Dodgers move 1 game away from Yankees sweep & first World Series title since 2020
The New York Yankees find themselves at the end of the rope as the LA Dodgers take a 3-0 lead in the World Series after winning Game 3, 4-2. It seems their 15-year drought won't be over anytime soon, with them scheduled to face an elimination game on Tuesday.
Despite Shohei Ohtani playing through a left shoulder injury, Clarke Schmidt walked him to start the ball game. After retiring Mookie Betts, the Yankees starter was taken for a yard as Freddie Freeman dispatched a two-run home run in the right field to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Dodgers starter Walker Buehler held up despite seeing traffic on bases. He continuously put blanks on the bottom part of innings while the Dodgers offense continued to translate hits and walks into runs.
In the top of the third, Aaron Boone decided to move on from Schmidt but even the reliever allowed an RBI single to Mookie Betts, which gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Another run came in the sixth inning; this time Kike Hernandez drove in Gavin Lux to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead.
On the other hand, Dodgers pitchers including Walker Buehler (5.0 innings), Brusader Graterol (0.2), Alex Vesia (0.1), Daniel Hudson (0.2), Anthony Banda (0.1), and Ryan Brasier (1.0) put nothing but blanks on the scorecard.
The Yankees did disturb the scorecard in the ninth inning, when Alex Verdugo slammed a two-run home run off Michael Kopech. However, it came too late for the Yankees, as the Dodgers take a 3-0 lead after getting the final out of Gleyber Torres.
Dodgers' Freddie Freeman doesn't delve too much about anything but World Series
Freddie Freeman hit his fifth straight home run, tying George Springer's all-time record of five consecutive home runs in World Series games. However, when asked to him about it after the game, the first baseman was more concerned getting the job done.
"I mean, I guess when it's all said and done, I can look at that," Freeman said. "But the most important thing is what you said, one more win. That's all I care about right now. I don't care how it happens. I just want to get one more win."
The third straight loss puts the Yankees at risk of being swept in the series. If the Dodgers do sweep them on Tuesday, it'll only be the fourth time in Yankees history that they get swept in the World Series.