The Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth World Series championship (and seventh since moving to LA) Wednesday night after a stunning 7-6 comeback win over the New York Yankees. Nearly halfway through the action, the five-game victory appeared anything but guaranteed. The Yankees rode a power surge to an early 5-0 lead. But a comedy of errors (or tragedy, depending on your loyalties) by New York in the fifth inning opened the door for a five-run frame to tie the game. The Dodgers then got to the Yankees bullpen late and held on for the win to close another chapter of the historic rivalry.
YOUR 2024 #WORLDSERIES CHAMPIONS: THE LOS ANGELES @DODGERS! #CHAMPS pic.twitter.com/vM0EmzOfR4
— MLB (@MLB) October 31, 2024
Dodgers Win 2024 World Series in Five Games Over Yankees
Quick Start for Bombers
It was an auspicious beginning for the Yankees, who needed a win to get the series back to Dodger Stadium. After a Juan Soto walk, Aaron Judge finally woke up from his postseason slumber. He crushed a no-doubt homer to right-center field to put the Yankees up 2-0. Jazz Chisholm Jr. came up next and followed suit with a moon shot to right field. New York built on its lead the next two innings. An Alex Verdugo RBI single in the second put them up four, and Giancarlo Stanton continued his storybook October with a solo shot in the third to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead.
The 5th Inning Collapse
Gerrit Cole was rolling through four innings of no-hit ball, looking like he would help the Yankees cruise to victory. Then, everything changed in the fifth. Kiké Hernández led off the frame with a single. Then, Judge dropped a routine fly ball to set up runners on first and second. Although he had to come slightly in, it’s a catch that’s made almost every time, and it glanced off his glove after he looked up at Hernandez between first and second. An Anthony Volpe error loaded the bases with no outs. Cole recovered to strike out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani, and suddenly an escape path opened up. That proved to be short-lived.
On a grounder to Anthony Rizzo at first, Cole failed to cover the bag. Rizzo, rather than charging the ball, stayed back on an in-between hop. No one got there to get Mookie Betts at first, and a run scored. Freddie Freeman drove in two with a single to center, and Teoscar Hernández tied it up with a two-run double over Judge’s head. out of nowhere, it was a brand new ballgame.
Endgame
Both Cole and the Yankees recovered somewhat after that. Cole eventually got out of the jam and settled in to pitch into the seventh. Stanton gave the Yankees the lead back on a sixth-inning sac fly. After that, though, the Dodgers did just enough against the Yankees bullpen. Tommy Kahnle loaded the bases on two singles and a walk to start the eighth. Luke Weaver replaced him and was about as good as can be expected despite the circumstances, but two sac flies from Lux and Betts gave the Dodgers the lead. New York stranded two in the eighth against Blake Treinen and went down in order in the ninth against Walker Buehler. In something of a no-brainer, Freeman took home MVP honors after homering in the first four games and driving in two in the deciding game.
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