NEW YORK (AP) — After that buildup, it’s been all Dodgers so far.
Freddie Freeman hit his third straight shutout, and Walker Buhler pitched another World Series gem as Los Angeles beat them. The collapse of the New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Fall Classic.
A despite playing with superstar Shohei Ohtani Left shoulder dislocation, The Dodgers moved within one win of a surprise victory in the most exciting matchup between traditional powers.
“Another victory. That’s what I’m taking care of right now,” Freeman said.
Teoscar Hernandez singled out a runner at home plate with a pinpoint peg to left field. Mookie Betts and Kike Hernandez each delivered an RBI single, and the Dodgers chased Yankees starter Clark Schmidt in the third inning.
Buehler and six relievers combined for Los Angeles to its second championship in five years and eighth in franchise history.
“Walker Buehler, he’s been making big games, big moments his whole career,” Freeman said. “Step up when you need him.”
Freeman’s two-run shot gave him one with three batters Home runs in five consecutive World Series games Dating to 2021 with Atlanta, he matched a major league record set by George Springer with Houston.
Still very healthy after a sprained right ankle this preseason, Freeman hit a dramatic opener in Los Angeles with the first game-ending grand slam in World Series history.
From then on, it was a one-sided fight.
Game 4 is Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. Down to three healthy starters, the Dodgers are planning a fourth bullpen game this postseason. Rookie right-hander Lewis Gill heads to New York.
The Boston Red Sox overcame a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series against the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series in major league history.
“Hopefully we can be this amazing story and shock the world,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. But we need to catch one first.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts helped spark that stunning Red Sox comeback with a key stolen base.
“Don’t talk about it. wrong boy Too soon,” he said. “I don’t want to divulge any secrets, but on the other hand, I think we need to focus and be urgent.”
Of the 11 previous World Series meetings between these old October rivals, the 1963 Dodgers tied behind Hall of Fame pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.
That’s the only time the Dodgers have taken a 3-0 lead in the World Series.
New York has not won a Fall Classic since 1976 by the Cincinnati Reds. But on all five occasions they trailed 3-0 in a seven-game postseason series, the Yankees lost in Game 4.
Los Angeles has won seven consecutive World Series games against the Yankees since its 1981 crown.
It was the first series played at Yankee Stadium since New York won its 27th title against Philadelphia in 2009. But returning home didn’t help Aaron Judge slide Non-punching Bronx BombersFour runs and nine hits in the last two games.
New York didn’t score until Alex Verdugo drove in a two-run home run off Michael Kopech in the ninth inning. Kopech retired Kleber Torres on a grounder to end it.
Buehler allowed two hits in five innings. His only previous win this year came on May 18 against Cincinnati in an injury-interrupted season.
The two-time All-Star improved to 4-4 in 18 career postseason starts, including a 2-0 record with a 0.50 ERA in three World Series. He has given up one run and seven hits with 22 strikeouts over 18 innings – Boston (2018), Tampa Bay (2020) and Game 3s against the Yankees.
“It’s weird. For me, I think the playoffs, the big games, that’s the only thing I really care about,” Buehler said. “I’ve been really bad all year. I think once you get to the playoffs, the adrenaline, whatever fear I had about my elbow or trying to throw a certain pitch or whatever, it’s all gone. It helped me think.
After the Yankees struggled at the plate during two losses in Los Angeles, Boone decided against any major changes to the lineup.
The New York players held a short meeting in the afternoon, and a recording of the late Yankees public address announcer Bob Shepard introduced five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter, who threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Fat Joe, a Bronx-born rapper, regaled the sellout crowd of 49,368 with a pregame performance in the infield.
But the Dodgers got off to a fast start.
Schmidt walked Ohtani on four pitches to start the game. One out later, Freeman sent a 1-2 cutter 355 feet into the bottom base in right field for his 13th career postseason homer.
He joins Yankees outfielder Hank Bauer (1958) and Giants slugger Barry Bonds (2002) as the only players to go deep in the first three games of a World Series.
“When you come into a road park, you want to strike out early and try to quiet the crowd, and we were able to do that in the first inning,” Freeman said.
Ohtani finished 0 for 3 with that walk and was grazed on the leg by a pitch. He grimaced after several swings and clutched his collar with his left hand even as he took a lead off first base to protect his ailing shoulder.
But he finished the game well.
“The pain has subsided, so I feel better about it,” Ohtani said through a translator. “They told me to wear a device that keeps my shoulder warm. So during the (pregame) ceremony and throughout the game, I wore what the coaches suggested. The reason I hold myself when I run is to make sure I don’t use the same shoulder if I slide.
No. 9 batter Tommy Edman scored on Betts’ bloop single after Schmidt drew a four-pitch walk from third. Kike Hernandez added an RBI single in the sixth.
Schmidt walked four over 2 2/3 innings in his third postseason start. He won his fifth straight decision on May 16 in Minnesota.
New York nailed a runner at home plate when Edman attempted a defensive squeeze in the fourth, but the Dodgers displayed some sensational defense to stop the Yankees’ momentum.
Betts made a diving grab into right field after Giancarlo Stanton doubled with one out in the fourth. Teoscar Hernandez threw out his teammates at 94 mph on Anthony Wolfe’s single, cutting Stanton to preserve a 3-0 cushion.
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Gill (15-7, 3.50 ERA) made a postseason start, allowing two runs over four innings with a no-decision in Game 4 of the ALCS in Cleveland.
He had won seven straight starts with a no-decision against the Dodgers on June 9 at Yankee Stadium, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings of New York’s 6-4 victory.
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