Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Minnesota Twins: 2020 World Series Simulation
By Bill Felber
The Los Angeles Dodgers pit their deep staff and relentless offense against all that Minnesota Twins power.
If performances in the two League Championship Series were any indicator, the 2020 simulated World Series between the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers figured to be one long offensive explosion.
Consider their numbers leading into the Fall Classic. The Twins averaged nearly seven runs and nearly a dozen hits per game in defeating the Houston Astros in the seven-game ALCS.
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Dodger bats were even hotter. Los Angeles polished off the Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS with a 43-run, 56-hit onslaught over the five games. That’s an average of 8.5 runs and 11 hits per game.
The Dodgers came into the first game of the World Series at Target Field seeking their first championship since 1988. They lost in 2017 to the Astros and in 2018 to the Boston Red Sox.
Twins fans have waited nearly as long. Their last World Series appearance came in 1991 when they defeated the Atlanta Braves in seven games. Until this year, the Twins hadn’t advanced beyond the first playoff round since 2002.
The two teams played four times during the regular season, Los Angeles winning three of those four. The Dodgers beat Minnesota 6-3 in 10 innings at Target Field on April 28 when Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson both delivered home runs. One day later the Dodgers won 8-4.
The teams split a pair of late July games in Los Angeles. On July 28 Jose Berrios beat David Price 7-1. The following day Clayton Kershaw picked up a victory over Jake Odorizzi in a 9-7 Dodger decision.
With both teams rested and healthy, Dodger manager Dave Roberts nominated Walker Buehler (15-6, 3.20) to pitch the World Series opener against the Twins’ Jose Berrios (16-7, 3.00).