Randy Arozarena dominated in the first three rounds of the postseason, and Friday night finally announced his presence in the World Series.
The Rays outfielder homered against Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning of his team’s 6-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series in Arlington, Texas for his eighth blast of the postseason, tying a record.
Barry Bonds, Carlos Beltran and Nelson Cruz are the other players with eight homers in a single postseason. Arozarena also collected his 23rd hit of the postseason to break Derek Jeter’s rookie record.
“Still no explanation for it,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I’ve heard some of the names that he is tied with or passing, and that’s some pretty special territory. You look at a guy like Derek Jeter and his career, then you add the postseason, it’s remarkable what he has done.”
The purpose of Austin Barnes’ addition to the Dodgers’ lineup Friday night was his steady game-calling and pitch framing behind the plate.
But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts got the bonus package, as Barnes turned into one of the offensive stars of the team’s victory over the Rays.
Barnes became the first player since the Yankees’ Hector Lopez in 1961 to drive in a run with a sacrifice bunt and homer in the same World Series game.
Barnes’ homer came in the sixth inning, a solo blast that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 6-1. His safety squeeze occurred two innings earlier, bringing in Cody Bellinger from third base.
“They asked me to do something and you need to do it,” Barnes said. “Runs are at a premium in the postseason as everybody knows, so especially with the way Walker [Buehler] was throwing the baseball, we felt very good about it.”
The winner of a Game 3 in a best-of-seven postseason series has won that series 65 of 94 times for a 69.1 percent success rate.