Los Angeles Dodgers

Sorry, Dodgers fans -- it ain't gonna happen ... the Dodgers will LOSE to the Red Sox in the World Series, in part because Clayton Kershaw's no Sandy Koufax ... so says Ben Shapiro.

The conservative firebrand is also a die-hard baseball fan -- and even though he's from L.A., the 34-year-old tells us he's rooting for the Red Sox because of his Boston connection.

Fun Fact: Shapiro went to law school at Harvard where he graduated cum laude in 2007.

As for Kershaw, Shapiro says he likes the pitcher -- but doesn't have a lot of confidence based on previous disastrous playoff outings.

So, what's Kershaw's legacy?

If he doesn't get it done this year, Shapiro says he'll go down as the greatest REGULAR season left-hander of all time.

Before Curtis Granderson steps into the batter's box Friday night ... he needed a visit to the dentist's chair -- 'cause dude JACKED UP his tooth sliding into second base Wednesday!!

You'll remember ... The Grandy Man legged out a double in the 9th inning of the Brewers' Game 5 loss to the Dodgers -- and his helmet whacked him square in the mug on the slide.

Curtis ended up with a fat lip AND a broken front tooth to go along with the L ... and even said afterward the chipped piece got STUCK IN HIS LIP!!!

BUT ... the story has a happy ending -- 'cause Curtis hit up Mykleby & Thao Family Dentistry in Wauwatosa before Friday night's first pitch ... and he's cheesin' like normal now.

The smile might be fleeting, though ... Milwaukee's on the verge of elimination.

The Boston Red Sox had a locker room rager for the record books after clinching a World Series berth on Thursday ... dousing each other in beer and champagne ... and the video is insane!!

The BoSox just knocked the Houston Astros outta the playoffs with a 4-1 win to close out the ALCS last night ... and celebrated their Fall Classic with champagne showers of epic proportions.

Craig Kimbrel set the mood for the boys ... declaring, "You're too dry!!" before drenching his teammates with bubbly.

Seriously -- watch the video and tell us we're overreacting. This is wild and we wish we were a part of it.

Next up for the Sox -- either the Dodgers or Brewers, depending on who wins this weekend.

By the way, we spoke with "Seatbelt Psychic" star Thomas John BACK IN JULY -- and he predicted Red Sox vs. Dodgers in the World Series.

Now, he's ONE GAME AWAY FROM BEING RIGHT! PSYCHICS ARE REALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

How does the Dodgers' best hitter celebrate a massive playoff win???

Hit up one of the most expensive restaurants in town, baby!!!

TMZ Sports got Manny Machado leaving a fancy steak dinner at Mastro's in Bev Hills ... just hours after he helped L.A. take down the Brewers, 5-2.

Manny was livin' it up ... posing for pics, signing a few autographs and looking stoked to be heading back to Milwaukee, needing just one win to advance to the World Series.

As for the drama Machado's been entangled in throughout the series ... we asked if the beanball he took Wednesday will end the drama. His response, "I don't know."

Here's Dodgers president Stan Kasten (jokingly) LYING TO OUR FACE about Clayton Kershaw -- saying he's not focused on getting a new deal done with the pitcher -- but that's okay, we know what's really going on.

Kershaw has 10 days after the World Series to decide if he'll opt out of the remaining 2 years of his $215 MILLION deal with the Dodgers ... and insists he hasn't made up his mind yet.

So, when we saw Kasten after Game 5 of the NLCS, we had to ask what the plan is to keep Kershaw in Dodgers Blue next season.

"I have no time to think about it because we're 1 game from the World Series," Kasten told our guy.

THAT'S NOT TRUE, STAN, AND YOU KNOW IT!!

It's cool, we know you can't really spill the beans -- but how about you use all of those professional looking folders and papers under your arm to lock up Kershaw, baby?!

The Dodgers game didn't end until 11:30 PM PT -- but 91-year-old Tommy Lasorda managed to stay up through all 13 innings to revel in sweet, sweet victory ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Guys, most 91-year-olds go to bed like 5 HOURS BEFORE THIS GAME ENDED!!!

But, yeah ... while you were getting your beauty sleep, the Dodgers nonagenarian was at the stadium supporting his team like a damn hero. Shame on you.

Lasorda is totally pumped about tying up the NLCS with the Milwaukee Brewers at 2 games apiece following the 13-inning thriller ... and says the fans were awesome (cough, Kike Hernandez).

We're just hoping he gets a chance to rest up before today's game at 2 PM. The guys need ya, Tommy!!

On the other side -- we spoke with "Gossip Girl" star and big-time Brewers fan Jessica Szohr about the game ... and she's still confident her team will make it to the Fall Classic.

Kike Hernandez is trying to win back Dodger fans -- with a dick joke.

After partially blaming the fans for not bringing enough "energy" to Dodger Stadium on Monday -- when they got routed by the Brewers -- Kike has issued a statement trying to unite the base.

"The truth is, I suffer from ED," the Dodgers OF wrote ... "I think a lot of us suffer from it from time to time. So tonight, let’s all bring it. We can conquer Energy Deficiency together."

GET IT?! E.D. means Energy Deficiency! It's funny 'cause he wanted you to think Erectile Dysfunction!

Are you LOLing yet?

Don't worry, Kike followed with a more serious statement minutes later.

"On a serious note, I'd like to apologize to all who thought that I was blaming the fans for last night," Kike wrote in a 4-paragraph note. "That's not what I said nor will I EVER say such thing!"

"What I said last night doesn't portray the way I truly feel about you guys! You guys are the best fans in baseball ... I love you guys and I'll never stop being grateful for the way that you have embraced the weirdo that I am!"

Here they are ... the celebrity Dodger fans who attended Monday's NLCS playoff game -- and were part of the lethargic crowd that Kike Hernandez is partially blaming for the loss.

WHAT THE HELL, ROB LOWE!?!

In case you haven't heard, Kike was quoted after the game saying the lack of energy in the stadium affected the play on the field.

"We had no energy. The stadium had no energy. The fans had no energy," Kike said after the 4-0 shutout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

"Overall, it was a pretty bad game for everybody who calls themselves Dodgers.”

So, we decided to see who was in the crowd that night ... and it seems like Mario Lopez, Rebel Wilson, Danny Trejo and Will Ferrell have some serious 'splaining to do.

The Dodgers host the Brewers at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday -- SO, CHUG SOME RED BULL AND COFFEE AND GET BACK OUT THERE!!!

He predicted the Dodgers would make the playoffs ... now Eric Karros is breaking out the crystal ball yet again for a World Series prediction -- and Red Sox fans ain't gonna like this.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Dodgers legend/prophet about the final 4 teams in the MLB playoffs ... and he's expecting a rematch of last year's Fall Classic between the Dodgers and Houston Astros.

Not only is he predicting L.A. to make it, but he also says they have a serious shot at winning it all. He's also biased as all get-out.

Oh, and to the people predicting Clayton Kershaw will choke in the post-season -- KARROS SAYS YOU'RE WRONG!!

Again -- biased -- but Karros says the Dodgers' ace will go down as one of the best pitchers ever.

Yasiel Puig doesn't seem too fazed about all the burglaries at his L.A. home -- he just went out and bought a bunch of expensive replacement stuff!

Puig and the Dodgers are in San Francisco to play the Giants in a hugely important 3-game series beginning Friday night ... but before Yasiel took the field, he hit Gucci and Louis Vuitton with some of his teammates, including Pedro Baez!

Of course, Puig could use some new stuff -- his home was hit 4 times in the past 2 years. In the most recent invasion, crooks raided his bedroom earlier this month while he was playing at Dodger Stadium.

The good news for Puig ... he's rich. Dude's in the middle of a $42 million contract.

In fact, back in November Puig told us he has "too much f**king money" to worry about burglaries.

So, Friday morning he proved it -- hitting some of the fanciest stores in San Fran and leaving with a ton of bags.

Here's frightening footage from INSIDE Yasiel Puig's bedroom -- capturing the moment two burglars raided the MLB star's L.A. home last week and ripped the place apart searching for his safe.

The footage was shot by a surveillance camera which appears to be hidden from the burglars. You can hear the alarm blaring in the background as the crooks tear through drawers looking for valuables.

After going under the bed and raiding the closet, one of the dirtbags locates Puig's safe on the side of the room and yells for his pal to come over and help him crack it open.

It proved too tough of a job -- and they fled the scene without being able to unlock it or boost it out of the house.

The burglary took place on Tuesday Sept. 18 -- while Puig was at Dodger Stadium taking on the Colorado Rockies. Seems the bad guys knew Puig would be out of the home.

As we reported ... it's the 4th time Puig's home has been hit in the past 2 years.

There's more security footage ... Puig's Ring system at his door captured the guys donkey kicking their way into the home before they made their way to the bedroom.

Tommy Lasorda just turned 91 years young this weekend ... and now he's letting TMZ Sports in on his secret to living to almost a century old!!

We spoke with the Dodgers legend while he was out celebrating the big 9-1 at Rao's in Hollywood on Saturday ... and asked him the key to out-living the average American by 13 years.

FYI -- the U.S. life expectancy is 78. AKA, not great compared to other developed countries.

If Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig's house is hit by burglars again ... it won't be because of a lack of effort by cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops have significantly increased their presence in the San Fernando Valley area where Puig's home -- and so many others -- have been hit by thieves.

Puig's 4th burglary -- the last one was this week -- was the catalyst for law enforcement to kick things up to nab some of these bad guys.

We broke the story ... LAPD got video footage of the suspects breaking into Puig's home after one of them kicked the front door open. Cops believe there are 3 suspects involved in the latest burglary ... and say they're the same perps who tried to steal his stuff on August 30.

Incredibly, Yasiel had yet another intruder on his property Thursday night ... but the guy isn't believed to be one of the burglars. Puig has a Ring security system set up at his home to get alerts for any visitors, but so far it hasn't been enough to keep thieves away.

9/20 5:07 PM PT -- The LAPD has now released a video of the crime going down ... showing one of the suspects smashing in the front door with several kicks. Cops are asking for help in identifying the men involved.

7:07 PM PT -- LAPD has just released a photo of one of the suspects, captured by Puig's home security system.

Cops also provided further details, saying the 3 men -- 2 of which are believed to be black males in their early to mid-20s with slim builds -- ransacked Puig's home then located a safe in the second-floor master bedroom. They allegedly dragged it down the stairs through the living room, but fled without it ... leaving it in the doorway.

LAPD claims the suspects caused about $10k in damages. They have no description so far of the third suspect, who was the driver.

The 3 suspects are believed to be the same burglars who hit Puig's house on August 30.

Yasiel Puig really needs to do something about his home security, 'cause he was burglarized yet again -- the 4TH TIME he's been hit ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops were called to Puig's San Fernando Valley home Tuesday night around 8 PM after one of the Dodger's assistants got a security alert on his phone, which showed 3 men leaving Puig's property.

Yasiel has a security camera set up that captures motion, and it automatically sends the video to a cell phone programmed to receive it. When Yasiel's associate saw the footage, he immediately called police ... but the bad guys had already fled.

We're told the men broke in through the back door ... smashing it open. It's unclear at this point if anything was taken.

Yasiel wasn't seen celebrating with his team at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night after their walk-off win against the Rockies, but the game went late ... and he presumably left when he got called about the break-in.

If you're keeping track ... Yasiel's been burglarized now a total of 4 times. He initially got hit last spring while he was away for spring training, then again during the World Series last year ... and a third time just last month. Our sources say cops aren't sure if the burglaries are connected, but it's clear someone is keeping track of Yasiel's work schedule, 'cause he's never been home.

Time to get a watchdog or something, Yas. That's our advice.

L.A. Dodgers star Yasiel Puig has been hit by burglars -- A THIRD TIME.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... at around 11:15 PM Thursday after a Dodgers game Yasiel was not at his San Fernando Valley home when his RING doorbell went off on his phone.

We're told Puig saw 2 guys trying to break into the house through the front door. He yelled at them through the phone and they beat a hasty retreat.

Last November, as Yasiel and his team were losing Game 7 of the World Series, a burglar busted through a window and made off with jewelry. And in March, 2017, he was burglarized to the tune of $500k worth of jewelry.

Just in the last few days, Wiz Khalifa was hit and Christina Milian -- both of whom have homes in the San Fernando Valley -- were also hit by burglars.

Cops believe all the stars who have been hit recently in the San Fernando Valley were not targeted because they were celebrities. HOWEVER ... it seems like basic common sense that when criminals know residents are away -- either because they have scheduled games or have posted their whereabouts on Instagram -- they become targets.

In Yasiel's case, no suspects ... so far.

Justin Verlander's World Series ring nearly came with a $1 MILLION price tag ... 'cause an L.A. restaurant (jokingly) hit him with a HUGE "Dodger Killer" fee!!

The Astros ace -- who crushed L.A. in the World Series last year -- was dining at The Cabana Cafe in Bev Hills when, to his surprise, THE BILL CAME OUT TO OVER A MILLION DOLLARS!!

As Verlander read over the receipt, though ... it became clear to him, he just got punk'd.

"Beverly Hills Hotel really making me pay for that World Series win 😂😂," Verlander said of the massive charge.

"Thanks for the great lunch as always!"

As for why Verlander's grubbin' in L.A. this weekend ... he's in town for a series with the Angels.

So, rest easy, Dodgers fans ... for now.