In the end, horrendous defense was what destroyed any chance the New York Yankees had of sending the World Series back to Los Angeles.
For four innings of Game 5 on Wednesday night, it looked very much like the Yankees were going to become the first team to force a sixth game of the Fall Classic after losing the first three games.
But then the fifth inning rolled around and elation turned into abject horror as the players wearing pinstripes totally forgot how to do the basics, like catching, throwing and knowing where to go in certain situations. And the fundamentally sound and relentless Dodgers took advantage, rallying to tie a game that the Yankees seemingly had well in hand.
“This is going to sting forever,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I’m heartbroken.”
To the Bombers’ credit, they did manage to grab the lead again in the sixth, but another defensive lapse cost them in what would end up a brutal 7-6 loss that gave the Dodgers their second world championship in five years and eighth overall, dating to when the franchise played in Brooklyn.
“This is a very difficult moment for us,” Boone said.
Horror-show of a fifth inning for the Yankees
The Yankees built a 5-0 lead through the first four frames and Yankee Stadium was electric, but they gave it all back in the fateful fifth, courtesy of atrocious defense that led to the Dodgers scoring five unearned runs.
After Kiké Hernández lined a single to right for the Dodgers’ first hit of the game, Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ superstar outfielder, simply dropped Tommy Edman’s routine fly to center, setting up first and second. It was a shocking error for a player of Judge’s caliber and a portent of things to come.
“We didn’t get the job done,” Judge said. “We made some mistakes along the way that hurt us.”
The Dodgers’ next hitter, Will Smith, hit a ground ball that Anthony Volpe fielded cleanly, but the Yankees’ shortstop chose to try to get the lead runner at third, which is always a risky play. His throw pulled Jazz Chisholm Jr. off the bag, setting up a bases-loaded, no-out situation.
New York starter Gerrit Cole responded by striking out Gavin Lux on a 99 mph fastball away and got Shohei Ohtani swinging on a knuckle curve. The veteran right-hander looked like he was going to get out of it when Mookie Betts hit a soft roller into the first base hole, but Cole inexplicably didn’t cover first.
The Dodgers smelled blood and quickly capitalized. Series MVP Freddie Freeman lined a two-run single to center and Teoscar Hernandez launched a two-run double off the left-center field wall and the game was tied.
Cole eventually escaped further harm, but the 38-pitch inning left its mark.
“You feel pretty confident with your ace up there and a five-run lead, but you know, that’s baseball, man,” Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo said. “They played the better baseball in this World Series.”
The Series was lost for good in the eighth
With the Yankees nursing a 6-5 lead in the eighth, normally reliable reliever Tommy Kahnle came on and had nothing, giving up singles to Hernández and Edman and walking Smith on four pitches. Boone was then left with no choice but to try to get six outs from Luke Weaver.
But the Yankees’ closer gave up a sacrifice fly to Gavin Lux, tying the game. It got worse from there as another defensive mistake bit New York. On the first pitch to Ohtani, which he fouled off, catcher Austin Wells was called for catcher’s interference. The Yankees challenged the call, but it was upheld. Ohtani was awarded first base, reloading the bases.
Betts followed with a sacrifice fly to center, putting the Dodgers ahead to stay.
Where do the Yankees go from here?
There will undoubtedly be some changes for the Bombers during the offseason, but as the miscues in Game 5 showed, they will need to get better in the field.
During the regular season, the Yankees were 25th in the majors in fielding percentage (.984). They made 113 errors, seventh most in baseball.
In the postseason, New York made nine errors in 14 games, including the three doozies on Wednesday night.
