Eight outs from a tied Series, Dodgers and Roberts left reeling

LOS ANGELES — Eight outs.

That's all the Dodgers needed to build on the momentum from their marathon 18-inning Game 3 victory with another win in Game 4 — they led 4-0 with one out in the seventh inning — to even the World Series at 2-2 and make it a best of three.

And then Dave Roberts strode to the mound to some boos from the home fans to remove southpaw starter and (Milton native) Rich Hill ... and it was all downhill from there.

From that point on, the Red Sox, who had managed just one hit and had yet to advance a runner to second base against Hill, put up nine runs on eight hits to win 9-6 and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

"It is a tough loss," Roberts said. "Any loss in a World Series is difficult, obviously, but now we're in a situation where we're do-or-die. To their credit, they fought back and won a baseball game. So now it's kind of we've just got to bow our necks and try to win a baseball game and it's one day at a time."

Roberts said that in the Dodgers' sixth inning, when they took a 4-0 lead on a Red Sox error and three-run homer by Yasiel Puig, he had a conversation with Hill that led Roberts to believe that Hill was tiring.

"I had a conversation with Rich, and we talked about it," Roberts said. "He said, 'Keep an eye on me. I'm going to give it everything I have. Let's go hitter to hitter and just keep an eye on me.' So right there, I know Rich did everything he could, competed, left everything out there. So when I hear that and see what he's doing ... you want him to go as long as he can."

Roberts had asked if he'd ever heard of a conversation like that between a pitcher and manager.

"I've never heard it," said Roberts. "You're talking about a World Series game where there's no margin up to that point, and there's a lot of emotion, intensity, effort, focus, and he did everything. He did everything to put us in a position to win a baseball game. And, again, we've got to do a better job of picking him up."

Hill, up to 83 pitches, started the inning by issuing a six-pitch walk to Xander Bogaerts. Roberts stuck with Hill against the right-handed hitting Eduardo Nunez (who at 4 for 9 had the best numbers entering the game against Hill) and the crafty lefty whiffed him.

Then Roberts ran into trouble.

With the left-handed hitting Brock Holt coming up, Roberts opted to remove Hill in favor of another left-hander, Scott Alexander. He walked Holt on four-straight pitches and was removed for right-hander Ryan Madson, who has been a can of gasoline in this series. The Red Sox pinch-hit lefty Mitch Moreland.

Boom. Moreland launched a three-run home run that not only got Boston to within a run at 4-3, but it woke up the whole bench.

"The walk to Bogaerts, (Hill) started losing a little bit, then got back into the next at-bat with Nuñez," Roberts said. "So made some pitches that he needed to. So right there at that point you get an out and we're talking about hitter to hitter, guys on first base, and you've got a lefty in the pen (Alexander) that has done it all year long, getting lefties out, and trying to keep those lefties on the bench, Moreland, (Rafael) Devers. So you figure you have a chance to get a guy who matches up really well against Holt, and then to potentially go to Vazquez and keep the other guys off the bench. So it was more of just the conversation I had, and just realizing that, man, this guy gave it everything he had. And we've got to pick each other up."

Hill, who has been combustible at times when removed from previous games in this postseason, was unusually flaccid when Roberts removed him. TV cameras caught Hill and Roberts having a conversation during the sixth inning, and Hill didn't voice much displeasure with the decision after the game.

"We went hitter to hitter in the seventh, ultimately that was part of it," said Hill. "I felt like I was throwing the ball well, though.

"Moves we made all year have worked out. We wouldn't be in this position if they didn't. Things just didn't work out the way we wanted to."

Even the Red Sox bullpen was excited to see Hill exit the game.

"Rich Hill was absolutely on fire," said Joe Kelly. "For him to get out of the game … we're excited."

Boston hitting coach Tim Hyers couldn't wait for his batters to get a look at some other hurlers.

"I was hoping to get into the bullpen so we could see some of those pitchers again," he said.

Once Hill was out of the game, the Red Sox started to hit the ball hard against the harder throwers in the Dodgers' bullpen.

Madson served up the three-run homer to Moreland. Steve Pearce homered off closer Kenley Jansen, who had thrown more than 30 pitches in Game 3. Dylan Floro, Alex Wood and Kenta Maeda allowed five runs on five hits in one combined inning of work.

Included was Devers' pinch-hit go-ahead single against Floro with first base open. Roberts, who said he didn't have Pedro Baez or Julio Urias available, elected to not go with the free pass despite Ian Kinsler appearing in the on-deck circle.

"I thought about that, but what happens is you bring Mookie into play." Roberts said. "You walk him, you get Kinsler and then you get Mookie (Betts) into play. You have to pick your poison with the open base, and then you have an MVP."

And now the Dodgers, once mere outs away from evening the series, have their backs against the wall again. And Roberts is being second-guessed.

"Obviously, the 108 wins speaks for itself in the regular season," Roberts said of the Red Sox. "They're very balanced. They pitch well. They put together good at-bats. They play defense. But, you know, we've still got to play. And we're not out yet. We've got to go out there and still, yeah, respect what they've done but our guys aren't done. We've got our best going tomorrow and we're expecting to win a baseball game."