World Series title since 2004.Boston captured its ninth championship in franchise history with a dominant performance in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium that was led by a few unexpected heroes.Steve Pearce http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-pat-neshek-jersey Jersey , who participated in only the second postseason of his 12-year career, took home the Most Valuable Player award for the clutch hits he delivered throughout the series, including a pair of home runs in Game 5.David Price emerged as the other unlikely hero for the Red Sox, as he won Games 2 and 5 to erase the narrative about his postseason struggles.While Price and Pearce were the standout stars, other players made plenty of key contributions throughout the World Series to help Boston capture the title in dominant fashion. Top StarsSteve PearceToronto's trade of Pearce to the Red Sox in June (for a minor league infielder) will go down as the best piece of business from the summer.Pearce displayed glimpses of his power throughout his 50 regular-season appearances for the Red Sox, as he hit seven home runs and drove in 26 runs.At most, the first baseman was expected to provide cover for Mitch Moreland and come up with a clutch hit or two during the postseason.Pearce blew everyone away with a home run and four RBI in Game 4 and two more dingers in the series-clinching Game 5 victory.With his pair of round-trippers in Game 5, Pearce became the second Boston player to ever hit three home runs in the World Series, per The Athletic's Katie Sharp:Katie Sharp ktsharpRed Sox players to hit 3 HR in a single World Series:Steve Pearce (2018)Carl Yastrzemski (1967) David PriceThroughout his postseason career, Price showed flashes of brilliance, but he was far from Boston's go-to guy in the starting rotation entering the World Series.In two World Series starts, Price gave up six hits and three earned runs over 13 innings, and he made a brief appearance in the 18-inning marathon in Game 3.Before the World Series, Price had one victory in 12 playoff starts Jake Arrieta Jersey , with the win coming against Houston in Game 6 of the ALCS.If Pearce hadn't hit two home runs in Game 5, Price would've been named MVP for his pair of marvelous performances against a Dodgers lineup that had no answers for him.Top StatsBoston's ninth World Series victory was the first for manager Alex Cora, who became the first rookie manager since the Arizona Diamondbacks' Bob Brenly in 2001 to win the World Series, per MLB Stat of the Day:MLB Stat of the Day MLBStatoftheDayIn his first year as manager, ac13alex is a #WorldSeries champion.The last rookie manager to accomplish the feat was Bob Brenly with the 2001 Dbacks. ZivaOOp1LQPearce joined an illustrious list of 10 players, including Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench, as players to hit two or more home runs in a series-clinching World Series game, per Sharp:Katie Sharp ktsharp2+ HR in Potential Clinching World Series Game:Steve Pearce2018Kirk Gibson1984Eddie Murray1983Reggie Jackson1977Johnny Bench1976Yogi Berra1956Duke Snider1952Tony Lazzeri1932Babe Ruth1928Harry Hooper1915Price won the clinching games of back-to-back series against Cy Young Award winners, which was the first time that's ever occurred, per ESPN's Buster Olney:Buster Olney Buster_ESPNELIAS: If the Red Sox win, David Price will have clinched two consecutive series against Cy Young winners ?Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw ?in the same postseason. Thats never been done before.Chris Sale, who came on to close Game 5 in the ninth for Boston, became the ninth pitcher and first since 1945 to record the first and last outs of the World Series Nick Williams Jersey , per Baseball Reference:Baseball Reference baseball_refPitchers who got the first and last out of the #worldseries:Babe Adams, 1909Ernie Shore, 1916Art Nehf, 1922Waite Hoyt, 1928Lefty Gomez, 1937Paul Derringer, 1940Spud Chandler, 1943Hal Newhouser, 1945And Chris Sale, 2018Boston finished the season with 119 wins, which is the third-most in MLB history behind the 1998 New York Yankees and 2001 Seattle Mariners, per the league's official Twitter account:MLB MLB119 wins. Thats a lot of #DirtyWater. QGFeZPlUirHighlightsMookie Betts produced an insurance run in the sixth inning for the Red Sox, as he took Clayton Kershaw deep:FOX Sports FOXSportsMOOOOOOKIE!The MVP candidate comes through for the RedSox with a solo shot in Game 5! IbrXC3bYTAJ.D. Martinez extended the Boston lead to three runs in the seventh inning, when he sent a solo blast to center off Kershaw:FOX Sports FOXSportsRed Sox are doing damage!J.D. Martinez homers to center to give Boston a 3-run lead in the 7th! zvtfrsej2NSale recorded the final out of the 2018 World Series by striking out Manny Machado Tyler Glasnow Jersey , who had a disappointing series for the Dodgers:FOX Sports FOXSportsTHE BOSTON RED SOX ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!Chris Sale strikes out Manny Machado to close out the World Series! u62k4SVQPvFOX Sports FOXSportsYup, the RedSox went there. the song selection T0l7aC4c4eDuring the postgame celebration in the locker room, the Red Sox trolled the rival New York Yankees by singing "New York, New York": Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90. Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg downplayed an argument he had with Max Scherzer in the dugout following a rough outing against the Atlanta Braves on Friday.As seen in the following video courtesy ofSportsCenter, Scherzer patted Strasburg on the back after he was lifted from an 8-5 loss, and a heated discussion ensued:SportsCenter SportsCenterThings got heated between Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer in the dugout. 2rT6HZ78ecWith regard to the incident, Strasburg told ESPN.com's Eddie Matz, "It's part of family, man. You got to be in the family."When pressed further on the situation, Strasburg responded, "You've got to be in the family. You're not."Strasburg lasted just 4.2 innings Friday, surrendering eight hits, two walks and six earned runs Adam Frazier Jersey , while striking out six.He was taken out of the game in the fifth after allowing three runs in the inning.The 29-year-old righty has had an inconsistent season, as he is 6-7 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 101 strikeouts in 85.1 innings.Strasburg is a three-time All-Star, and he won 15 games last season with a 2.52 ERA.Nats manager Davey Martinez didn't get into specifics regarding the argument, but he said after the game that things were hashed out:"We had a really good conversation, I'll just say that. It was addressed. Look, they're very competitive. Everybody is. I'm glad we talked. It's over. Let's move forward. These guys are professionals. We're good. I'm good that we had the conversation. This stuff happens. I've been on teams where guys wanted to choke each other. It's a long season. They get it. They understand. We talk about it. I don't want to lose sleep about it. It was a really good conversation. I'll just leave it at that. Things are good."While Martinez may believe things are good between Strasburg and Scherzer, the same can't be said for the team as a whole.Following Friday's loss, Washington is now 48-49, and it trails the Philadelphia Phillies by 6.5 games for the NL East lead.The Nationals are also six games out of a wild-card spot, meaning their two-year playoff streak is in danger of coming to an end.