Eduardo Nunez broke open Game 1 of the 2018 World Series Tuesday night at Fenway Park as his three-run home run in the seventh inning gave the Red Sox a much-needed cushion over LA. Boston used that cushion to come away with an 8- 4 victory and a 1-0 lead in the best of seven championship set. The Sox will look to go up 2-0 in the series Wednesday (8:09 p.m., FOX) when they send David Price (16-7, 3.58 ERA) to the hill at Fenway. The Dodgers will counter with Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3, 1.97 ERA).
Highlighting just how good the Red Sox and Dodgers’ offenses are, both teams’ elite starting pitchers were no better than average in Game 1. Chris Sale looked strong in the first inning, hitting 96 mph on the radar gun. The lefty ultimately worked four full innings, striking out seven Dodgers, while allowing three earned runs on five hits. He threw 91 pitches.
Los Angeles starter Clayton Kershaw also went four inning but coughed up five earned runs on seven hits. JD Martinez registered a pair of RBI against the Dodgers ace as the Red Sox settled in with a narrow led from the third through seventh innings.
Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi and Craig Kimbrel were each strong in relief for the Red Sox. Ryan Brasier struggled, giving up a pair of hits and an earned run.
