Through four innings, the New York Yankees led 5-0 and seemed destined for Game 6. Home runs from Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Giancarlo Stanton fueled a desperate Bronx crowd.
Five unearned runs in the fifth inning later, it all fell apart. Aaron Judge missed an easy catch in center field. Anthony Volpe botched a throw to third on an attempted force. Worst of all, Gerrit Cole forgot to cover first base on a grounder to Anthony Rizzo.
Stanton’s sac fly in the sixth gave the Yankees a run back, but it wasn’t enough. Neither Tommy Kahnle nor Luke Weaver had good command in the eighth inning. Sacrifice flies from Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 7-6 lead that held strong.
Walker Buehler worked the ninth inning—two days after starting Game 3—to give the Dodgers their eighth World Series championship.
Freddie Freeman, who had four home runs in the series, was the runaway World Series MVP.
Thus begins yet another dramatic offseason for the Yankees. Re-signing Juan Soto will be general manager Brian Cashman’s first priority, but that won’t fix New York’s most glaring flaw. This team needs a full makeover in basic fundamentals from the top down, especially in the infield.
Some of that should improve both internally and automatically. Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo are gone in free agency. Chisholm is a natural second baseman who fields the position well, so he’ll just move there. Rookie Ben Rice is the likely first baseman, and third base is up for grabs assuming DJ LeMahieu is taken out to pasture.
Even so, there needs to be some accountability. Manager Aaron Boone absolutely deserves a new contract, but maybe shake up the coaching staff. First base coach Travis Chapman is also the infield coach, so maybe move on from him and bring in a new face. Former infielder and current Staten Island Ferryhawks manager Homer Bush could be a good fit, among many other candidates.
The fans won’t admit it and WFAN will be a bloodbath, but you can’t look at this New York Yankees season and call it a failure. Juan Soto was acquired to get the team to the World Series, and they made it. They just ran head-first into a Dodgers buzzsaw with three MVPs at the top of their lineup.
Knowing Cashman, he’ll both reload and upgrade this winter.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: Defensive miscues cost Yankees as Dodgers clinch World Series in 5 | Elite Sports NY