RED SOX: Dodgers reliever happy to be headed back to warm LA weather

Ryan Madson, who has let all five of his inherited runners to score in the series, said the blustery Boston weather was "definitely an element" in his struggles.

LOS ANGELES — Ryan Madson was defeated before he threw a pitch in Game 2 of the World Series.

Despite being a veteran of more than 50 postseason appearances in his career, the Dodgers’ right-handed reliever was thinking about the chilly temperatures at Fenway Park.

Madson has allowed all five of his inherited runners to score in the series, including three in the bottom of the fifth inning in a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday. He walked Steve Pearce with the bases loaded to force in the tying run, making it 2-2, and allowed a two-run single to right field by J.D. Martinez to put Los Angeles behind to stay.

Madson, a native of nearby Long Beach, yielded mentally when asked a pregame question about dealing with the cold. It was the kind of small crack upon which opponents feast at this level, which made his response to a question about the weather in Boston all the more surprising.

“It’s definitely an element,” Madson said. “Last night in the bullpen we had a couple of heaters going. It was warm out there, but to get up and move around I didn’t feel as gummy as usual when it’s 75, 80 degrees.”

Comforts of home or not, Mother Nature wasn’t doing anything to spare Boston the same conditions. Joe Kelly and Nathan Eovaldi each zipped through 1-2-3 innings in relief while wearing nothing more than short sleeves under their uniform tops. Chris Sale took the mound for his Game 1 start the previous night sporting the same look.

“I think we’re a confident team regardless of where we’ve played,” said Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who followed up a four-hit game in his World Series debut with a spectacular catch in the outfield and a key walk in Game 2. “We’ve played in some tough places so far this postseason. It might be a little warmer out there, so that will be nice.”

That should be the takeaway the Dodgers fear most. Sure, it will be more comfortable here at Chavez Ravine for Game 3 on Friday night. But the weather could just as easily thaw Red Sox bats and loosen Boston arms as well.

“I know there’s going to be a few people in Dodger Stadium,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “They’re going to be cheering for us, too. We travel well, so it should be fun.”

Wasn’t it supposed to be David Price who froze up in the cold?

You remember that guy. April night, Yankees in town, couldn’t feel the ball in his left hand — whatever former version of Price that was, anyway.

The pitcher on the mound for the Red Sox in Game 2 couldn’t have been more in his element. Price dotted fastballs to both sides of the plate, dipped changeups to the bottom edge of the strike zone and generally frustrated Los Angeles over six innings. It was similar to the effort Price turned in while clinching the American League Championship Series for the Red Sox in Game 5 at Houston.

“Same as in Houston — same as in any other game,” Price said. “Don’t put any added pressure or anything of that nature. Just go out there and throw strikes and execute pitches and rely on the defense.”

Price’s previous struggles with the elements prompted some speculation that he might start here on Friday. Temperatures are expected to be in the 80s for the evening first pitch local time, but instead it will be Rick Porcello taking the ball for Boston. It was almost as if Cora expected Price to be a different pitcher when he announced his rotation for the series.

“I talked to him like four days ago, five days ago,” Cora said prior to Game 2. “And I knew the answer.”

The Dodgers’ despair could be felt early Thursday morning at Logan Airport. Sleepy fans of both teams left straight from the ballpark for their predawn flights and spent the night waiting for TSA to open the security gates. Red Sox fans were gracious and the Los Angeles natives, much like Madson some 12 hours earlier, sounded quite ready to leave town.

“Let them have the best baseball team in the world,” one said. “At least it’s not 40 (expletive) degrees in Los Angeles.”