The Los Angeles Dodgers finished off a Game 5 for the record books on Wednesday night, beating the New York Yankees 7-6 to win the World Series. The Dodgers turned to starting pitcher Walker Buehler to cap off a wild bullpen-focused game where the fifth inning of Game 5 will live in baseball infamy.
For Los Angeles, this championship comes just days after legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela died. But the Dodgers were down 5-0 to the Yankees as Los Angeles starting pitcher Jack Flaherty only lasted 1 1/3 innings. Aaron Judge’s two-run homer and Jazz Chisholm’s solo homer put New York up 3-0. The Yankees added two more to go up 5-0 and Yankee Stadium was Party City.
Los Angeles Dodgers Got It Done
Well, the New York Yankees managed to play what probably will go down as one of the worst defensive innings in World Series history. The Yankees also had momentum in their hands, too. Everything was going their way. That all evaporated so quickly.
Yankees ace starter Gerrit Cole was staked to a 5-0 lead and was rocking along, getting Los Angeles Dodgers hitters out with relative ease. So, Los Angeles center fielder Kiké Hernández led off with a single, MLB.com reported. With no outs, Judge dropped a routine line drive for an error. Shortstop Anthony Volpe made an errant throw to third base.
He threw the ball wild and third baseman Jazz Chisholm could not catch the ball. Then Cole, who forced a groundout to first base, inexplicably didn’t run to cover first at all. Cameras caught Cole pointing toward first base while Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts ran down the first-base line.
Gerrit Cole not getting over to cover 1st base has cost the Yankees 5 runs.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) October 31, 2024
All that mess set things up for Dodgers Nation to start watching their team come back.
World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, whose home runs played big roles in the World Series while dealing with a bum ankle, knocked a two-out, two-strike, two-run single. Freeman finished with four homers and 12 RBIs in a performance that Dodgers fans will never forget. Those fifth-inning RBIs tied him with Yankees legend Bobby Richardson for a World Series record with 12 RBIs. Teoscar Hernández followed with a two-run double to left-center field, making it 5-5.
“We’re obviously resilient, but there’s so much love in the clubhouse that won this game today,” Betts said, The Associated Press reported. “That’s what it was. It was love, it was grit. I mean, it was just a beautiful thing. I’m just proud of us and I’m happy for us.”
New York Yankees Could Not Rally
The Dodgers took a 3-0 stranglehold on the World Series, but the Yankees managed to put together a Game 4 victory. And the Yankees, for better or worse, had Game 5 pretty much in their hands. Cole played an important role in going six innings for New York. He went out and put on a stellar pitching performance. But no one really will be talking about Cole’s pitching in the record books. His point toward first base is on video for infinity.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo homer for the Yankees, tying him for the team’s career postseason home run total with seven.
MLB fans knew that both teams had spent millions of dollars on their lineups. For the most part, the Yankees’ Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who hurt his left shoulder in Game 2, were pretty much no-shows. They did not produce MLB’s biggest stage. Yet Ohtani had players like Freeman, Betts, and others step up to fill the gap.
“There’s just a lot of ways we can win baseball games,” Buehler said after recording his first major league save. “Obviously the superstars we have on our team and the discipline, it just kind of all adds up.” His relief appearance was his first once since June 2018, more than six years ago. Turns out that he was just what Roberts and his teammates needed…and he delivered.
This is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ eighth championship overall as a franchise dating back to its Brooklyn days. It’s their first full-season World Series title since 1988. They won the crown in 2020 during a 60-game season shortened due to the Coronavirus. Los Angeles also was not able to have a victory parade at that time.
That’s all going to happen now, though. And Dodgers fans will be able to hold this championship up in opposing fans’ faces, including those in New York.
Speaking of New York, what about the Yankees now and their big-time payroll? Manager Aaron Boone put his team in a position to succeed, but there’s no one to blame for the fifth-inning disaster other than the Yankees’ players themselves. Additionally, right fielder Juan Soto will now be a free agent. Does he re-sign with New York or go play elsewhere? General manager Brian Cashman will be looking to make adjustments where needed as the Bronx Bombers try, yet again, to get back to the Fall Classic.
For now, though, the Los Angeles Dodgers will revel in victory and enjoy some hard-earned time off.
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