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Will Smith tagging out Giancarlo Stanton in the fourth inning. @Dodgers. |
The Los Angeles Dodgers, led by five shutout innings from Walker Buehler and another home run from Freddie Freeman, beat the Yankees, 4-2, in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers are now up 3-0 in the Series and can clinch their first championship since 2020 on Tuesday night. It would also be their first full-season championship since 1988.
Freeman set the tone immediately, as he blasted a two-run homer off Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt in the top of the first inning.
Buehler, who had not pitched since Game 3 of the NLCS across town 12 days ago, started off shakily by walking Gleyber Torres, but he stabilized himself after Juan Soto lined one out to left field.
Aaron Judge, whose playoff ineptitude has become a focus of this crowd, came up to a massive ovation, as Yankees fans hoped to will him to a big moment, but he struck out once again. Giancarlo Stanton then grounded into a force out to end the frame.
That was the start of Buehler retiring eight in a row until Gleyber drew another walk with two out in the bottom of the third.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles added to their lead in the top half of the third when Mookie Betts dunked an RBI single into right field.
Schmidt then walked Freeman, and then issued a two-out walk to Max Muncy to load the bases, and he was lifted for Mark Leiter Jr., who got Will Smith to bounce one back to him to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Yankees had another chance against Buehler, as Stanton dropped one into the left field corner for a double. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined out to Betts in right field for the second out, Anthony Volpe lined one to left field, and Stanton was sent from second to try to score, but Teoscar Hernandez fired a strike to nail him at the plate for the third out.
Buehler stayed on and retired the Yankees in order in the fifth inning to end his night. The right-hander's final line was: 5 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts.
In the sixth, with Jake Cousins on in relief for the Yankees, Gavin Lux was hit by a pitch, stole second, and came in to score on a single by Enrique Hernandez.
The Dodgers now had a 4-0 lead to begin their bullpen relay, which started with Brusdar Graterol. He was tasked with the top of the Yankee order, and he issued a one-out walk to Soto before Judge grounded into a force out and Stanton singled. He was lifted for the left-hander Alex Vesia for Chisholm, and he got him to ground into a force out at second base.
It got pretty wild in the bottom of the seventh when Anthony Banda struck out Gleyber Torres with a pitch at the top of the strike zone. The Yankee griping over the strike zone continued into the eighth when Chisholm was up with two outs and openly jawing with the home plate umpire before he was struck out by Ryan Brasier to end that frame. The irony of that inning was that Brasier got Soto to line out to left, walked Judge, and struck out Stanton, the reverse of how it has gone for those three throughout this series.
Michael Kopech came on for LA in the bottom of the ninth, and he struck out Volpe before walking Anthony Rizzo, and he then got Austin Wells to pop out to first base.
The Yankees were one out away from suffering their first shutout in the World Series since Game 6 in 2003, when Josh Beckett went the distance to clinch the series for the Florida Marlins. Even though that was 21 calendar years ago, it was only nine World Series games ago.
Alex Verdugo ended that possibility as he launched one to right field that went into the second row for a two-run shot.
That suddenly forced the lineup to turn over, and Torres hit a slow roller up the middle. Shortstop Tommy Edman spun around and fired to first to nab Torres with ease.
The Yankees will be sending rookie Luis Gil to the mound for Game 4 on Tuesday night, but you have to wonder if they will turn to their ace, Gerrit Cole, on short rest, in hopes of extending the Series.
For the Dodgers, it will be a bullpen game, and one can imagine that offense will be more than ready to back them up.
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