Dodgers end World Series drought

The Los Angeles Dodgers ended their 32-year wait for a World Series title on Tuesday, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 to claim the Major League Baseball crown at last after a string of agonizing near-misses.

Corey Seager drove in the go-ahead run, Mookie Betts homered late and a stream of Los Angeles pitchers stood firm as the Dodgers won the seventh World Series in club history but their first since 1988.

Back in Major League Baseball’s championship showcase for the third time in four years, the Dodgers eased the disappointment of defeats in 2017 and 2018.

They beat the Rays four-games-to-two at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, where the first neutral site World Series in baseball history capped a pandemic-shortened campaign.

“This is what you think about when you are a kid,” said Seager, who was named Most Valuable Player of the series after batting .400 with two home runs and five runs-batted-in.

“You strive to hear that,” he said of being called a World Series champion. “To do it with this group couldn’t be any more special.”

Added catcher Austin Barnes: “We had our hearts broken so many times.”

The Dodgers win completed a championship double for Los Angeles, whose LeBron James-led Lakers won their first NBA title since 2010 earlier this month.

As the Dodgers celebrated on the field, one key contributor was missing, as third baseman Justin Turner was pulled in the late innings after testing positive for coronavirus – a final sombre reminder of the shadow cast on the season by the pandemic.