Yankees come apart defensively like only 2024 Bombers could, ending their season
The Yankees looked poised to send a shell-shocked Dodgers squad back to Los Angeles reeling off of two straight losses and the ever-increasing danger of becoming the first team to ever blow a 3-0 World Series lead.
The pieces were in place. Aaron Judge officially arrived in the Fall Classic with a two-run bomb in the first inning. Jazz Chisholm made it back-to-back moments later. The Bronx was erupting. Giancarlo Stanton went deep two innings later to make it 5-0, all while Gerrit Cole was dealing.
But the Yankees suddenly came apart like only the 2024 Bombers can, as errors and mental mistakes snowballed in a nightmare fifth inning that set Los Angeles up for the largest comeback in a clinching game in 99 years, ending in a world championship for the Dodgers.
The Yanks were up 5-0 and seemingly headed for a second straight win when Judge dropped a line drive that he was locked in on before it glanced off his glove. On the next play, Anthony Volpe bounced a short throw to Jazz Chisholm at third, who couldn’t handle the shorthop. Suddenly, the bases were loaded with nobody out.
And yet, Gerrit Cole looked poised to somehow escape the threat, striking out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani before forcing Mookie Betts into a cue-shot grounder to first base. But the spin on the ball took Anthony Rizzo away from the bag to field the grounder, and Cole walked off the mound toward the dugout instead of covering first. Betts was safe, a run scored, and the floodgates opened with a single by eventual series MVP Freddie Freeman and a double by Teoscar Hernandez. Tie game.
The Yanks took the lead back before a catcher’s interference on Austin Wells set up consecutive sac flies to give the Dodgers the lead for good. In a season where the Yankees continuously hurt themselves with mental errors and defensive miscues, their final game of the year had it all, from errors and mental gaffes to catcher’s interferences and even a balk, as Luke Weaver tried to pick off Chris Taylor three times, resulting in a disengagement violation.
The Yanks seemed set on giving their fans a perfect night in the Yankee Stadium finale for 2024. Sure, the odds would have still been heavily against them to complete the miracle comeback, but a flight to Los Angeles with a night off in between to let the Dodgers sweat it a bit more would have given the Yankee fans all kinds of life. But instead, they were forced to watch one of the ugliest innings in playoff history lead to a meltdown that continued the franchise’s title drought.
It was a trend that continued from the regular season, to the playoffs, and to earlier in the Fall Classic. The Yankees dropped game one after Gleyber Torres tried to backhand a shorthop throw from the outfield on an Ohtani double, allowing Ohtani to advance to third and score the tying run. Even in Tuesday’s win, Anthony Volpe made two baserunning blunders but was able to avoid being burned by either of them. The Yankees came just three wins short of the ultimate goal, but the continued mental errors kept them from inching closer toward what could have been one of the most unforgettable seasons in team history.
