routine." Well, Hill made his manager look very wise by delivering a gem. The 38-year-old left-hander, whose injuries have made it tough to rely on him throughout his career, continued to shine on the World Series stage. After allowing just two total runs in two starts (spanning 8.2 innings) against the Houston Astros in last year's fall classic, Hill was on top of his game from the very start on this night. Hill took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before finally allowing a single to catcher Christian Vazquez. What makes that feat even more impressive is the fact that he had little room for error, as Rodriguez was matching him pitch for pitch, keeping the Dodgers off the board through the front five. Even though starter Walker Buehler gave Los Angeles seven innings in Game 3, the bullpen still had to cover 11 innings on Friday night, with four relievers, including Jansen and Pedro Baez, going more than one frame. That type of workload had the potential to impact the game plan in Game 4—but Hill helped make Roberts' job much easier by delivering 6.1 strong innings.