NEW YORK — Dave Roberts stood atop a makeshift stage at Dodger Stadium eight days ago and gazed out at thousands celebrating all around the ballpark. He had screamed himself hoarse after winning the National League pennant, but the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers wanted one last pop from the crowd.
“Hey! You guys want a parade in Los Angeles?” Roberts asked. “Four more wins!”
After a 4-2 victory on Monday over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the World Series, the Dodgers are on the doorstep of a championship, one far different than the title marred by COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. The desire for a proper coronation has become a rallying cry for this group as it has approached a title. The triumph could come as early as Tuesday. The first World Series game at Yankee Stadium since 2009 ended as the last two did in Chavez Ravine, with the Dodgers exultant and the Yankees lamenting missed chances.
“You couldn’t ask for a better start in these three games,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We’ve got one more to go, though.”
On Monday, the Dodgers never trailed. Freeman smashed a two-run homer in the first inning. Walker Buehler limited the Yankees to two hits in five scoreless innings. Yankees starter Clark Schmidt could not finish the third inning. He was jolted by Freeman’s early homer and subsequently ground down by the patience of the Dodgers.
FREDDIE FREEMAN, YOU ARE UNREAL. #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/nmKvgGEMYQ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 29, 2024
The Los Angeles bullpen held the line after Buehler exited. The relievers will be asked to handle all 27 outs in Game 4, while the Yankees will put their season in the hands of hard-throwing rookie Luis Gil. The situation looks grim for the Yankees and joyous for the Dodgers. No team in World Series history has overcome a 3-0 deficit. The hype last week has given way to reality: Only one club has demonstrated championship mettle thus far. Aaron Judge, the likely MVP and the captain of the Yankees, went hitless in three at-bats, in a game in which his teammates stranded eight runners.
“Hopefully we can go be this amazing story and shock the world,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But right now, it’s about trying to get a lead, trying to grab a game and force another one. But we’ve got to grab one first.”
After two tense nights in Los Angeles, no longer was this series kissed by the sun inside a stadium surrounded by palms. The difficulty of the sport, its capacity to injure and humble even its finest athletes, defined the discourse after Game 2. As fans piled into the Bronx for Game 3, there were two primary questions: Would Shohei Ohtani’s shoulder heal? And would Judge’s bat awaken?
Late in Game 2, Ohtani jammed his left arm into the dirt while attempting to steal second base. He writhed in pain and clutched his shoulder. An examination revealed a partial dislocation but no structural damage. He traveled apart from the team, but told the roster’s group chat he would not miss Game 3. He tested his shoulder during the day off on Sunday. Some swings hurt more than others. The medical staff determined Ohtani could play as long as he could tolerate the pain. He wore a heating pad over the shoulder during pre-game introductions and fist-bumped teammates with his right hand.
“If he is able to play, willing to play, he’s going to play,” Roberts said on Sunday afternoon. “Schmidt will know that Shohei’s in the box, so that means everything.”
Roberts was right. Ohtani did not need to swing the bat in his first plate appearance. He walked on four pitches to start the game. Standing at first, he held the collar of his shirt, as if wearing an invisible sling. He did not need to exert himself: Ohtani kept hold of the jersey on a leisurely stroll around the bases after Freeman pounced on a belt-high cutter for a two-run shot. He pinned his arm to his chest to discourage himself from sliding.
Judge received jubilant cheers during the intros. The crowd serenaded him with the garlands he is expected to receive for the second time next month: “M-V-P, M-V-P.” His inability to replicate his summer-long excellence in autumn has become a source of consternation for Yankees fans. Judge is batting .140 with three extra-base hits for the entirety of October.
A standing ovation greeted Judge in the bottom of the first. The good cheer lasted six pitches. Judge swung through a cutter for his seventh strikeout of the Series. The crowd had the decency not to jeer.
Ohtani did swing in his second appearance, chopping a grounder to the right side which advanced shortstop Tommy Edman to second base in the third inning. The extra 90 feet allowed Edman to display his base running acumen when Mookie Betts hit a flare into right field. Juan Soto charged toward the baseball, holding his glove aloft as if preparing for the catch. Edman disregarded the deke. He was running all the way, able to score with ease.
Buehler gave up his first hit in the fourth. Giancarlo Stanton, the towering designated hitter, pulled a sweeper into the left-field corner. Stanton lumbered into second for a one-out double. The defense bailed out Buehler. Betts dove to snag a well-struck liner from third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. When shortstop Anthony Volpe pulled a single into left, Teoscar Hernández came up throwing. Stanton had not even reached third base when Hernández gloved the baseball. Dodgers catcher Will Smith dropped a tag on Stanton’s midsection for a crucial third out.
“That was a big momentum play,” Buehler said. “For them to get a little momentum and us to shut it down was pretty cool.”
The play granted Buehler a reprieve. He was once one of baseball’s best young pitchers, a slender but cocksure budding ace who could bully hitters and outsmart them with equal élan. The past few years have not been kind to him. Before the game, Boone was asked about benching a left-handed hitter, catcher Austin Wells, when Buehler has struggled so much this year against left-handed swingers. “Righties have hit him pretty well, too,” Boone said. The assessment was tough, but fair. Buehler posted a 5.38 ERA during the season as he returned after missing most of the past two seasons recovering from a second Tommy John surgery.
Buehler flushed those failures in October. Performing at this time of year is “kind of the only thing I care about,” he said earlier this month. On Monday evening, he turned back the clock, resembling the pitcher he was before his most recent operation. He struck out five batters. His defenders were stout behind him. He pitched well enough to win. “It makes the regular season worth it, for me,” Buehler said.
The Dodgers sounded confident but measured after Game 3. They understood how close they were to a parade. They also understood the perils of impudence. Roberts, of course, played a crucial role on the 2004 Boston Red Sox, still the only baseball team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in any best-of-seven postseason series. A reporter asked Roberts about that as the clock turned to Tuesday morning.
“Don’t talk about that,” Roberts said. “Wrong guy. Way too early.” He added, “There’s got to be urgency. I don’t want to let these guys up for air.”
(Photo of Freddie Freeman: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
