NEW YORK (AP) — You gotta hand it to Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And not just because the Yankees certainly did.
When New York let LA back into World Series Game 5, the Dodgers did what they’ve done all year — kept on going.
After taking advantage of three miscues to erase a five-run, fifth-inning deficit during one of the most memorable midgame meltdowns in baseball history, the Dodgers used eighth-inning sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts to beat New York 7-6 on Wednesday night.
“In spring training this is what we said we were going to do and we did it,” Betts proclaimed, champagne stinging his eyes.
Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning for New York. Alex Verdugo’s RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second, and Giancarlo Stanton’s third-inning homer against Ryan Brasier built a 5-0 Yankees lead.
In the dugout, the Dodgers remained focused.
“We were like just get one, chip away, chip away,” Freeman said.
Errors by Judge in center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, combined with pitcher Gerrit Cole failing to cover first on Betts’ grounder, helped Los Angeles score five unearned runs in the fifth.
Of the 234 teams to trail by five or more runs in a Series game, the Dodgers became just the seventh to win.
“This is going to sting forever,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I’m heartbroken.”
After Stanton’s sixth-inning sacrifice fly put the Yankees back ahead 6-5, the Dodgers loaded the bases against losing pitcher Tommy Kahnle in the eighth before the sacrifice flies off Luke Weaver.
Judge doubled off winner Blake Treinen with one out in the bottom half and Chisholm walked. Manager Dave Roberts walked to the mound with Treinen at 37 pitches.
“I looked in his eyes. I said how you feeling? How much more you got?” Roberts recalled. “He said: `I want it.’ I trust him.”
Treinen retired Stanton on a flyout and struck out Anthony Rizzo.
