The World Series is tied 1-1 and on Friday, that deadlock will be broken by a pair of pitchers who have not gone very deep into starts, but have been solid at keeping the ball in the yard.
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Charlie Morton has pitched a combined 15²/₃ innings in his three starts this postseason with two total runs surrendered, one of which was earned, and has not given up a home run.
Walker Buehler gets the ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers having gone a combined 19 innings in four starts with four total runs and two home runs surrendered. He showed great command in his most recent start. After walking 11 in his previous three outings, Buehler went six strong innings against the Atlanta Braves and gave up neither a walk nor an earned run in a crucial NLCS Game 6 win.
Buehler’s swing-and-miss stuff is an important factor as he faces the only lineup that at the plate this season averaged more than 10 strikeouts per game, while he has struck out an average of 13.7 batters per nine innings this postseason.
Morton has been getting some swings and misses with an average of 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, but his command has been the biggest tool in his arsenal as he has walked two-or-fewer batters in each of his 12 starts covering the regular season and playoffs.
Though the Dodgers have MLB’s top offense when it comes to average runs and home runs per game, both they and the Rays rank in the top five in bullpen ERA. And with both starters coming in having done a great job this postseason of shutting down the opposition, it should lead to the first time in this World Series in which the total stays under.
The play: Dodgers-Rays Game 3 total, Under 7.5 runs.