The Los Angeles Dodgers are on track to win their second World Series in five years after defeating the New York Yankees 4-2 in Game 3. They currently have a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series after this victory at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers were superior in both hitting and pitching, and the Yankees were unable to establish a rhythm despite having home-field advantage. Los Angeles took an early advantage and maintained it for the duration of the match.
Alex Verdugo’s two-run homer in the ninth inning, with the Yankees behind 4-0 and facing their final batter, gave them a fleeting chance of a comeback. But the rally was a failure.
The Dodgers got ahead 2-0 when Freddie Freeman hit his third home run of the series and Shohei Ohtani, who was battling with a shoulder issue from Game 2, drew a leadoff walk.
The Yankees pulled starting Clarke Schmidt before the third inning ended after Mookie Betts singled in Tommy Edman to make it 3-0.
Giancarlo Stanton’s double in the fourth inning gave the Yankees their first hit, but their efforts failed to change the game’s flow, even though they were able to stop more runs in the next two innings.
Teoscar Hernandez in left field stopped a possible Yankees score by throwing out Stanton at the plate following a line drive from Anthony Volpe. It was a defensive highlight.
Walker Buehler, the Dodgers’ starter, pitched five shutout innings, then Gavin Lux, who was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a single by Enrique Hernandez, added a run in the sixth.
The Yankees struggled, as they had in the first two games in California, with Aaron Judge going hitless and little offensive success until Verdugo’s late homer.
Game 4 of the series will now take place in New York, where the Yankees must try to avoid a sweep. To avoid losing four games in a row, they need to win.
In the past, no club has ever won the World Series after falling behind 3-0. The Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Yankees in the American League Championship Series in 2004, are the only MLB club to have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series.
Game 4 is scheduled to take place in New York on Tuesday, October 29. Game 5 would take place at Yankee Stadium the next night if the Yankees prevailed and extended the series.
Games 6 and 7 would return to Los Angeles if the series went on, with corresponding dates of Friday, November 1, and Saturday, November 2. At 8:08 PM ET, all games begin.
