Yankees Sink To Unfavorable Territory In World Series Vs. Dodgers

The New York Yankees kicked off the 2024 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in gut-wrenching fashion — courtesy of Freddie Freeman — and that very string of bad luck continued in Saturday night’s Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.

Los Angeles defeated New York, 4-2, taking a 2-0 series lead in the Fall Classic, halfway from capturing the franchise’s eighth Commissioner’s Trophy. The Yankees threatened the Dodgers by scoring in the ninth inning but stranded the bases loaded before relief pitcher Alex Vesia took the mound to close out the contest — on one pitch.

Historically, teams with a 2-0 lead in the World Series have gone on to finish the job 84% of the time meaning the pinstripes aren’t completely done for, but it’s looking daunting. Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Yankees to one hit across 6 1/3 innings on the mound. New York slugger Aaron Judge went 0-for-4, striking out three times to extend the 2022 American League MVP’s World Series slump to 1-for-9. But most importantly, the Yankees allowed the Dodgers to count their home-field advantage to the fullest before the series heads over to the Bronx.

“In a game where we really got shut down there in the middle innings, our compete to the very end was really good” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said postgame, per SNY. “We have ourselves a chance to get back in it and even win that game, off a really good reliever. I love the at-bats there in the end, the compete, the fight. … No one said this was gonna be easy. It’s a long series and we need to make it a long series now. We won’t flinch. We just gotta keep at it.”

Freeman, who blasted the walk-off grand slam in Game 1 and is making an early case for World Series MVP, tagged New York again, this time with a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning to give Los Angeles a 4-1 lead. Teammates Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman also went deep as well while New York relied on Giancarlo Stanton, and Juan Soto, who hit a solo home run off Yamamoto in the third inning, (2-for-4) for all of its scoring production.

Even though a commanding 2-0 series lead is promising, it wasn’t a completely spotless night for Los Angeles, however. Star designated hitter Shohei Ohtani suffered a left shoulder injury during a stolen base attempt in the seventh inning before being walked off the field alongside Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and two team trainers.

“He had a little left shoulder subluxation,” Roberts said postgame, per FOX Sports. “So we’re gonna get some tests at some point tonight/tomorrow and then we’ll know more in the next couple of days. The strength was great. The range of motion, good, so we’re encouraged. But obviously, I can’t speculate because we don’t get the scans yet. So once we get the scans we’ll know more. But again, with the strength, the range of motion, good, that’s certainly a positive.”

Los Angeles will either return to the West Coast for a Game 6 or return as champions following its three-game trip to New York.