New York Yankees Blow 5-Run Lead As Los Angeles Dodgers Clinch World Series Win

Source: Daniel Shirey / Getty

The New York Yankees’ possibility of pulling off a rare 0-3 return in the 2024 World Series has gone up in smoke in The Bronx.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the franchise’s eighth championship, but it didn’t come without a few nail-biting moments during the contest.

It looked like the Yankees could pull off a Game 5 win after Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning.

Plus, an RBI single from Alex Verdugo and a third-inning homer from Giancarlo Stanton had built the pinstripes lead to 5-0.

But that’s where the Yankees’ momentum began to turn thanks to some defensive lapses starting in the fifth inning when Judge missed an easy outfield play, followed by Anthony Volpe deciding to oddly toss it to the lead runner at third instead of keeping it at first.

It set the Dodgers up for loaded bases as they all poured in for runs.

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Matched with Gerrit Cole’s mistake atop the mound when Dodger Mookie Betts hit it softly to first, Cole didn’t cover it, and suddenly, the Dodgers started to play more intensely.

It continued when Freddie Freeman—later named series MVP—set up a two-run single, and Teoscar Hernandez popped a two-run double, and suddenly, the game was tied.

“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.”

Aside from the Yankees’ meltdown midgame, one of the biggest struggles was Aaron Judge’s inability to get hot until he popped out of his slump this game. But even he acknowledged that his earlier slip played a part in the downfall that saw Los Angeles win 7-6.

“You can’t give a good team like that extra outs,” Judge said afterward. “It starts with me there on the line drive coming in. I misplayed that. So that doesn’t happen, then I think we’ve got a different story tonight.”

See how social media is reacting to the near-thrilling series below.