The Sports Report: Dodgers win the World Series

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

Jorge Castillo on the Dodgers: All year long, from February when they reported for spring training and the coronavirus outbreak was a concept beyond imagination until Tuesday night, the Dodgers believed this was the year. It became an unprecedented year with unparalleled circumstances, but this was the year those hovering ghosts — produced by annual anguish the last seven years — would vanish. This was the year they would add another round of World Series highlights to the reels that grow grainier each passing autumn. This was the year and this was the team to finally end a championship drought going on 32 years.

It happened Tuesday night inside Globe Life Field, a cavernous, new building 1,400 miles away from their home, in front of 11,437 people after a 60-game regular season and expanded postseason that delivered a year unlike any other. It happened when Julio Urías struck out Willy Adames looking to end Game 6 of the World Series and spark a celebration millions of children, teenagers and adult Dodgers fans — now mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles — had never experienced.

It finally happened. The Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, to win the series, four games to two, and claim their first World Series championship since 1988, the franchise’s seventh title and sixth since moving to Los Angeles.

“I’ve been saying ‘World Series champs’ in my head over and over again,” said Clayton Kershaw, the central figure in the Dodgers’ heartbreak since they won their first of eight straight division titles in 2013. “I can’t put it into words yet. I’m just so, so thankful to be a part of this group of guys, and so very thankful that we get to be on the team that is bringing back a World Series to Dodger fans after 32 years. They’ve waited for a long time.”

It didn’t happen according to the script. Tony Gonsolin, the rookie right-hander tasked to start the biggest game of his life, allowed one run in just 1-2/3 innings. But six relievers logged 7-1/3 scoreless innings to reach the end while the offense produced just enough after Rays manager Kevin Cash chose to pull ace pitcher Blake Snell in the sixth inning despite his dominance.

The decision backfired. The Dodgers immediately scored two runs to take the lead and added a third on Mookie Betts’ home run in the eighth inning. It was the only offense they needed to hoist the piece of metal they’ve coveted in the decades since Kirk Gibson hobbled around the bases.

Shortstop Corey Seager, the National League Championship Series most valuable player, was named World Series MVP after going eight for 20 with two home runs and five runs batted in. Seager finished the postseason with eight home runs, tied for second most in a single postseason.

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Justin Turner left the World Series clincher after testing positive for coronavirus

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Photos: Dodgers defeat Rays to capture World Series title

RAMS

Gary Klein on the Rams: None of the Rams games this season have been decided by a missed field goal or an extra-point attempt or by an opponent’s kickoff return.

But Sean McVay is not taking any chances moving forward.

On Tuesday, a day after Samuel Sloman had another kick blocked, the Rams released the rookie and elevated Kai Forbath to the starting job.

The Rams (5-2) play the Miami Dolphins (3-3) on Sunday in Miami.

“He’s pretty accurate from inside the 50-yard range and he’s got experience, and I think that’s really important — the game’s not too big for him,” McVay said of Forbath, a ninth-year pro, during a videoconference with reporters. “And I think he’ll bring some stability to that spot and hopefully some more consistent production that we haven’t had this year.”

TODAY’S LOCAL MAJOR SPORTS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific.

Galaxy at Portland, 7 p.m.

Houston at LAFC, 7:30 p.m., YouTube TV, 710 ESPN

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1939 — Kansas State’s homecoming contest against Nebraska is the second college football game ever televised, following the Fordham-Waynesburg contest in New York earlier this fall. The Cornhuskers spoil homecoming with a 25-9 triumph in Manhattan, Kan., before a limited Nebraska ETV audience in the surrounding area.

1950 — Nevada punter Pat Brady boots an NCAA record 99-yard punt in a 34-7 loss to Loyola Marymount.

1962 — New York Giants quarterback Y.A. Title passes for 505 yards and seven touchdowns, and Del Schofner catches 11 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown in a 49-34 victory over the Washington Redskins.

1973 — Gail Goodrich scores 49 points and Elmore Smith sets an NBA record with 17 blocked shots as the Lakers beat Portland 111-98.

1973 — With jockey Eddie Maple substituting for suspended Ron Turcotte, Secretariat concludes his racing career with a victory in the Canadian International Championship Stakes at Woodbine in Toronto.

1978 — Joe Delaney rushes for 299 yards and four touchdowns to lead Northwestern Louisiana to a 28-18 triumph over Nicholls State.

1989 — Tony Alford of Colorado State rushes for 310 yards on 28 carries to break a Western Athletic Conference record and scores three touchdowns as Colorado State beat Utah 50-10.

1989 — Central State crushes Lane 101-0. Lane concedes with 11:26 to play in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Henderson Mosley runs for three touchdowns and passes for six.

1990 — Jennifer Capriati, 14, beats Zina Garrison in three sets to capture the Puerto Rico Open and become the youngest player to qualify for the Virginia Slims Championship.

1993 — Ron Francis becomes the 38th NHL player to score 1,000 points with a goal in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 7-3 loss to the Quebec Nordiques.

2006 — Oregon State capitalizes on four turnovers to upset the Trojans 33-31, snapping USC’s 27-game Pac-10 winning streak.

2006 — Atlanta defeats Buffalo 5-4 in a shootout, ending the Sabres’ season-opening winning streak at 10.

2010 — Caroline Wozniacki wraps up the year-end No. 1 ranking after rallying to beat Francesca Schiavone 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 at the WTA Championships.

2012 — Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3 to win the WTA Championships for the third time and finish the year with another title. Williams ends the year with a 59-4 record. Since her first-round loss at the French Open, she is 31-1, winning Wimbledon, the Olympic gold medal and the U.S. Open.

2016 — Russell Westbrook has 51 points and a triple-double and scores the winning points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 113-110 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns. It’s the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had one in 1975. Westbrook finishes with 13 rebounds and 10 assists and took a career-high 44 shots.

And finally

Dodgers win the 2020 World Series. Watch it here.