World Series 2020: Rays vs. Dodgers Game 6 Pitching Preview, Prediction

The Los Angeles Dodgers are just one win away from winning their first World Series since 1988 after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 on Sunday night.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has faced some skepticism regarding some of his pitching decisions in this series, but he seemed to pull all the right strings at the weekend. He pulled starter Clayton Kershaw after a solid 5.2 innings of work and got 1.2 innings from a fired-up Dustin May. Left-hander Victor Gonzalez battled out of a jam, and Blake Treinen closed things out in the ninth. 

Meanwhile, Los Angeles' offense got to Rays starter Tyler Glasnow for three runs in the first two innings, before Max Muncy added some insurance with a homer in the fifth.

The Dodgers showed steely resolve after the Rays stole a back-and-forth thriller in Game 4. They will hope to close things out on Tuesday night, though Tampa Bay will be just as motivated to push the series to a Game 7 behind ace Blake Snell.

Will L.A. hoist the World Series trophy, or can the Rays hold off a Dodgers coronation? Here is a closer look at the pitching matchup for Game 6, as well as a prediction for this seismic encounter.

Game 6 Information  

Date: Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 8:08 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Pitching Preview and Prediction   

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The pitching matchup is a mirror image of Game 2, with Snell going for the Rays and right-hander Tony Gonsolin up for the Dodgers.

Snell was dominant in Game 2, holding L.A.'s lineup hitless through the first four innings before giving up a pair of runs in the fifth. The former American League Cy Young Award winner struck out nine, locating his fastball to all quadrants and utilizing his wipeout slider to keep Dodgers hitters off balance.

Gonsolin barely even had a chance to get into his outing in Game 2. He was pulled after giving up just one hit in 1.1 innings, with the lone hit coming via a home run to Brandon Lowe in the first inning.

It will be interesting to see what kind of leash Roberts has the 26-year-old on for Game 6. Los Angeles has had to deploy a plethora of relievers in each of the past two games. The off day helps, and May is likely to throw multiple innings. But it remains to be seen if Julio Urias can also be relied on for more than three or six outs after he started Game 4.

Perhaps we will see more of Brusdar Graterol early if the Dodgers get out to a quick lead, though Treinen and Kenley Jansen haven't exactly given Dodgers fans a ton of reasons to feel confident in the later innings. There might even be a small possibility Walker Buehler could throw with a late lead, though Roberts will want to preserve him in case of a Game 7.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay will hope Snell can be dominant early and get run support before handing it off to the bullpen. He has settled into more of a groove in his last two playoff starts, though Kevin Cash does not like to overextend him.

But Cash will almost certainly have to keep the 27-year-old in to neutralize the Dodgers' left-handed bats. Corey Seager is still scorching hot, with a .471 average and a pair of home runs for the series. Muncy added two more hits on Sunday, and the Rays would probably like to avoid seeing much of Joc Pederson.

Can Tampa Bay's left-handed bats get going against Gonsolin? Kevin Kiermaier has six hits, which is nearly as much as Lowe, Austin Meadows and Joey Wendle combined. The Rays simply cannot continue to afford on Randy Arozarena and Manuel Margot to deliver nightly heroics.

Tampa Bay needs more from its struggling left-handed trio. They will have their chances against Gonsolin, who has given up eight runs in 7.2 innings this postseason.

Game 6 will be a chess match, and Roberts could well have his guys on a short leash once again if he feels the pressure to keep things tight. That would seem to favor the Rays, especially with the way Snell is throwing the ball as of late.

This has been a tightly contested series, and it seems only fitting for the Rays to force a Game 7 and hand the ball to Charlie Morton for another winner-take-all on Wednesday night.   

Prediction: Rays 5, Dodgers 3

All stats obtained via Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.