NEW YORK, USA – The Los Angeles Dodgers mounted a comeback for the ages to beat the New York Yankees, 7-6, in Game 5 on Wednesday, October 30 (Thursday, October 31, Manila time) and win their first World Series since 2020.
The Dodgers trailed 5-0 in the fifth inning and were down a run in the eighth before a sacrifice fly from All-Star Mookie Betts capped the biggest comeback win in a clinching game in World Series history.
“I definitely didn’t plan it out this way,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Certainly a lot of emotions from the way it started to certainly the way it finished. Certainly all the momentum was on the side of the Yankees.”
New York had hoped to become the first team to force a Game 6 after trailing 0-3 in a World Series but fell flat in their first trip to the Fall Classic in 15 years.
The Dodgers found themselves on the back foot almost immediately as slugger Aaron Judge delivered a two-run homer in the first inning and third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. sent another one over the wall immediately after.
FULL FINAL INNING: The @Dodgers win the 2024 #WorldSeries! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/UpMPyFA02e
— MLB (@MLB) October 31, 2024
Alex Verdugo added an RBI and Giancarlo Stanton homered to give the hosts a 5-0 lead but the New York defense unraveled from there with an untended first base allowing Betts to bat in the Dodgers’ first run.
Yankee Stadium fell into a grim silence as Freddie Freeman’s single sent two of his teammates home and Teoscar Hernandez doubled to level the game.
Stanton’s sacrifice fly saw the Yankees retake the lead in the sixth inning but that was wiped out by second baseman Gavin Luxs’ sacrifice fly and an RBI from Betts in the eighth.
The showdown between two marquee franchises had been a boon for Major League Baseball, with Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani driving record TV ratings in his native Japan.
Postseason demons
Ohtani, who this year became the first player to hit 50 homers and have 50 stolen bases in a single season, played despite suffering a shoulder injury in Game 2.
“We were able to get through the regular season, I think, because of the strength of this team, this organization,” he said.
It was also a chance for the Dodgers to exorcise some of their postseason demons. They had won 100 or more games in each of the three seasons following their 2020 World Series win but walked away empty handed each time.
#WorldSeries champs from every angle!@Dodgers pic.twitter.com/Hx3xLkM5at
— MLB (@MLB) October 31, 2024
Reaching the postseason for a 12th consecutive time, the path to the Commissioner’s Trophy did not seem so clear this time around either, despite having an MLB-best 98 wins and 64 losses this season.
Freeman struggled with a right ankle injury suffered late last month, their starting rotation was rocked by injuries, and Roberts was forced to go to a bullpen game in their disastrous 11-4 Game Four defeat.
“It wasn’t easy, but our guys fought and played every day the right way, played to win,” said Roberts.
“There was a lot of back filling on talent because of injury, a lot of young players cut their teeth, which is good. But one thing is that we just kept going. Even in the postseason, I don’t think anyone had us picked.
“I don’t think they had us picked to get out of the first series.”
MVP Freeman caps difficult season
Freeman was named the Most Valuable Player of a star-studded World Series on Wednesday in a storybook ending to what has been a challenging season both on and off the field for the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman.
“It seems like we hit every speed bump possible over the course of this year,” he told reporters. “And to overcome what we did as a group of guys, it’s special.”
The 35-year-old hit home runs in each of the first four games of the series, which the Dodgers won 4-1 over the New York Yankees, including a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 — the first in World Series history.
He finished the best-of-seven Fall Classic with 12 RBI and a .300 batting average and delivered a two-run single as part of a five-run fifth inning on Wednesday to help the Dodgers storm from behind to win Game 5.
It was the largest comeback ever in a World Series clincher, surpassing the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates overcoming a four-run deficit in Game 7 against the Washington Senators.
“This is everything,” he said after receiving the MVP and World Series trophies.
“I wouldn’t be here without the support of everybody in these shirts tonight. It has been a grind these last three months but this organization and my family, this is what it’s all about right here.”
In July, Freeman’s son Max was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological condition that left him temporarily paralyzed and on a respirator. Max is expected to make a full recovery.
Freeman then fractured his right middle finger while fielding a ground ball the following month, and in the final week of the regular season he suffered a right ankle sprain that forced him to miss postseason games.
Prior to his Game 1 grand slam, he had not hit a home run since September 16 and his availability for the World Series was in question as his swollen ankle required hours of treatment daily.
Freeman, the only player to homer in six consecutive World Series games after hitting home runs in the final two games of the 2021 World Series as a member of the Atlanta Braves, credited his teammates for his offensive explosion.
“Twelve RBI means there were a lot of my teammates on base,” he said.
“Heck of a job by everyone in this series. I’m glad I was able to get hot at the right time.”
Comeback
It looked like the Dodgers would have to pack the champagne for the trip back to the West Coast when the Yankees took a 5-0 lead on Wednesday but miscues in the fifth inning opened the door to the visitors.
“We were all saying it the first three innings, just get one, just chip away at it, we can do this,” Freeman said.
“Once there are a couple mistakes that happen, you have to capitalize. They gave us some extra outs and we were able to do that.”
The Southern California native said he had learned a lot about himself through his trials this year.
“I wish I’d never had to go through what we did as a family,” he said.
“But ultimately Maximus is doing really, really well right now. He’s a special boy, but it has been a grind for three months.
“Then obviously with the injuries at the end, it makes it all worth it in the end. I’ll never compare Maximus to baseball. It’s just two separate things, but with him doing really well now, it does mean a little bit extra.” – Rappler.com