by Cary Osborne
Eleven days ago, the Dodgers had their first opportunity to win the National League Championship Series in New York.
It ended up being a loss to the Mets in Game 5 where Brent Honeywell Jr. stepped in from the bullpen to eat up 4 2/3 innings giving the Dodgers the life to fight another day. And that another day ended with the Dodgers winning the National League Championship in Game 6.
The Dodgers were going for it on Tuesday, intent on sweeping the Yankees and winning the World Series.
But one misfire — a Daniel Hudson slider to Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe — was deposited into the bleachers at Yankee Stadium in the third inning for a grand slam to give the Yankees a three-run lead.
Though the Dodgers chipped away early, the grand slam was just enough to keep the Dodgers at arm’s length.
The Dodgers lost 11–4 after the Yankees added five runs in the eighth inning. The Yankees have forced a Game 5 on Wednesday with the Dodgers now leading the series 3–1.
Yes, Gerrit Cole is starting for the Yankees, and the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner was excellent in Game 1 of this World Series.
But the Dodgers are also in a good spot pitching-wise.
They received four innings from rookie Landon Knack in Game 4. He allowed one run — a sixth-inning solo home run to catcher Austin Wells.
Knack’s ability to keep the game close and eat innings meant the Dodgers stayed away from Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol and Anthony Banda. Ryan Brasier warmed up but never came into the game.
The Dodgers now have the ability to ride starter Jack Flaherty as long as they want and matchup with the Yankees with their high-leverage arms.
“As far as outcomes, to have six guys in your pen that are feeling good, rested, I feel good about that. And being up 3–1,” said manager Dave Roberts.
The Cole part, though, is a daunting task, especially considering how the Dodger offense has performed in this series.
Freddie Freeman has driven in 10 of the Dodgers’ 18 runs in this series.
He drove in three on Tuesday, starting things off with his fourth homer in as many games in this World Series. That ties Houston’s George Springer’s single World Series home run-record streak of four games set in 2017. Freeman set a World Series record with his sixth straight World Series game with a home run, which dates back to 2021 with Atlanta.
https://medium.com/media/170e0a88a40c82944d0ed243f23b9069/href
Freeman’s two-run blast in the first inning mirrored his two-run home run in the first inning of Game 3 and seemingly gave the Dodgers the early momentum.
He also legged out a grounder to prevent a double play in the fifth inning to drive in a run. Will Smith also homered in the inning, which cut the lead to 5–4 at the time.
The Dodgers, though, were 0 for their last 15.
Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman are batting combined .305 (18-for-59) in the World Series. The rest of the team is batting .119 (8-for-67).
“I do think that at-bat-wise, I think we could have done some things to get in their pen a little bit earlier,” Roberts said of Game 4. “Again, at the end of the day, we’re still in a pretty good spot, and we feel good. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
World Series: Dodgers don’t sweep, but are loaded up for Game 5 was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.