World Series Game 5: Red Sox 5, Dodgers 1

LOS ANGELES — For the first time in five years, the winner of the World Series wasn’t a team that had an easily identifiable legacy of pain. The 2018 World Series champions weren’t the ‘17 Astros, who had never won. They weren’t the ‘16 Cubs, who hadn’t won in over a century, or the ‘15 Royals, who had just emerged from a two-decade stint as the butt of baseball’s jokes. No, this year’s champion was the Boston Red Sox, who have done it several times before and look like they can do it several times more.

This is exactly what the Red Sox have always wanted.

The Los Angeles Dodgers need a win in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium just to keep their season alive. The Boston Red Sox, up three games to one in the Fall Classic, are headed home either way, and a win on Sunday would give them a championship trophy to take home on the plane.

Clayton Kershaw gets the start on Sunday for the Dodgers, looking for a rebound after failing to record an out in the fifth inning in his Game 1 start. Kershaw has allowed one run in 15 innings in two home starts this postseason, a 0.60 ERA, compared to a 10.13 ERA on the road.

LOS ANGELES — Walking out of Dodger Stadium after Game 4 of the 2018 World Series, two drunk guys next to me started a “FIRE ROBERTS!” chant, and they kept it going as they trudged toward the parking lot. There wasn’t a wink and a nod with the chant. This was the easy release of steam from a pressure cooker, done methodically to prevent an explosion, and it was entirely earnest. “FI-RE ROB-ERTS,” and there wasn’t a clap clap clapclapclap after it. Too mad for the clap clap clapclapclap.

No one joined in, but there were chuckles and grumbles all the way down the hill, and everyone was talking about the bullpen and Dave Roberts and the bullpen and Dave Roberts and the bullpen and Rich Hill and Dave Roberts. It was like spinning a radio dial from left to right, and every station was coming in crystal clear and playing the same song, just at different points. The bullpen management chatter was going to No. 1 with a bullet.

Let’s set the stage. The Red Sox, after winning the first two games of the World Series, were riding high heading out west. Then, they lost a devastating Game Three in which they had a chance to win in extras but were destroyed by an error. The Dodgers outlasted them, and after 18 innings they had a massive lift while Boston dealt with a massive letdown. Then, they came out in Game Four and were completely lost at the plate. Rich Hill owned them in every way, shape and form and after Yasiel Puig’s three-run shot this series looked destined for a 2-2 tie.

Except, well, this Red Sox team is relentless and games are not over until they are over. This is a team that thrived against opposing bullpens all year, even as organizations are pouring more and more resources into their relief. They’ve come back so many times this year and were easily the best offense in baseball in the final third of games all season long. That was on full display in Game Four, and they relied on their role players and bullpen -- as they’ve done all postseason -- to come back and end up with a five-run lead heading into the bottom of the night.