Stephen A. Smith grabbed a shovel Thursday on ESPN’s “First Take” and buried the Los Angeles Dodgers after their 4-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the World Series.
The Red Sox now lead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, and Smith simply can’t imagine the Dodgers clawing their way back despite Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) taking place in Los Angeles.
“Sorry to disagree with you, it’s just over to me,” Smith said after ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza explained why the Dodgers still could win the series. “A team like the Boston Red Sox, once they get the momentum, they’re like sharks in blood-infested waters. They’re going to close you out.”
The odds certainly are in Boston’s favor with the Red Sox winning the first two games at Fenway Park. Home teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven Major League Baseball postseason series have won the series 82 percent of the time (46-10), and no team has blown a 2-0 series lead after winning the first two games of a World Series at home since the New York Yankees flopped against the Dodgers in 1981.
But don’t expect the Red Sox to rest on their laurels with a 2-0 lead. Because while Smith (and others, probably) are giving the Dodgers no chance to come back, the Red Sox are well aware of how dangerous their National League counterparts can be if complacency sets in.
