LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The World Series resumes today, tied at one game apiece, with both teams sending their best pitcher to the mound.
Walker Buehler will start for the Dodgers while fellow right-hander Charlie Morton will start for the Rays.
Buehler is 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA in four starts in the 2020 postseason, including pitching six scoreless innings in his most recent start last Saturday, and was the winning pitcher in the Dodgers' 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers are 3-1 when Buehler has started in the 2020 postseason, with the only loss coming in Game 1 of the NLCS.
Morton is 3-0 with a 0.57 ERA in the 2020 postseason. He started and won Tampa Bay's 4-2 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last Saturday in his most recent appearance.
Morton was the only member of the Rays to have appeared in a World Series game before the Series began Tuesday. Morton did not figure in the decision in the Dodgers' 6-2 victory in Game 4 of the 2017 World Series, when he limited them to one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Morton was the winning pitcher in the Astros' 5-1 victory over the Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2017 Series, allowing one run and two hits over the final four innings.
Buehler has never faced Tampa Bay or any of its batters.
Morton is seeking to become the second pitcher to win each of his first six postseason starts with a team, joining Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez, who did so for the New York Yankees between 1932-38, when the postseason only consisted of the World Series, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Morton can also be the second to allow one or no earned runs in six consecutive postseason starts, joining Curt Schilling.
The Rays tied the Series with a 6-4 victory Wednesday in Game 2, building a five-run lead and withstanding the Dodgers' comeback attempt.
Corey Seager hit his seventh home run of the postseason for the Dodgers Wednesday, one short of the record for the most in a single postseason, set by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants in 2002 and tied by Carlos Beltrán of the Astros in 2004 and Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers in 2011.
Of the 59 previous times the Series has been tied at one game a piece, the Game 3 winner has gone on to win the Series 38 times, 64.4%.
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