It was a Game 5 for the ages. The New York Yankees seemed like they were going to head back to Los Angeles for a Game 6. Going into the bottom of the fifth, Gerrit Cole was on cruise control as New York held a 5-0 lead. Then everything fell apart. Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe committed errors, Cole didn’t cover first base on a grounder, and the Dodgers scored five unearned runs to tie the game. The Yankees went up 6-5 in the sixth, but New York’s bullpen couldn’t hold onto the lead. The Dodgers scored two runs in the top of the eighth to go ahead and cap off a 7-6 win to take home the World Series championship.
Here are eight takeaways from historic Game 5.
Freddie Freeman will forever be a Los Angeles Dodgers legend
Freddie Freeman might go into the Hall of Fame as an Atlanta Brave, but he will forever be a Los Angeles Dodgers legend. Freeman hit four home runs in the first four games of the World Series, including an extra-inning walk-off grand slam in Game 1. He didn’t homer in Game 5, but he was still a menace at the plate, hitting a two-run single in the Dodgers’ five-run fifth inning. He set a Dodgers’ postseason record with 12 RBI in the series and captured the World Series MVP.
Too little, too late for New Yankees’ Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge‘s bat finally showed some signs of life in Game 5. In the first inning, the likely AL MVP got the Yankees’ offense going, hitting a two-run bomb off starter Jack Flaherty. He made a great leap at the wall to snag an extra-base hit away from Freddie Freeman in the fourth inning, but made a disastrous error in the fifth that helped ignite a five-run inning for the Dodgers. He also hit a one-out double in the top of the eighth, but it was too little, too late. Judge batted just .184 in the World Series as his postseason struggles will continue to haunt him until he wins a championship.
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Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen hangs on by thread
The Dodgers’ bullpen was running on fumes in Game 5 but managed to hold on following Jack Flaherty’s ugly start. The bullpen went 7⅔ innings and worked around trouble. Seven pitchers combined to allow eight walks and four hits, but New York’s offense managed to put just two runs across the plate in that time. More importantly, the bullpen gave the Dodgers’ offense a chance to pull off an incredible comeback that capped their World Series run. Walker Buehler came back on one day’s rest and closed the door in the ninth.
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New York Yankees’ fifth inning nightmare proves costly
It was an inning from hell for the Yankees — one that will be remembered in infamy. Up 5-0, the Yankees committed two errors, and Gerrit Cole didn’t cover first base on a ground ball that would’ve ended the inning. Since the Yankees gave the Dodgers six outs, LA battled back by sending ten batters to the plate, tying the game 5-5, as they went on to win 7-6 and capture the World Series. All five unearned runs came with two outs.
Los Angeles Dodgers make history — both good and bad
The Dodgers made history in Game 5—at the plate and on the mound. Los Angeles completed the largest comeback win in an elimination game, coming back from a five-run deficit in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5. The Dodgers would go on to win 7-6.
On the other side, it’s not the history Jack Flaherty wanted to make. According to Opta STATS, the Dodgers pitcher became the first starter in World Series history to give up at least four runs and two home runs in fewer than two innings pitched. Flaherty gave up back-to-back home runs in the first inning to Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm. He went just 1⅓ innings, giving up four runs on four hits and one walk.
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New York Yankees bullpen falters at worst possible time
The New York Yankees bullpen couldn’t hold a 6-5 lead, and it cost them the World Series. After starter Gerrit Cole was pulled from the game with one out in the seventh, the relievers were unable to get the job done. In the eighth, Tommy Kahnle loaded the bases and didn’t record an out, giving up two hits and a walk, as two runs ended up scoring. Fans and analysts will be questioning Aaron Boone’s bullpen management this World Series throughout the entire offseason.
Shohei Ohtani is finally a World Series champion
He was plagued by a partially dislocated shoulder and didn’t hit like his MVP self, but after seven seasons, Shohei Ohtani—the best player on the planet—is finally a World Series champion. He toiled away with the Los Angeles Angels for the first six seasons of his career, despite putting up record numbers on the mound and at the plate. He signed the largest contract in professional sports history with the Dodgers and became the first 50-home-run, 50-stolen-base player in MLB history. Ohtani is simply incredible, and we will forever be grateful we watched this man play baseball.
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Is this the last we see Juan Soto with the New York Yankees?
Not only did the New York Yankees lose the World Series, now they have to deal with the possibility that Juan Soto will depart in free agency. The Yankees landed Soto in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres in the offseason. All Soto did for the Yankees was slash .288/.419/.569, hit 41 home runs, knock in 109, score 128, and accumulate a 7.9 WAR. Will owner Hal Steinbrenner pony up the $600 million it will most likely cost to retain Soto’s services? Or will Soto head over to Queens and play for the New York Mets? Yankees fans will be on pins and needles until Soto signs.