World game
An equally formidable offense looms on the other side, as Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts barrel the Dodgers into the World Series for the first time since 2020. Ohtani, playing in his first postseason, reached base 17 times in the NLCS, setting a new franchise record https://fotomodellek.com/cyberpunk-2077-nexus/. Betts, who entered the playoffs battling October demons, has swatted four home runs.
• The Dodgers and Yankees had a World Series preview June 7-9 at Yankee Stadium, with Los Angeles winning two of the three games. Teoscar Hernández had a go-ahead, two-run double in the 11th inning of the first game, a 2-1 Dodgers win, then hit two homers in an 11-3 rout the next night. The Yanks salvaged the finale with a 6-4 win, powered by Trent Grisham’s three-run homer off Tyler Glasnow.
The Yankees, however, did their part in Cleveland with help from slugger Juan Soto — acquired in a monumental seven-player preseason trade with the Padres — who hit a go-ahead 3-run shot off rookie Hunter Gaddis to break a 2-2 deadlock in the top of the 10th. The home run would send New York to its 41st Championship series in five games, seeking the franchise’s first title since 2009 and 27th overall.
Game 1 world series
Amen to that. To live up to a working week’s worth of hype is no small feat. But the Dodgers and Yankees — the No. 1 seeds in the National and American Leagues who are clashing in the Fall Classic for the first time in 43 years — played a Game 1 very much worth the wait.
“This last week has been really good for me,” Freeman said. “The first time I ran was when I ran out to give high fives to my teammates when we got introduced. Tried to stave off running as much as I could this week, treated it as much as I could.”
The Dodgers first baseman hit a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning to cap off a dramatic game. The Yankees had taken the lead in the top of the 10th, 3-2, but Freeman came through with a 423-foot monster of a home run to give his team a 6-3 victory and a 1-0 lead in the World Series.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s three stolen bases tied the World Series record, with 2016 Game 5 Rajai Davis (Cleveland), 2008 Game 3 B.J. Upton (Rays), 1968 Game 3 Lou Brock (Cardinals), 1967 Game 7 Brock, 1965 Game 5 Willie Davis (Dodgers) and 1909 Game 3 Honus Wagner (Pirates). Two of Chisholm’s steals came in the 10th inning, making him the second player with multiple stolen bases in a World Series extra inning, along with the Cubs’ Jimmy Slagle in 1907 Game 1.
And in the end, the Dodgers came out with a magical opening act in which Freeman gave off those Gibby goosebumps — almost to the minute (Gibson’s homer had landed at 8:38 p.m. local time, Freeman’s cleared the wall at 8:39).
World series game
“He had a little left shoulder subluxation,” Roberts said postgame. “We’re going to get some tests at some point tonight or tomorrow and we’ll know more in the next couple of days. But the strength was great, the range of motion good, so we’re encouraged.”
Seager won his first of two World Series MVPs by slashing .400/.556/.700 for the Dodgers against the Rays. After already capturing the NLCS MVP trophy, Seager scored seven runs, hit two homers and had five RBIs in the World Series. Seager won another World Series MVP last season with the Texas Rangers.
Yankees: All year, right through the American League Championship Series, the Yankees masked a propensity for sloppiness with overwhelming talent. They were the worst baserunning team in the majors during the regular season. They regularly committed defensive miscues. They were not as fundamentally sound as one would expect for a team this good. But the Yankees boasted superstars. They banged home runs. They out-talented teams.
The two teams have faced each other in 11 World Series, more than any other teams. When the Dodgers were Brooklyn-based, the Yankees had a commanding 6-1 edge in World Series matchups. Since the Dodgers moved to Hollywood in the late 50s, the teams are even at two a piece. They last met in 1981.
It’s fitting that the only Dodgers championship clinched at home was the first World Series ever played at Dodger Stadium. Sandy Koufax struck out 15 to beat Whitey Ford in Game 1, and the two had a rematch in Game 4 with Koufax pitching a complete game for a 2-1 Dodgers victory.
What also tracks: Three of the 10 most influential plays tonight, by win probability change, began with the baseball in Kahnle’s right hand. Kiké Hernández’s leadoff single stung (8.8 percent change). Tommy Edman’s infield single seriously hurt (12.1 percent). And walking Will Smith on four pitches (16.6 percent), well, that was basically ballgame.