BOSTON (AP) - The Latest on the World Series (all times local):
11:20 p.m.
David Price pitched six innings of three-hit ball, and major league RBI leader J.D. Martinez broke a fifth-inning tie in another two-out rally that led the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers for a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
Craig Kimbrel closed out the win at noisy Fenway Park, putting the Red Sox halfway to their fourth championship in 15 seasons.
Game 3 is Friday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers would need a win then to avoid an 0-3 deficit that no World Series team has ever recovered from.
The Red Sox have now won 14 of their last 16 World Series games, dating to a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.
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11:15 p.m.
Closer Craig Kimbrel is coming in to pitch the ninth inning as the Red Sox try to preserve a 4-2 lead.
Starter David Price and the Boston bullpen have throttled the Dodgers, and the Red Sox are nearing a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
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11 p.m.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had the top of their order coming up in the eighth inning against Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi in World Series Game 2, trying to overcome a 4-2 deficit.
Down 1-0 in the World Series, the Dodgers wasted a 2-1 lead when the Red Sox rallied for three runs in the fifth inning.
Eovaldi, usually a starter, pitched a perfect eighth inning in the opener.
Because Eovaldi pitched in relief on consecutive nights, Rock Porcello is likely to start Game 3 on Friday in Los Angeles.
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10:37 p.m.
Boston’s David Price was relieved after six innings by Joe Kelly in World Series Game 2 with the Red Sox ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 and was in position to win his second straight postseason start after failing to gain a victory in his first 11.
Price allowed two runs, three hits and three walks, throwing 88 pitches.
Julio Urias pitched a perfect sixth inning for the Dodgers, who were in danger of falling behind 2-0 in the World Series.
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10:24 p.m.
Maybe it’s not in the cards for the Dodgers tonight, either.
There was an interesting sight in the fifth inning when Ryan Madson came into the game to relieve Los Angeles starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. During the pitching change, a bat boy brought out laminated cards and gave them to the LA outfielders, certainly to realign their defensive positions.
They didn’t help when Madson walked Steve Pearce with two outs and the bases loaded. And they weren’t much good when cleanup hitter J.D. Martinez hit an opposite-field liner to right that fell way in front of Yasiel Puig, who might’ve been playing too deep, even for the slugger.
The two-run single put Boston ahead 4-2 going into the sixth.
Before the game, Madson said about facing Martinez: “You know you’re in a pit with a rattlesnake, and one bad move, and you’ll get bit if you’re not paying attention.”
Andrew Benintendi drew a walk that finished Ryu, bringing in Madson. The Red Sox have scored nine of their 12 runs in this Series with two outs.
Benintendi made the play of the night, a leaping catch while running near the wall in left. Brian Dozier led off the fifth with a drive that Benintendi grabbed close to the Green Monster - he’s familiar with the territory, that helps a lot.
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9:43 p.m.
Matt Kemp’s sacrifice fly and Yasiel Puig’s two-out RBI single in a two-run fourth inning put Los Angeles ahead of the Boston Red Sox 2-1 in Game 2 and gave the Dodgers their first lead of the World Series.
Red Sox starter David Price opened with two hitless innings, allowing only a pair of walks, before David Freese and Manny Machado singled opening the fourth.
Chris Taylor walked on a full count, loading the bases, and Kemp reached down to golf a changeup to center. Price struck out Enrique Hernandez in a nine-pitch at-bat, and Puig lined the next pitch into center. Price then struck out No. 9 hitter Austin Barnes.
Price needed 24 pitches to get through the inning, raising his total to 67.
Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu retired his last five hitters through the fourth inning and had thrown 51 pitches.
Boston designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who turned an ankle rounding second base in the opener, ran very slowly when grounding out in the fourth.
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9:15 p.m.
David Price held the Los Angeles Dodgers for three innings before they broke through in the top of the fourth. David Freese hit a sinking liner to right that Mookie Betts slid in front of to knock down. It was the Dodgers’ first hit of the game, and Manny Machado followed with another single.
Price had a 1-0 lead through three innings in his attempt to win a second straight postseason start.
It’s quite a turnaround for the pitcher who was winless in his first 11 playoff starts. Price has struck out three and walked two while throwing 43 pitches through three innings.
The Red Sox are giving Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu difficulty. He’s allowed four hits through three innings. Mookie Betts had a one-out single but was stranded there in the bottom of the third.
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8:50 p.m.
The Boston Red Sox are back on top, and that’s meant trouble for opposing teams this October.
Xander Bogaerts doubled high off the Green Monster and scored on a two-out single by Ian Kinsler that gave Boston a 1-0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers after two innings.
The Red Sox are 8-0 this postseason when they score first.
David Price zipped through two innings, allowing only a walk. Maybe he’s found his groove - he was 0-9 in 11 postseason starts before pitching six shutout innings last week as the Red Sox closed out Houston in the AL Championship Series.
Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu sailed through the first, then gave up three hits in the second. He got a break when Kinsler was thrown out at third, trying to advance on a single by Jackie Bradley Jr., to end the inning.
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8:25 p.m.
Game 2 of the World Series is off to a chilly and clean start.
Red Sox lefty David Price worked around a two-out walk and got Manny Machado on a popup to end the opening inning. First baseman Steve Pearce, who’s from Florida, made the catch - he’s wearing a ski mask.
It was 47 degrees and windy for the first pitch, and the temperature was forecast to drop near 40 as the night goes on.
Dodgers lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu quickly set down Boston, breezing through the top of the order.
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8:10 p.m.
The Boston Red Sox honored their 2004 championship team before Game 2 of the World Series, and even the Dodgers got a little love.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts received a big cheer during the pregame ceremony. He ran out to the mound to hug some of his former teammates, tipped his hat to the crowd and then headed back to the visitors’ dugout.
Roberts didn’t play at all in the ’04 Series, but he had a key stolen base that keyed Boston’s comeback against the rival New York Yankees in the AL playoffs.
Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Kevin Millar, Alan Embree, Keith Foulke, Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz all threw ceremonial first pitches.
TV analyst and former second baseman Jerry Remy also took part in the festivities, helping to deliver a baseball to the mound. Remy has stepped away from the broadcasts while he is being treated for cancer.
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7:55 p.m.
Boston’s 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series opener drew an average of 13,755,000 viewers on Fox, down 8 percent from the 14,698,000 for the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over Houston in Game 1 last year.
The viewers were the fewest since 12,191,000 for San Francisco’s 7-1 win over Kansas City in the 2014 opener.
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7:25 p.m.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t foresee any problems if the World Series winner is invited to make the traditional visit to the White House.
Both World Series teams have minority managers for the first time, and President Donald Trump has had tense relationships with many minority groups.
“I think as an institution, Major League Baseball has always had the greatest respect for the office of the presidency,” Manfred said before Game 2 Wednesday night. “That doesn’t change, no matter who’s there. Often we’ve had situations where individuals, players, whatever, don’t agree with all of the policies of the individual that occupies the office. I think the important thing is respect for the office.”
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5:15 p.m.
A giant rainbow has appeared over Fenway Park, stretching from end to end. It’s so big and gorgeous that Red Sox players stopped to marvel at it during warmups before Game 2 of the World Series.
Fenway DJ TJ Connelly noticed, too, playing the Rolling Stones’ “She’s A Rainbow ” for fans as they entered the park. Many people walking in stopped to take pictures.
There was rain in the late afternoon that threatened to cancel batting practice for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston for the second straight day. But it cleared up in time for workouts.
There were three rainbows over Fenway before the opener Tuesday, but none that rivaled this spectacular show.
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4:55 p.m.
The Red Sox made one change to their starting batting order after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series opener, inserting Christian Vazquez at catcher for Game 2 in place of Sandy Leon.
Boston manager Alex Cora dropped the catcher’s spot one slot to ninth on Wednesday night, raising center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to eighth.
The Dodgers didn’t change their lineup.
David Price starts on the mound for the Red Sox and Hyun-Jin Ryu for the Dodgers. This marks just the third World Series in which both starting pitchers in the first two games are lefties, after 1963 and 1973.
In the opener, the Dodgers became the first team to start nine right-handed hitters in a Series game, none switch-hitters.
Second baseman Brian Dozier leads off for the Dodgers, followed by third baseman Justin Turner, first baseman David Freese, shortstop Manny Machado, left fielder Chris Taylor, designated hitter Matt Kemp, center fielder Enrique Hernandez, right fielder Yasiel Puig and catcher Austin Barnes.
Right fielder Mookie Betts hits leadoff for Boston, followed by left fielder Andrew Benintendi, first baseman Steve Pearce, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, third baseman Rafael Devers, second baseman Ian Kinsler, Vazquez and Bradley.
Roberts had Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy and Joc Pederson on the bench.
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