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3 problems as they try to avoid the Dodgers winning the World Series

Posted on by Vanessa
3 problems as they try to avoid the Dodgers winning the World Series

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NEW YORK – There was no hiding the discomfort for Shohei Ohtani.

After suffering a left shoulder subluxation in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night, the Dodgers superstar somehow found himself in the team's lineup for Game 3 on Monday.

The superstar and presumptive MVP appeared at the pregame introduction with a bandage on his left arm. He grimaced during some swings and kept his arm in the sling position after reaching base on a walk in the first inning.

It looked like the Yankees had clearly jeopardized their start with the star, but the Dodgers seemed no worse for wear. They capitalized on their early opportunities while the Yankees' offense remained neutral in a 4-2 loss in Game 3 of the World Series before 49,368 fans at Yankee Stadium.

In the process, the Yankees fell into a huge 0-3 hole in the World Series. Only one team in major league history – the 2004 Boston Red Sox – has come back from three down to win a best-of-seven series.

“We’re trying to get a game. That’s our focus,” Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully we can make this great story and shock the world, but right now it's about getting a lead, getting a game and forcing another and then it goes from there. But we have to secure one first.”

The Dodgers have a chance to secure their eighth World Series title in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday at 8:08 p.m. The Yankees will try to avoid being defeated for the fourth straight time when they are already three games behind in the World Series.

To make this mission a reality, the Yankees must overcome these three looming obstacles.

Aaron Judge and the Yankees' offense aren't quite right

Fans at Yankee Stadium greeted Aaron Judge with a rousing ovation before his first at-bat, even in the midst of his ongoing postseason swoon.

Judge couldn't back up that enthusiasm in Game 3. He struck out Walker Buehler in the first inning and ended the game 0-3 with a walk in the eighth inning. In the World Series, Judge is 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts, putting his postseason average at .140 with six hits in 12 games.

“You want to get the hits, you want to go out there and do your job,” Judge said. “I’m not doing my job right now, so I have to get back to it.”

Judge isn't the only member of the Yankees struggling. After Monday night's loss, they survived a total of seven runs on 19 hits. Alex Verdugo's two-run home run in the ninth inning ended a hopeless evening at the plate that saw six different players hitless in two or more at-bats each.

Through three World Series games, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto and Jazz Chisholm are the only Yankees players with three or more hits.

“When we don't score, we put a lot of pressure on our pitchers to be perfect against a really good Dodgers lineup,” Verdugo said. “We need to go out there and set a bit of a precedent. Get a few hits, get a few runs and let Luis (Gil) kind of relax out there and attack the zone.”

The Yankees' starters have put a lot of pressure on the bullpen

After the Yankees failed to capitalize on six innings of one-run ball from Gerrit Cole in Game 1, the Yankees' next two starts from Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt left much to be desired.

In Game 2, Rodon gave up four earned runs on six hits, including three home runs, in 3⅓ innings. On Monday, Schmidt was retired after loading the bases in the third inning and went 2⅔ innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits, including a two-run home run in the first inning against Freddie Freeman and four walks.

“Against this team, especially us, if you’re not in the strike zone, they’re not going to come after you,” Boone said. “I think (Schmidt) had a little bit of a hard time getting his bearings a little bit. He made a few throws after the two-run home run to at least limit the damage, but it was difficult to find the next level of leadership for him tonight.”

Boone used seven separate relievers to cover the final 6⅓ innings of Game 3. Mark Leiter Jr., Jake Cousins ​​​​and Tim Hill all threw at least 17 pitches on Monday. Cousins ​​and Clay Holmes have each pitched three times in the last four days. The Yankees' bullpen is a strength, but they will be under pressure to get the team back to Los Angeles.

“Tonight we’re not stringing the hits together on all sides of the ball, we’re not putting the zeros when we need to score zeros,” Schmidt said. “It’s just hard to play when you’re behind all the time.”

Now the Yankees' fate rests on the shoulders of Luis Gil, who has made just one postseason start in his career after posting a 4.38 ERA over the final two months of the regular season.

Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers receive contributions from all sides

While Ohtani went 1-for-11 in his first World Series appearance, the Dodgers have received contributions throughout their lineup.

Most notably, Freeman hit his third home run of the World Series on Monday to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead, astonishing the Yankee Stadium crowd.

Freeman, who is dealing with an ankle sprain, has now hit a home run in five straight World Series games, dating back to his previous successful run with the Braves in 2021, hitting his first walk-off grandstand in Game 1. Slam included in World Series history.

“I think the couple of days after the championship series certainly did him good and helped him, especially probably in the batter's box,” Boone said. “He's coming out of the swings that you normally see from Freddie, where maybe that didn't happen in the previous rounds because of the injury.”

Compared to the Yankees, the Dodgers have five different players with at least three hits in the series. And they landed the big hits.

In Game 2, Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez broke a 1-1 tie with consecutive home runs. On Monday, Kiké Hernandez went 2-for-4 with an RBI single that extended the Dodgers' lead to 4-0.

Mookie Betts remains a threat in the lineup behind Ohtani. Betts added a run-scoring hit in the third inning to defeat Tommy Edman, who put together a dominant NLCS in which he scored 11 runs and won MVP honors. Edman has four more hits in the World Series so far.

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