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The Dodgers lineup for Game 1 of the World Series looks an awful lot like the lineups they’ve used all postseason, with the same five players starting a 13th game in a row. That includes Cody Bellinger in center field, his shoulder deemed OK by the training staff.
Bellinger homered to give the Dodgers their pennant-winning run in Game 7 of the NLCS, and in a celebration commensurate with the weight of the moment, popped his right shoulder out in a Bash Brothers-style collision with Kiké Hernández, who also homered on Sunday.
After trainers popped the shoulder back in, Bellinger played the final two innings on defense. On Monday he said this has happened before, and had the usual soreness afterward, but nothing he couldn’t play through.
“Yesterday he came in for treatment, and was a little bit sore. It felt better than he thought it would,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday. “He’ll have it taped up. There might be a brace, but he said he feels good, so he’s in there, ready to go.”
World Series Game 1 lineups
| Pos | Rays | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rays | Pos | Dodgers |
| 1B | Diaz | RF | Betts |
| 2B | Lowe (L) | SS | Seager (L) |
| DH | Arozarena | 3B | Turner |
| RF | Renfroe | 1B | Muncy (L) |
| LF | Margot | DH | Smith |
| 3B | Wendle (L) | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| SS | Adames | 2B | Taylor |
| CF | Kiermaier (L) | LF | Pederson (L) |
| C | Zunino | C | Barnes |
Bellinger is hitting sixth, as he has all postseason, locked into the same spot in the lineup for every game, along with Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, and Max Muncy in the top four spots for every game. Will Smith just missed making it six players starting every game, though Tuesday night marks his 12th start in 13 games, this time at designated hitter with Austin Barnes catching Clayton Kershaw.
Joc Pederson, 9-for-24 (.375/.400/.500) this postseason, gets the start against Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow, with A.J. Pollock not starting.
Glasnow only faced the Dodgers three times in relief in 2018 when he was with the Pirates. Bellinger homered in his first two at-bats against him and walked the other time they faced off, all spread over three games.
Betts is the only Dodger with more than three career plate appearances against Glasnow, going 3-for-9 with a double and two walks.
Similarly, only three Rays have more than three plate appearances against Kershaw, including former Padres outfielders Hunter Renfroe (3-for-22, homer, five walks) and Manuel Margot (5-for-22, double, two walks), plus Austin Meadows (1-for-6), like Glasnow a former Pirate. Renfroe is batting cleanup and Margot fifth for Tampa Bay.
The only person with more home runs and extra-base hits than Corey Seager this postseason is Randy Arozarena, who starts in left field and bats third for the Rays in Game 1. Arozarena, who has batted second or third all postseason, is hitting .382/.433/.855 with seven home runs, three doubles, a triple, and 10 RBI. He leads MLB this postseason in hits (21) and runs scored (14) as well, after totaling 18 hits and 15 runs scored in 23 games during the regular season, when he hit only .281/.382/.641.