LOS ANGELES -- One of the great things about sports is its endless capacity to surprise. It's not scripted, even when the games take place only a few miles from Hollywood, where happy endings can be planned in advance.
It's why we watch, why we're hooked, why we watch games that go well past our bedtimes.
Because we don't know what's going to happen. We can make good, sometimes educated guesses, but there is the human element that renders everything that goes on on the field, on the court or on the ice unpredictable.
Sometimes, the favorite wins, form holds and there are no real surprises.
Case in point: the 2018 world champion Boston Red Sox. They had the best record in the regular season, the best record in franchise history, and enjoyed home-field advantage throughout the postseason. In that sense, their 5-1 victory Sunday to finish off the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games was entirely expected.
But how the Red Sox won? Well, few saw that coming.
Imagine, say, five weeks ago, if anyone had suggested the following:
- David Price, who had never won a postseason start in his career, would win his final three starts of the postseason, beginning with the pennant winner in the deciding game of the ALCS in Houston and culminating in Dodger Stadium, where he won the final game of the World Series. In between, there was another victory in Game 2 and another scoreless relief appearance.
- Steve Pearce, a career journeyman now with his seventh organization in 12 years, would hit three homers and a bases-loaded double over six at-bats, stretching over two nights, culminating with his being named 2018 World Series MVP.
- Joe Kelly, who was far from certain to be a part of the team's postseason roster, would pitch in every one of the five World Series games and contribute six scoreless innings, not the least of which was the eighth inning Sunday that saw him strike out the side.
- Chris Sale, who was the best starter in baseball for the first four months and hadn't pitched in relief since 2012, would record the final three outs of the bullpen, finishing with a flourish by fanning the final three Dodgers, each of them helplessly overmatched.
- The Boston bullpen, the team's apparent weakness and unaddressed at the trade deadline, would become a source of strength.