Yankees lose to Dodgers and fall into a 2-0 hole in the World Series as the last gasp falls short

LOS ANGELES – If the Yankees absorbed a gut punch from Freddie Freeman’s grand slam in Game 1, this Dodgers right hook was aimed further north.

There weren’t many Aaron Boone decisions to analyze. Unlike the previous night, there was little hope intact until the ninth inning and therefore only a small part was torn away when the first and last play fell short.

This was something more direct and more crushing, a blow to the head that will lead to questions about whether the Yankees will be able to get back on their feet in the Bronx.

They return home in a two-game hole in the World Series after the flop in Hollywood, where the Dodgers manhandled the Yankees, 4-2, in a Game 2 that wasn’t much of a game until the final frame.

On Saturday, Carlos Rodón could not follow in the footsteps of Gerrit Cole on Friday and could not survive even the fourth inning. He tallied as many strikeouts (three) as home runs were surrendered, putting the Yankees in a ditch that felt deeper than the final score reflected.

The Yankees’ only real comeback came against Blake Treinen in the ninth, when Juan Soto singled (his second hit and the club’s second hit), took second on a wild pitch, and scored on Giancarlo Stanton’s single. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to put the tying run on first base, and Anthony Rizzo was drilled to load the bases.

With one out and the tying run on second, Anthony Volpe struck out.

The Dodgers turned to left-hander Alex Vesia, so Boone responded with right-handed hitter José Treviño in place of Austin Wells.

Treviño, in just his third postseason plate appearance, flew out to center on the first pitch he saw.

Arguably the Dodgers’ biggest scare in the late innings came from their own side.

Shohei Ohtani was shot and killed trying to steal second to end the seventh and He remained on the ground in obvious pain. He walked off the field cautiously holding his left arm and there was no immediate word from the Dodgers.

The only sign of a pulse for the Yankees through eight innings came in the third, when Soto was the author of another of those incredibly great at-bats, fighting off a 2-2 slider to finally see a fastball, which sent the darling. for a home run into the right field seats to tie the game at 1-1, before they stalled.

After Soto’s outburst, Yoshinobu Yamamoto retired the next 11 batters before being retired as Yankee hitters went a combined 1 for 20 against him.

The only pitcher to receive a bigger contract than Cole pitched like he was worth every bit of his $325 million.

The Yankees seemed outmatched for most of the night.

Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to drop to 6-for-40 (.150) this postseason.

Wells went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and a pair of harmless ground balls and is now 4-for-4 (.096) in October.

That night, the Yankees would have needed a near-perfect Rodón, but they received the same Rodón who has appeared too often this season: the home run prone.

First there was National League Championship Series MVP Tommy Edman, who might be more of a New York killer than a Mets killer and who hit a 2-0 four-seamer on the inside of the plate. .

Edman hit a huge drive down the left field line, 355 feet away, to take the Dodgers’ early lead in the second inning.

After Soto’s home run, the Dodgers took the lead and pulled away in the third, all with two outs.

Mookie Betts singled to left field before Rodón left a 98 mph fastball in the middle of the plate to Teoscar Hernández. The outfielder knocked him down into the right field seats and admired his work from the batter’s box as he gave his club a two-run lead.

Sold-out Dodger Stadium was still packed six pitches later when Freeman, Friday’s hero, drilled a no-doubt deep into the right-field stands to make it back-to-back games, Rodon lifting after just 3 ¹ /₃ entries.

Strong bullpen work from Jake Cousins, Tim Hill, Clay Holmes and Mark Leiter Jr. kept the game within reach, but the offense couldn’t make a big splash in the ninth.

The Yankees’ season is in the hands of Clarke Schmidt in Game 3 and Luis Gil in Game 4, looking to turn a Hollywood tragedy into a comeback story.