LOS ANGELES, CA — So what happened to the promise of a seven-game series between the two best teams in baseball? One reason is that Freddie Freeman almost single-handedly propelled LA through the first three games, beginning with one of World Series history’s most dramatic walk-off home runs, a grand slam in the tenth inning.
That seemed to take the air out of the Yankees’ sail and put the pressure on them. Game 2 was again Freeman as part of back-to-back home runs in the third inning with Teoscar Hernández after Juan Soto had tied the game in the top of the third with a big home run of his own. That inning saw the Dodgers take a 4-1 lead with Yoshinobu Yamamoto going through the Yankee order like an Okonomiyaki dinner.
In Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, Freeman hit a two-run home run in the first inning before the Yankee bleacher bums finished their famous “Roll-Call” and repeated it in Game 4 with a two-run home run in the first inning.
Freddie Freeman, a two-time World Series champion (2021 with ATL, and 2024 with LAD) – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
But in that game four in the Bronx, the Yankees took advantage of a “Bullpen” game where Dave Roberts did not use any high-leverage pitchers and rolled the dice, hoping to squeak out a series-clinching win. Say, ‘nay,’ my friend.
The Yankees rolled all over that move, winning 11-4 to make it a 3-1 lead in games for the Dodgers.
Anthony Volpe hit a memorable grand slam in Game 4 of the World Series to extend the series to a Game 5 – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Game 5 looked like we were returning to LA for game six when Aaron Judge hit a first-inning two-run home run, followed by a solo shot by Jazz Chisholm Jr. to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. New York would add two more runs to take a commanding 5-0 lead. All the while, New York starter Gerrit Cole was mowing the Dodgers down for four innings. And then………. all hell broke loose.
The Yankees imploded on defense in the top of the fifth inning, committing two fielding errors and one mental error when Cole didn’t cover first base on what would have been the third out. Instead, the Dodgers scored five unearned runs to tie the game at 5-5. The Yankees went ahead 6-5 in the next inning. And the Dodgers came back to go ahead 7-6 in the top of the eighth inning.
The Dodgers won the World Series thanks to a huge offseason with the signings of Teoscar Hernández, Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Dodgers’s Blake Treinen worked the bottom of the eighth inning and picked up the win. Walker Buehler, after pitching five innings on Monday, came in to pitch the ninth inning, where he put down the Yankees in order, striking out the last two batters to nail down the championship, the eighth in Dodger history.
Moments after the Dodgers secured the final out of Game 5 of the World Series to clinch the Fall Classic and become Champions – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Freddie Freeman was voted World Series MVP with twelve RBI and four home runs in five games.
Was this a match-up of the two teams with the best records in baseball? Yes. Were they evenly matched? Maybe. The Dodgers had the edge with their deep lineup. We all thought the Yankees had a significant advantage with starting pitchers, but that never came into play. Freddie Freeman and the entire lineup were the most significant differences in the Dodgers’ favor. Everyone contributed.
The Dodgers, the World Series Champs in two of the last five years (2020 and 2024) – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Congratulations, LA Dodgers, 2024 World Series Champions.
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Blanca I Canino
October 31, 2024 at 9:07 am
Dodgers surprised winning this game 5, Yankees gave it away, congrats to pesky Kiké and Mookie.