The Dodgers are champions. Los Angeles stormed again from a 5-0 deficit tonight (with some assist from the Yankees’ protection) for a 7-6 win to take it in 5 video games. No group had ever come again from 5 runs down in a World Sequence clincher. As anticipated, Freddie Freeman received the Sequence MVP award.
It’s their second title in 5 seasons. Whereas the pandemic restrictions restricted their celebration in 2020, they’ll get to host a parade this time. The Dodgers have been baseball’s finest group within the common season, main MLB with 98 wins whereas outscoring opponents by 179 runs. There have been nonetheless questions heading into October about whether or not a pitching workers battered by accidents might maintain up.
The run to a championship wasn’t with out adversity. L.A. discovered itself getting ready to elimination in its Division Sequence in opposition to the Padres. San Diego took a 2-1 collection lead. The Friars had two probabilities to shut it out, however Dodger pitching blanked them in consecutive video games to advance. That was their solely brush with elimination. Los Angeles took a 3-1 lead within the NL Championship Sequence in opposition to the Mets earlier than closing it out in six.
They obtained out to a fair higher begin to the World Sequence. Freeman’s two-out, walk-off grand slam off Nestor Cortes pulled them to a Sport 1 victory. They survived a ninth-inning scare in Sport 2 to take a 2-0 result in the Bronx. Los Angeles took Sport 3 in a 4-2 win that wasn’t as shut because the rating prompt. The stranglehold on the collection gave them three extra clinching probabilities after Tuesday’s blowout loss.
For some time, it seemed like tonight can be one other straightforward defeat. An early offensive barrage from the Yankees knocked Jack Flaherty out of the sport within the second inning. The Sequence seemed to be headed again to L.A. till a defensive collapse by the Yanks within the fifth inning. Errors by Aaron Choose and Anthony Volpe helped load the bases earlier than a essential two-out miscommunication between Anthony Rizzo and Gerrit Cole that prolonged the inning. Hits by Freeman and Teoscar Hernández plated 4 extra runs to tie it.
Whereas the Yankees pulled again in entrance with a 6-5 lead, the Dodgers would take management within the eighth inning. The underside half of the L.A. order loaded the bases in opposition to Tommy Kahnle. Sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts put them in entrance. Blake Treinen navigated a tough backside half of the eighth. After churning via their high-leverage bullpen arms, Dave Roberts turned to Walker Buehler for the ninth. Buehler simply set down the underside third of the Yankee order, securing the title with consecutive punchouts of Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo.
Freeman homered in every of the primary 4 video games. Whereas he didn’t lengthen that streak tonight, his two-run single within the fifth was pivotal. He wins his second championship, whereas Betts and injured reliever Joe Kelly be part of Royals’ reliever Will Smith as lively gamers with three titles (h/t to Matt Eddy of Baseball America). Among the many first-time champions: Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández*, Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and NLCS MVP Tommy Edman.
It’s the eighth title in franchise historical past, the Dodgers’ first in a full season since 1988. The group pulls even with the Giants for fifth on the all-time leaderboard. They’re now one away from the A’s and Crimson Sox, who’re tied for third with 9 rings apiece. The Yankees stay on 27 championships for no less than one other season, whereas the Cardinals are in second with 11 titles.
* Hernández was on the 2017 Astros however was traded midseason.
Picture courtesy of Imagn.