After the magical ending of Game One, the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the World Series. The Yankees would hope to slow that momentum down, while the Dodgers hoped to carry the energy into the second game of this series.
Game Summary
Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto faced off against Carlos Rodon to begin the ball game. Where both starters made it through the first inning unscathed. After a clean Dodgers top half of the inning, Tommy Edman struck first. Sending a solo home run over the fence in left field.
Yamamoto sent the first two Yankees he faced back to the dugout in the top of the third inning. However, the third batter was Juan Soto. Unfortunately, the Japanese superstar could not finish the inning without letting up a run on a solo shot from the Bronx Bombers. With a tied game heading into the bottom of the inning, Carlos Rodon hoped to keep the Dodgers at bay and give his bats a chance to get back into the game.
Teoscar Hernandez had differing plans after Mookie Betts got on first with a single. The free agency acquisition sent his third home run of the playoffs into deep right field and gave the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. Los Angeles was not done, though, with the game one hero Freddie Freeman sending a deep ball to the same spot as Hernandez to increase the lead to three heading into the fourth.
The rest of the game was quiet. With almost every inning lasting three batters. It was only at the bottom of the seventh where things would get interesting, but not in a good way. Megastar Shohei Ohtani tried stealing second after earning a walk. It was on this stolen base attempt he seemed to land hard on his arm and injure himself.
He was walked off by trainers and did not return to the game. The Japanese broadcast picked up the conversation overheard on the field, where Ohtani was heard mentioning his shoulder popping out. This is a massive blow to the Dodger’s firepower, but hopefully, the shoulder injury does not keep the slugger out of the rest of the World Series.
After six innings of no sign of life, the Yankees decided to start playing meaningful baseball heading into the ninth. Juan Soto would hit a single to right center field to start the rally. Following the single, Blake Trennien threw a wild pitch that would advance Soto into scoring position. Giancarlo Stanton approached the plate, hit a single that bounced off third base and flew into left field. This bounce was enough for Soto to score from second.
Trennien struggled with his command after, giving up a 3-2 count to Jazz Chisholm, who singled to right field and hit Anthony Rizzo to load the bases. With the bases loaded and one out, Anthony Volpe had an opportunity to get Freddie Freeman back, but he struck out on a slider in the other batters’ box. Then, Alex Vesia would replace Trennien on the mound and retire Jose Trevino to give the Dodgers a 2-0 series lead.
Biggest Takeaways
Home Runs Run The World Series
Outside of one run scored in game two, every single one came off the end of a giant fly. This has been the story of the past few postseasons, with pitching being so good that the margin for error is so slight. When a sniper like Yamamoto takes the mound, he has a pitching arsenal to generate weaker contact. When Carlos Rodon, a strikeout pitcher, misses his spot more often with a more favorable pitch, it leads to innings like the third. New York needs a few Aaron Judge bombs with runners on base to get themselves going. With the strength of the pitching on the Dodgers side, that might be too much to ask for.
Dodgers Praying Ohtani Injury Isn’t Severe
The $700 million Shohei Ohtani is already recovering from surgery on his throwing arm, and to injure his non-throwing arm as well is a scary sight. Hopefully, the slugger can evade any serious damage, and we can see him suit up for game three in New York.
Give Freddie Freeman His World Series MVP Already
Freddie Freeman now has two home runs in two World Series games with the Dodgers. His was only a solo shot, but he now tallies a triple, two home runs, and five RBIs through two games played. Unless a huge shift happens and someone else gets hot, which could happen with the number of names involved, Freddie Freeman seems like a lock for the World Series MVP.
Aaron Judge Needs To Wake Up
Aaron Judge has gone one for eight in the World Series with six strikeouts, and that one hit was a single in Game One. If the New York Yankees want any chance of survival, they will need Aaron Judge to tap into his regular-season self and put a few runs on the board. The Yankees won’t beat the Dodgers if their big bats cannot get going soon.
Series Overview
The Dodgers now put the Yankees in a must-win scenario going back to New York. You can seal your fate by going down 3-0 to a team like the Dodgers. The Yankees need to succeed now, or they can kiss their chance at the 28th title in franchise history goodbye.
Stay locked on Area 51 as we continue to follow this wild World Series.
