For the second time in five seasons and the first time in a full season since 1988, the Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions. It took a supremely ugly Game 5 to get them there. They will take it with a swig of Champagne.
Entering Wednesday with a 3-1 series lead but perhaps more than a few nerves after a rough loss to the New York Yankees in Game 4, the Dodgers fell behind 5-0 before a chaotic comeback put the Commissioner’s Trophy in their hands with a 7-6 victory.
It is a win few observers saw coming when the postseason began, even for one of the most talented lineups in baseball. With a rotation ravaged by injuries, the Dodgers overwhelmed opponents on offense and got just enough quality pitching to make it work.
It wasn’t the smoothest way to close out a 3-0 lead in the World Series, but the Dodgers do not care. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Yankees would have become the first team in World Series history to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0. They got started early in Game 5, as Aaron Judge broke through his postseason demons with a two-run homer in the first, and the Yankees got one more when Jazz Chisholm Jr. went back-to-back.
It was a rough start for the Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty, who was more than solid in Game 1 but exited after 1 1/3 innings Wednesday with four earned runs to his name. A Giancarlo Stanton homer off Ryan Brasier then made it a five-run lead in the third inning.
Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole was doing exactly what the Yankees paid him to do. He threw four hitless innings to open the game, and then, well, the fifth inning happened.
A series of three major defensive miscues tied the game, with the Dodgers scoring five unearned runs as Yankee Stadium went from raucous to stunned. First was Judge dropping an easy fly ball. Second was Anthony Volpe bouncing a throw to third while trying to get the lead runner. Third was Gerrit Cole declining to cover first base on a routine grounder.
The Yankees took the lead back in the sixth inning on a Stanton sacrifice fly, but the Dodgers took it back in the seventh after Tommy Kahnle loaded the bases with no outs. Another miscue followed when Austin Wells gave Shohei Ohtani a free base on a catcher’s interference, and a pair of sacrifice flies then supplied the deciding runs.
After being down five runs, the Dodgers moved into World Series-winning position, and it was almost entirely thanks to the Yankees. Blake Treinen threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings to push the lead into the ninth, and then Walker Buehler, the Dodgers’ likely Game 7 starter, finished a game that should make Yankees fans vomit for years to come.
New York had a chance to make history just by sending the series back to Los Angeles and instead got to watch MLB’s other juggernaut celebrate a World Series in the Bronx.
The Dodgers’ parade will start at 11 a.m. on Friday, and end with an event at Dodger stadium.
The Dodgers didn’t get a parade after winning it in 2020. This one will be different.
Freddie Freeman is your 2024 World Series MVP
He opened the Fall Classic with a record four straight games with a home run and had another key RBI tonight. There was no other choice than the Dodgers’ first baseman.
Again, one of the greatest seasons in baseball history.
In MLB history,
over 30 players have hit 50 HR in a season over 200 players have had 50 SB in a season over 150 players have won MVP over 1500 players have won a WS
Only one has done all four (same season or not): Shohei Ohtani.
Did Juan Soto just play his final game in a Yankees uniform?
Juan Soto almost certainly made himself some money this postseason. The only question is if the Yankees are the ones who will give it to him. Soto’s free agency figures to be the second-most lucrative in MLB history after Ohtani’s $700 million deal, and it could be worth even more when accounting for inflation due to the Dodgers star’s deferrals.
The Yankees and Mets loom as Soto’s biggest natural suitors, but the Dodgers were reported earlier this week to be interested. It’s going to be expensive for the Yankees to bring this team back.
Shohei Ohtani is a World Series champion
He didn’t do much in the World Series, but Shohei Ohtani helped get the Dodgers there. He is now a World Series champion, a Japan Series champion and a World Baseball Classic champion.
Arguably the most talented player in the history of baseball now has the one big thing that was missing on his résumé, and all it took was joining a Dodgers team that needed him. His 2024 season will be legendary in Japan.
Oh, yeah, and he can pitch next year.
That was Walker Buehler’s first career save.
Final: Dodgers 7, Yankees 6
The Dodgers have officially picked up their eighth World Series title and their first since 2020.
Dodgers win the World Series
And that’ll do it! The Dodgers win have officially won the World Series 4-1.
Austin Wells strikes out swinging, and the Dodgers are one out away. Alex Verdugo is up now for the Yankees.
Anthony Volpe grounds out to third, and one out is gone in the ninth.
Walker Buehler is on the mound now for the Dodgers here in the ninth.
Leiter struck out Edman, and then Smith grounded out to third to end the inning. The Yankees will head to the bottom of the ninth now down a run with the World Series on the line.
Kiké Hernandez was just walked, too, and Aaron Boone is headed out to the mound. Mark Leiter Jr. is coming in now to try to finish the inning for the Yankees and keep their deficit at a single run.
Teoscar Hernandez just opened the ninth with a base hit, and Taylor is in to run for him now and finish out the game in left. Taylor just advanced to second on a balk after Weaver tried to throw over to first too many times, too.
Stanton flied out to right on the first pitch of his at-bat, and then Treinen struck Anthony Rizzo out swinging to escape the inning.
The Dodgers are now just three outs away from winning the World Series.
And Treinen just walked Jazz Chisholm. He’s up to 37 pitches now with just one out in the eighth as Dave Roberts walks out to the mound. Treinen will stay in the game for now.
Juan Soto grounded out for the first out of the inning, but Aaron Judge followed it up with a perfect double to left. The Yankees are in position to take the lead once again here in the eighth.
Weaver threw only 13 pitches there, so decent chance he sticks around for the top of the ninth with 4-5-6 due up for the Dodgers.
Weaver strikes out Freddie Freeman to end the inning, but the damage is done. Blake Treinen is staying in, with Walker Buehler ready to be deployed if he gets into trouble.
Another sac fly from Mookie Betts, and the Dodgers have come all the way back. They lead in the eighth inning. Their bullpen is nearly empty, but they are six outs from a World Series title.
Yankees lose the challenge. The number of miscues for them, from the three-mistake fifth inning, to Kahnle loading the bases, to THAT. There’s no sugar-coating it. If the Yankees lose this, they will look in the mirror after the game and see the reason they lost.
Whoa! Ohtani fouls off the first pitch, and then the ump calls catcher’s interference on Austin Wells. That’s a free base for the Dodgers, but the Yankees are now challenging the call. It looks like they will lose it.
Here comes Mookie Betts with the bases loaded and one out.
Dodgers 6, Yankees 6
Gavin Lux works a full count, then hits a sacrifice fly to tie it. The speedy Tommy Edman also takes third, so the Dodgers can take the lead here on a fly ball from the struggling Shohei Ohtani.
Aaron Boone pulls Tommy Kahnle for Luke Weaver, who has to navigate a bases-loaded, none-out situation. The Yankees closer is pitching on a third consecutive day for the first time in his career.
Tommy Kahnle loads Will Smith to load the bases. Here we go.
A broken-bat grounder turns into an infield hit for Tommy Edman, and the Dodgers have two on with none out to open the eighth inning.
Meanwhile, Daniel Hudson is now getting loose in the Dodgers bullpen.
Buehler warming
Walker Buehler is warming up as the Dodgers come to bat in the top of the 8th inning, exemplifying the degree to which the Dodgers’ bullpen has been absolutely worn out in this game following Jack Flaherty’s abbreviated start in Game 5 and a planned bullpen game that failed in Game 4.
Or the Dodgers will send Buehler out in the eighth with Treinen at 21 pitches. This could get weird.
Blake Treinen throws a 1-2-3 seventh inning, and they’ll probably send him back out for the eighth. Here are the pitchers currently in the Dodgers dugout: Ben Casparius, Landon Knack and Daniel Hudson, who all threw more than one inning last night… and Walker Buehler.
Buehler is likely the guy if this thing goes to the ninth, but after that, well, the Dodgers will figure that out later.
Important to note: The baserunners in that inning mean at least Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts are guaranteed another at-bat.
Max Muncy in the NLCS: 5-for-15 with two homers and 11 walks.
Max Muncy in the World Series: 0-for-15 with three walks.
He strikes out to end the threat, and the Yankees are six outs from forcing an unprecedented World Series Game 6.
Clay Holmes begins his outing with a four-pitch walk. The tying run is in scoring position with two outs, and Max Muncy, still hitless in the World Series, up to bat.
In his last start of the season, Gerrit Cole went out and threw 6 2/3 innings with zero earned runs (the word “earned” is obviously doing a lot of work in there). He faced the top of the Dodgers order for a fourth time and almost finished the seventh, but a walk of Freddie Freeman will end his night at 108 pitches.
In comes Clay Holmes to face Teoscar Hernández with a runner on first and two outs.
Volpe grounds out on a full count toe end the sixth. Here comes the Dodgers’ top of the order, with Gerrit Cole still out there. Quite a show of trust in a pitcher who’s been great tonight without the score to show for it.
Graterol walks Anthony Rizzo, and in comes Blake Treinen to face Anthony Volpe with two on and two out.
Yankees 6, Dodgers 5
The Yankees take the lead back on a Giancarlo Stanton sacrifice fly. Jazz Chisholm Jr. nearly wiped it out by tagging up to take second. He beat Stanton there but fortunately the throw as well.
And now Judge walks…
Yankees threatening to break their self-imposed tie in the bottom of the sixth. Blake Treinen is warming up.
Juan Soto leads off the sixth against Graterol with a walk. That’s how the Dodgers’ trouble started in the first, and here comes Aaron Judge.
Gerrit Cole throws a 1-2-3 sixth ,and you figure that has to do it for him at 98 pitches. He did his job, getting seven innings’ worth of outs in six innings (and wasn’t helped by his own mistake).
In comes Brusdar Graterol in what is now a battle of the bullpens. And speaking of, the Dodgers’ likely Game 7 starter just walked to the bullpen.
Stress for Vesia in 5th
Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia gets himself in and out of trouble there in the fifth. After briskly recording the first two outs, the lefty surrendered a hit to the suddenly hot Anthony Volpe. Vesia then gave free passes to the Yankees’ eight and nine hitters, plunking Austin Wells and walking Alex Verdugo.
That flipped the order, bringing right-handed leadoff man Gleyber Torres to the plate, a potentially horrifying matchup for Vesia. But the Dodgers hurler rediscovered the zone and got Torres to fly out to the track in right. Disaster averted.
Torres flies out, and this is still a tie game. Looks like Gerrit Cole is staying in after that 38-pitch disaster inning (in which all five runs were unearned).
Vesia then walks Alex Verdugo, and he will face Gleyber Torres with the bases loaded and two outs. Brusdar Graterol just started warming, but too late to face the right-handed Torres.
Alex Vesia got two outs, but an Anthony Volpe single and Austin Wells HBP give the Yankees two runners. Wells is being looked at by a trainer after taking a 94 mph pitch to the arm.
Let’s recap that fifth inning
–– Kiké Hernández sinlge –– Judge drops Edman’s line drive –– Volpe spikes a throw to third –– Lux/Ohtani strikeouts –– Gerrit Cole doesn’t cover first; run scores –– Freeman 2-run single –– Teoscar Hernández 2-run double
The inning mercifully ends for Gerrit Cole and the Yankees. He entered the fifth with a no-hitter going on 49 pitches. Then: single, reach on error, reach on error, strikeout, strikeout, single, single, double, walk, groundout. Cole is now at 87 pitches.
A torturous inning ties the game, and Yankee Stadium is stunned right now.
Catastrophe in the Bronx
OUT. OF. NOWHERE. This ball game is tied.
Sloppy, sloppy baseball from the Yankees here in the 5th inning has completely changed the trajectory of this game and, potentially, the series. The Yanks gave the Dodgers three free outs — one on a dropped fly ball to Aaron Judge, one on a poor throw from Anthony Volpe and one on a miscommunication between Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo.
Defense and baserunning have been the Yankees’ bugaboos all year, and it should be zero surprise that has come back to bite them here. What a disaster for Cole and the Yanks.
Gerrit Cole’s 84th pitch just walked Max Muncy, and Tommy Kahnle is warming.
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