NEW YORK – From the Yankees’ lifeless batting to the suffocating dominance of the Dodgers’ rotation and Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles took a 3-0 lead within the World Series.
The Dodgers have backed the Yankees within the tightest, most awkward corners, and are simply 27 outs away from taking the American League’s finest workforce to win a championship.
Here are our high 4 takeaways from the Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 3 on Monday night time within the Bronx.
(RELATED: Complete protection of the World Series)
1. Is it too early to call the MVP?
He’s at it once more.
Freddie Freeman, the hobbled first baseman who evoked recollections of Kirk Gibson when he ended Game 1 heroically with a grand slam, then helped make sure the Dodgers gained Game 2 with a solo shot, instantly took his life to a crowd of 49,368 followers who had been abuzz earlier than the Yankees’ first residence sport in almost two weeks, going deep once more.
It was not solely Freeman’s third consecutive sport with a homer to start out the 2024 World Series, it was additionally his fifth consecutive World Series sport with a house run relationship again to the Braves’ championship run in 2021. He joined George Springer as the one gamers in MLB historical past to perform this newest feat.
The opening explosion, three batters into the night time, not solely surprised a stadium crammed with navy blue and midnight white, but in addition allowed one other Dodger scuffling with bodily limitations the possibility to jog calmly across the bases.
Shohei Ohtani, taking part in his first sport since struggling a subluxation in his left shoulder, did not look notably comfy. He wore a black harness over his left shoulder when he jogged across the area throughout participant introductions, holding his arm towards his chest the whole time in order to not stretch it. But in his first look of the night time, the Yankees did not swing him. A four-pitch stroll gave him first base, the place he continued to carry his left arm towards his chest, being cautious to not prolong it. Freeman’s two-run blast ensured he would not have to dash across the bases.
In three video games, Freeman has scored as many runs as the whole Yankees lineup. If you possibly can identify an MVP this early, there is no doubt who will take residence the glory. — Rowan Kavner
2. Giancarlo Stanton he is nonetheless hitting however he isn’t operating but
The buzz returned to the air after Nestor Cortes, making his look from the bullpen to face Ohtani, escaped a bases-loaded jam to finish the third inning. After all, the Yankees trailed the Dodgers by solely three runs with loads of sport left to play, and Aaron Judge ought to (and will) atone for his disappointing World Series efficiency. After Judge squandered one more alternative by flying out to left, Stanton gave the Yankees their first hit of the night time with a double. Finally, issues had been preparing.
Anthony Volpe adopted with what grew to become a uncommon single to left that ought to have scored a run. The solely downside was that one of many slowest gamers within the massive leagues was the man loitering from the second home. As Teoscar Hernandez picked up the ball in left area, Stanton rounded third base in gradual movement — as if he had been operating underwater — and was thrown out on an ideal throw. The Yankees did not have a single at-bat with a runner on third all sport.
Stanton’s full lack of something resembling velocity after a number of lower-half accidents harm the Yankees within the common season. But it was somewhat stunning to be taught that Stanton does not even have one other gear going into the World Series, particularly contemplating how he is been in a position to cling on to the lead this postseason. The distinction in athleticism between the Dodgers and Yankees is among the many causes New York discovered itself making an attempt, and failing, to catch as much as Los Angeles. — Deesha Thosar
3. Walker Buehler additional solidifies his popularity within the massive sport
The second inning of Game 3 of the NLDS regarded robust within the field rating for Buehler, who was charged with six runs whereas being let down by his protection. It has been flawless ever since.
Buehler completed the sport with three scoreless innings — an important job, contemplating the Dodgers would use a bullpen sport the subsequent day — then pitched 4 scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NLCS, getting extra swings and errors than he had in any sport from begin to end. 2021 season. He added 5 extra immaculate frames to his go online Monday. The Yankees could not hit him till Stanton’s double within the fourth inning. Stanton was then thrown out by Hernández whereas making an attempt to attain from second on a single to left area. That extinguished the Yankees’ largest menace towards Buehler, who has now fired 12 consecutive scoreless innings.
In his three World Series begins, Buehler allowed only one run and struck out 22 in 18 innings.
After a troublesome common season during which he struggled to overlook at bats and confirmed shaky command after a second Tommy John surgical procedure, he discovered one other stage in October and earned a popularity as a big-game pitcher. —Kavner
4. Clarke Schmidt I selected a nasty day to have a nasty day
The undeniable fact that Schmidt solely managed to final 2.2 innings is not what sunk the Yankees in Game 3 (we will credit score their lack of offense for that), but it surely actually did not assist. When the 1996 Yankees fell 0-2 to the Atlanta Braves within the World Series, David Cone’s unbelievable Game 3 begin (six innings of one-run ball) was what galvanized the membership into its championship comeback . The tone is all the time set by dominant pitching, and in that division, Schmidt picked a nasty day to lose the lead.
The Dodgers’ relentless, non-zone-expanding lineup pressured Schmidt to extend his pitch depend, leading to his shortest begin since August… of 2023. Los Angeles by no means allowed Schmidt to settle in, as his third batter of the night time parked a two-run shot for him. Schmidt’s early exit pressured Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone to go to his bullpen, and to his credit score, New York’s relievers pulled themselves out of catastrophic injury a number of occasions. It was the Yankees lineup that failed as soon as once more. — Thomas
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. He beforehand coated the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB author for FOX Sports. He beforehand coated the LA Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU graduate, Rowan was born in California, raised in Texas, then returned to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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