The Dodgers escorted the Mets back to New York in the NLCS round of the 2024 MLB playoffs, courtesy of Tommy Edman’s MVP performance. In Cleveland, the Yankees abandoned the Guardians after Juan Soto’s home run ball booked the team flight to the Fall Classic. The World Series matchup was officially set.
The Dodgers and Yankees’ twelve World Series match-ups are the most between any two teams in MLB. Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the Yankees are widely considered the two best players in professional baseball. The Dodgers and Yankees franchises have had some of the most successful runs in MLB history. Even before it began, fans around the world knew this World Series would be remembered for a long time.
In Game One, both starters, Gerrit Cole for the Yankees and Jack Flaherty for the Dodgers, dominated for the first half. Though each team had scoring opportunities in the early innings, the game stayed scoreless until the bottom of the 5th when Cole allowed a sacrifice fly that scored the Dodgers Kiké Hernández. Giancarlo Stanton returned the favor for the Yankees at the bottom of the inning with a sky-scraping home run that plated Juan Soto, giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the 8th, Mookie Betts sent a deep drive into center field that chased Aaron Judge back to the warning track, allowing Ohtani to easily score from third on a sacrifice fly, tying the game. In the top of the 9th, Gleyber Torres made a home run bid that would put the Yankees in front once again, but it was caught… by a fan. The fan interference awarded Torres second base. However, the Yankees stranded him at second, and after Luke Weaver retired the Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th, the game went to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, after Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled and stole second, Rizzo was intentionally walked to bring up Delbarton’s own Anthony Volpe. The Yankees shortstop hit a bouncing ball that eluded Tommy Edman and brought home Chisholm Jr. with the go-ahead run to make it 3-2 Yankees.
However, the Dodgers were not done yet. After Luke Weaver allowed a hit and a walk, Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in 37 days, induced a popout from Ohtani and intentionally walked Mookie Betts. Bases loaded. Two outs. Bottom of the tenth inning. Yankees 3 – Dodgers 2. This isn’t a hypothetical situation in a 10-year-old’s backyard baseball game; this is Game One of the World Series. In historic fashion, Freddie Freeman smashed Cortes’ first pitch deep to right center field for a walk-off grand slam that sent Dodgers fans home happy.
Miraculously, Freddie Freeman was not the first lefty to hit a walk-off home run in the first game of a World Series for the Dodgers while being injured. Kirk Gibson achieved this exact feat 36 years earlier in 1988 when he propelled the Dodgers to a game one victory of his own. Somehow, announcer Joe Davis recognized the similarity of the moment and called Freddie Freeman’s home run the same way Vin Scully did with Gibson’s. “She is… GONE! Gibby, meet Freddie!” he screamed.
The Dodgers carried their momentum into Game Two, where Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández’s home runs lifted the Dodgers to an early lead. Freddie Freeman added to his legacy with another home run to make it 4-1 Dodgers. Soto and Stanton’s hits prompted a short-lived comeback for the Yankees; they eventually lost 4-2.
Game Three marked a potential new beginning for the Yankees. The Bronx wasn’t too kind to them, however, as Freddie Freeman yet again blasted a home run to make it 2-0 Dodgers in the first inning. The Dodgers scored two more, and the score remained 4-0 until Alex Verdugo hit a two-run home run in the 9th to get the Yankees closer. Unfortunately for New York, Gleyber Torres grounded out to help the Yankees fall and trail in the series 3-0.
Game Four started in a predictable fashion: Freddie Freeman hit another home run to right field. His first-inning home run helped him attain the record for most World Series games in a row with a home run; that was his sixth dating back to his last World Series.
The Yankees responded this time, however, when Austin Wells’ double and Verdugo’s groundout plated Anthony Volpe to make it 2-1. With two outs and the bases loaded, Delbarton’s own Anthony Volpe sent a ball to deep left field for a grand slam to put the Yankees in front. Will Smith of the Dodgers responded with a home run of his own before the Yankees slipped away courtesy of Austin Well’s and Gleyber Torres’ home runs. The Yankees took Game Four by a score of 11-4.
In Game Five, the Yankees jumped to a quick start thanks to the bat of Aaron Judge, which had been a dormant volcano ready to erupt. Chisholm Jr. added to the Yankees lead to make it 3-0. Later, in the second inning, Verdugo’s single plated Anthony Volpe after his double to increase the Yankees lead further.
Giancarlo Stanton’s home run in the fourth inning made it seem that the Yankees had command over Game Five until the Dodgers responded in the top of the 5th. Kiké Hernández began the inning with a single. Next, Tommy Edman sent a routine liner to Aaron Judge in centerfield, and he somehow, inexplicably, dropped the ball. On the next play, Volpe’s throwing error allowed Hernández to reach third with no one out. With the bases loaded after two consecutive strikeouts, Gerrit Cole seemingly put the inning to sleep as he induced a weak ground ball from Mookie Betts. However, neither first-baseman Rizzo nor Cole covered first base, which allowed Betts to reach safely. This was all the Dodgers needed to wake up, as Freddie Freeman, of course, hit a two-RBI single to bring his team closer. Then, Teoscar Hernández’s double plated two more runs and tied the game.
After the Yankees finally escaped their tragic fifth inning, Stanton’s sacrifice fly mitigated a small percentage of the damage, putting the Yankees ahead by one. In the 8th inning, two consecutive sacrifice flies from the Dodgers put them ahead. After the Yankees spoiled opportunities in the home 8th inning, they were left with only three outs to play.
Unexpectedly, Walker Buehler, who was only on one day of rest, closed the game for the Dodgers. His dominant 9th inning deflated the Yankee Stadium atmosphere and turned it into the sounds of a funeral. That did it: the Los Angeles Dodgers are 2024 World Series Champions in five games.
