Grand slams are fun, aren’t they? The momentum in this 2024 World Series has been dictated by a pair of them. Freddie Freeman’s walk-off in Game 1 set the tone for what would become a 3-0 series lead for the Dodgers, and Anthony Volpe’s Game 4 grand slam helped the Yankees avoid a sweep, but can New York keep riding that wave?
That’ll be the question the Yankees and Gerrit Cole have to answer on Wednesday in Game 5. The New York ace (1-0, 2.82 ERA, 22 1/3 IP, 16 K, 6 BB) was lights-out in Game 1, when he allowed just four hits and one run in six innings. Another stellar night from Cole could help the Yankees send the series back to Los Angeles and put the pressure on the Dodgers. Jack Flaherty (1-2, 6.10 ERA, 20 2/3 IP, 14 K, 8 BB) gets the ball for Los Angeles. He was also solid in Game 1, scattering five hits over 5 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs.
A Dodgers win in Game 5 would deliver an eighth World Series title for the franchise, while a Yankees win — which would come without the two fans who were banned after Game 4’s incident with Mookie Betts — would mean a Game 6 set for Friday in Los Angeles.
How to watch Dodgers vs. Yankees, World Series Game 5 (LAD leads 3-1)
Time: 8:08 p.m. ET
Location: Yankee Stadium | New York
TV Channel: Fox
Streaming: Fox Sports App, Fubo
Live29 updates
Let’s have some fun with hindsight. There might be some criticism toward the Dodgers for going with a bullpen game when they had a chance to end this thing last night. That would be misguided (they really didn’t have any options, and Landon Knack, effectively their No. 4 starter, threw four innings anyway).
The mistake might have been in the arms they decided to use, as they could have replaced Daniel Hudson before Anthony Volpe’s game-turning grand slam. They didn’t use a high-leverage arm in a game they trailed by only one run in the sixth, and that might be something to regret if this series keeps going the way it has.
Chisholm grounds out to first on a very close play, and it remains four runs for the Yankees through two.
And Banda walks Judge. It’ll be Jazz Chisholm Jr. with the bases loaded and two outs. This Yankees team looks very different.
Anthony Banda walks Juan Soto (again) and here comes Aaron Judge (again), with a man on second after Alex Verdugo reached second on a wild pitch. Nothing is going the Dodgers’ way so far.
Short night for Flaherty
Jack Flaherty’s night is done, dusted, over. The Dodgers starter, who looked so fabulous in Game 1 of this World Series, heads to the showers having allowed four runs while recording just four outs.
His fastball velocity wasn’t down — which is what happened in his poor NLCS Game 5 start — but the command was all over the place. Los Angeles will have to come back from down 4 runs and piece together 23 more outs from their bullpen if they want to pop bottles tonight.
Yankees 4, Dodgers 0
Alex Verdugo drives in Anthony Volpe and it’s still all Yankees tonight. Anthony Banda is coming in for Jack Flaherty after 1 1/3 innings.
Aaron Judge is alive
That sound you just heard was Yankee Stadium exhaling and exalting; Aaron Judge has homered in the World Series.
The Yankees captain had been mired in a brutal slump, entering Game 4 with just 2 hits (a single and a double) in 15 Fall Classic at-bats. But the man who cranked 58 big flies this regular season took the first pitch he saw from Dodgers hurler Jack Flaherty — a 94 mph fastball right down Broadway — and put it in the right-field seats.
The Yankees still have a daunting task ahead of them, but getting Judge hot again would make it a lot more manageable.
Game 4 hero Anthony Volpe leads off with a double off Jack Flaherty, who once again is not looking sharp in Game 5 after shutting down a New York team in Game 1 of a series.
Per @ESPNStatsInfo: This is the first time since Game 5 of the 1977 World Series against the Dodgers that the Yankees hit back-to-back HR’s in the World Series.
And another 1-2-3 inning for Cole, who is at 19 pitches through two innings. An ideal start for the Yankees.
Jazz finally heating up?
Jazz Chisholm Jr. had just 1 RBI this postseason before that solo homer to go back-to-back with Aaron Judge and send the Yankee Stadium crowd into a frenzy. That was his HR way back in Game 2 of the ALDS against Kansas City.
Jazz has started to hit balls harder over the past few games, but it would be huge for New York if he can heat up more substantially as this series progresses, especially if he remains in the cleanup spot.
Jack Flaherty gets out of the inning with plenty of damage done. The Dodgers’ offense can score three runs in eight innings, but it’s going to be an uphill battle against Cole and the Yankees’ bullpen.
Jack Flaherty could have located the two home run balls better.
The question now is if anything has changed with the Dodgers’ pitching plans. They were set up to deploy nearly all their late-inning arms behind Jack Flaherty to help close this thing out, and they might still do so with a (very long) day off tomorrow should they not come back.
Anthony Banda is currently warming in the bullpen.
So in conclusion, yes, Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. punished a Juan Soto walk.
Yankees 3, Dodgers 0
Jazz Chisholm Jr. goes back-to-back with Judge, and Yankee Stadium is officially rocking. With Gerrit Cole on the mound, New York is probably feeling pretty good about becoming the first team to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in the World Series.
Yankees 2, Dodgers 0
In the midst of a five-run eighth inning last night, Aaron Judge hit a solid line-drive single. It was his best contact of the series. Until his next at-bat.
Judge smashes a 403-foot homer off Jack Flaherty to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead, and the Yankees’ MVP might have finally found his postseason swing.
Juan Soto draws his fifth walk of the series. Now we see if Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. can actually punish one of them.
That’s a seven-pitch 1-2-3 first inning for Gerrit Cole, ending with an easy fly ball off the bat of Freddie Freeman. We’ll call that a good start.
Shohei Ohtani flies out on the first pitch from Gerrit Cole, and we’re off in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.
An appreciation of the Yankees bullpen
The biggest moment of this series so far was the Yankees bullpen gaffe that led to Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1. That grand slam represents four of the five runs the Yankees bullpen has allowed in the World Series so far.
The Yankees’ losses in Games 2 and 3 consisted of the Dodgers lineup pouncing on starters Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt, then the Yankees bullpen shutting them down and keeping their team in the game. With Gerrit Cole on the mound tonight, the Dodgers offense likely won’t be getting anything easy.
How did Jack Flaherty vs. Gerrit Cole go last time?
Flaherty and Cole were the starters in Game 1, and both pitchers looked the part of Game 1 starters. Cole allowed only one run and four hits in six innings of work, while Flaherty allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. They weren’t quite Sandy Koufax or Whitey Ford, but they delivered what their teams needed with two good bullpens behind them.
The question now is can either pitcher replicate that form five days later, in a much more hitter-friendly stadium? Both are fly ball pitchers, and the short fences of Yankee Stadium have been generous the past two games.
Should the Dodgers be worried after Game 4 loss?
Most Dodgers fans would be lying if they said the Game 4 loss didn’t make them a little nervous, but let’s remember the Dodgers have been punched in the mouth before in these playoffs.
In Game 3 of the NLDS, the Dodgers allowed a six-run inning that would eventually lead to them facing two must-win games. They responded by throwing 24 straight scoreless innings to close out the San Diego Padres.
In Game 5 of the NLCS, the Dodgers were on the verge of advancing when they opted for a bullpen game and ended up getting blown out (sound familiar?). They responded with a 10-5 win in Game 6 to close out the New York Mets.
The Dodgers could still lose this series. But they are in the much better position and have responded well to stumbles in the past.
Vegas likes the Yankees tonight
Updated Yankees-Dodgers Game 5 betting at #BetMGM@Yankees open -145, now -150 ▪️ 37% of bets, 57% of money on Yankees
Total open 8, now 8.5 ▪️ 65% of bets, 82% of money on Over@Dodgers open +1.5 (-165), now +1.5 (-160) ▪️ 26% of bets, 16% of money on Dodgers
The Yankees still have bigger goals in mind, but they can make history just by sending the World Series back to Los Angeles tonight.
Twenty-four teams have fallen behind 3-0 in the World Series. Twenty-one of those teams lost in Game 4 and got swept. The other three lost in Game 5. No team has ever forced a Game 6 after being down 3-0 in the World Series, which the Yankees can do by winning a Gerrit Cole start tonight. This series can still get interesting.
Game 5 starting lineups
Jack Flaherty vs. Gerrit Cole will be tonight’s pitching matchup.
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