Tampa Bay Rays: Takeaways from World Series Defeat in Game 6

Pulling Blake Snell was a mistake

Kevin Cash will rue this decision for a very long time. Plans are there for a reason; deviating from the plan is always an option.

Critics of the Rays say that their play is too formulaic. Well, it’s got them to the World Series. However, Snell was pitching so dominantly and keeping the Dodgers at bay. They did not look like scoring off the left-handed pitcher. Even if Cash had given Snell the chance in the sixth, struggled, then brought in Nick Anderson, it would have been difficult to criticize. However, Anderson was literally thrown to the lions and they were hungry.

Snell was desperate to stay out there and it’s hard to understand why Cash thought that the Dodgers would be more successful third time around. Undeniably, it was a pivotal moment in the game. Betts said that in his post-match interview.

Dodgers have been the best team in 2020

Statistically, and now empirically, the Dodgers are the best baseball team in 2020. They have deserved the win because of their superior all-around play. In the World Series, they played like world champions. In MVP Corey Seager and Mookie Betts, they have two players who can turn a game around in a heartbeat. Add Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler to that list alone, and it’s a formidable team.

The Rays could not, ultimately, match the Dodgers with the bat. Hits were available throughout their line up: Betts, Seager, Justin Turner, Corey Bellinger, Max Muncy. The list goes on. Compare that to the Rays and you struggle to go past Randy Arozarena and Kevin Kiermaier as consistently getting hits.