Yankees Squander Another One Late As Dodgers Take Two In LA

 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto. @Dodgers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, backed by a superb outing from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, beat the Yankees, 4-2, to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series.

Yamamoto went 6 1/3 innings, and allowed just one run on one hit and two walks, with four strikeouts. 

The only hit the Yankees got was Juan Soto's solo home run in the top of the third inning.

That tied the game at the time, after Tommy Edman gave the Dodgers the lead in the second when he crushed one to left field off Yankees starter Carlos Rodon.

Even though Soto tied it, the Edman homer was just the start of a tough night for Rodon, who can be a 50/50 in terms of what the Yankees get from him, as evidenced by how he got hit by the Royals in the Division Series, but shut down Cleveland in the League Championship Series.

Mookie Betts got a two-out single in the bottom of the third inning to bring up Teoscar Hernandez, who hit three home runs at Yankee Stadium when the teams met in June.

Hernandez brought back memories of those summer nights when he crushed one to right-center field for a two-run homer.

Then, Friday night's hero, Freddie Freeman, also crushed one deep to right, and suddenly the Dodgers were up, 4-1.

Rodon was pulled with one out in the fourth inning, and the Yankees' bullpen - Jake Cousins, Tim Hill, Clay Holmes and Mark Leiter Jr. - kept the deficit right there. They combined to allow just two hits (both given up by Cousins), one walk, and three strikeouts.

There was a scary moment for the Dodgers in the seventh, with Holmed on for the Yankees, when Shohei Ohtani, who drew a one-out walk, attempted a steal of second base, and was thrown out by catcher Austin Wells, but he stayed on the ground motionless holding his left arm. When he got up, with the help of a trainer, Ohtani was clutching it, sure to not put any weight on it. Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said after the game his range of motion was fine, so he called it a "positive" report.

Entering the ninth inning, with Los Angeles seemingly comfortably ahead 4-1, the Yankees' only hit was the Soto solo home run.

It would be Soto leading off against Blake Treinen, and he nearly had his second of the night, as he rocked one off the right field fence.

Aaron Judge was up next, and he struck out for the third time to cap an 0-for-4 night.

This Yankee era's Mr. October, Giancarlo Stanton, was up next, and he lined one off the third base bag, which caromed into left field to bring in Soto, who was at second base on a wild pitch, and cut the Dodgers' lead to 4-2.

Jaxx Chisholm Jr. then lined one to right field for a single, but Stanton was only able to get to second base.

Inexplicably, the Yankees did not see the chance they had here for a double steal if they sent in a pinch runner for Stanton, especially with Chisholm Jr. - who stole two bases in the tenth inning last night - at first.

Anthony Rizzo was up next, and he was hit by a pitch to load the bases. This was when they elected to send in Orlando Cabrera as a pinch runner.

Anthony Volpe was up next, and he gave the reeling Treinen a massive gift by flailing at his sweeper on the outside corner and striking out.

The Dodgers then elected to bring in the left-hander Alex Vesia, and the Yankees swapped out Austin Wells for a pinch-hitter, his fellow catcher, Jose Trevino.

On the first pitch he saw, Trevino appeared to tear into one, and judging by the way he left the batter's box, he thought he had it, but it was just a routine fly ball to center to end it.

As bad as the Yankees managed the tenth inning on Friday night, electing to use Nestor Cortes in relief, that's how mystifying the moves were here with when to employ a pinch-runner (should have been for Stanton) and who came in to pinch-hit (Cabrera should have done that instead).

The Yankees return home on Monday night for Game 3 looking to get back on track.