Dodgers 4-11 Yankees, top 9th

Taylor pinch-hits and bounces out to short. Two down! Now Will Smith is the last chance to keep this game alive for LA.

Dodgers 4-11 Yankees, top 9th

Hernandez bounces out to short – one down!

Dodgers 4-11 Yankees, top 9th

Tim Mayza comes in to mop up, saving Weaver’s arm for tomorrow if need be.

Dodgers 4-11 Yankees, bottom 8th

Stanton pops to second and the eighth inning finally comes to a close. Finally! Yankees three outs away!

Dodgers 4-11 Yankees, bottom 8th

Hey, we have an out! Chisholm pops out to left. Two down for Stanton, and his appearance means the Yankees have batted around!

Dodgers 4-10 Yankees, bottom 8th

Soto gets in on the party with a base hit to right. Can Judge put the icing on the cake and finally snap out of it?

Dodgers 4-10 Yankees, bottom 8th

Still only one out and Soto is at the plate.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 8th

Great at-bat from Verdugo, who has battled through nine pitches.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 8th

Double steal! Volpe and Wells take off and now occupy second and third! Smart!

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 8th

Wells’ fantastic night continues as he draws a walk. Two on, one out. Can Verdugo get some insurance?

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 8th

Volpe has himself a single to left, and now the Yankees shortstop is making the turn and going for second! He slides head first and is, safe! He’d of been out but Lux cold not hold on! That’s a one out double. Now here’s the basher, Austin Wells, who has had a fantastic night out of absolutely nowhere.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 8th

Brent Honeywell is on in relief of Knack and immediately coaxes a ground ball to first that’s easy for Freeman – he has it, tosses to Honeywell who is covering and that’s the first out.

Volpe is up next.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 8th

Weaver blows Muncy away with a fastball up in the zone! Side retired! The Yankees are three outs away from extending this series to a fifth game!

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 8th

Hernandez waves at a changeup low and in! That’s two outs for Weaver in the eighth!

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 8th

Luke Weaver is back out and gets Freeman to pop out to center. Yanks five outs away! Now he faces the dangerous Hernandez, getting ahead on the slugger 0-2.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 7th

Stanton hits a scorcher but it’s right at the left fielder Hernandez. That’s the third out.

So four in the books for Knack who does his job and eats innings for LA, which is really what tonight is all about.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 7th

Knack pulls the string and Judge gets under it – it’s a routine fly out. One down.

Then Chisholm swings at the first pitch and skies it harmlessly to left. Two down.

That leaves it for Stanton. Can he tack on with a blast?

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 7th

Knack starts his fourth inning and faces Judge, who is still looking for the shot that will bring down the house.

More on these clowns. Read all about it.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 7th

High cheese blows Betts away! Side retired! The Yankees are six outs away from their first World Series win in 15 years.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 7th

Swing and a miss by Betts! It’s 1-2!

Now he checks his swing. Did he go? No! It’s 2-2!

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 7th

It’s Weaver v Betts with a runner on second and two outs. A fastball away is fouled off – it’s 1-1.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 7th

Ohtani chases a splitter away! Strike three! Ohtani is down for the second out!

Leiter is done for the night, but that’s a huge out right there. But there’s trouble ahead – Betts will face new pitcher and Yankees closer Luke Weaver in a critical, two out at bat.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 7th

Edman takes off on a 1-2 pitch! It’s a ball, and Edman is safe! Runner in scoring position for Ohtani, and the count is now 3-2.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 7th

Leiter walks Edman, which is ridiculous. You can not do that! And they keep doing that! Now he faces Ohtani and the top of the lineup with a runner on first.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, top 7th

Mark Leiter Jr comes in for New York and promptly strikes out Will Smith! One down! Here’s Tommy Edman, who has been on base every game since the divisional series. Not bad!

It wasn’t that long ago that your grandma could have gotten Wells out…

Not anymore.

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 6th

Soto strikes out to end the inning, but Wells touches Knack for a key home run as we head to the seventh!

Dodgers 4-6 Yankees, bottom 6th

Verdugo and Torres fly out, so now Soto bats with two outs and nobody on.

Dodgers 4-5 Yankees, top 6th

Holmes roars into the sixth! Muncy strikes out, then Hernandez whiffs. Two down for Lux, who grounds out to second. Easy 1-2-3 inning for the Yankees!

Dodgers 4-5 Yankees, bottom 5th

Volpe pops to center – that’s a can of corn. Side retired. So New York squanders a chance to score, leaving two in the fifth. Remember that!

Dodgers 4-5 Yankees, bottom 5th

Rizzo pops innocently to center field for the second out. So Knack now has an opportunity to escape this inning, but first, he has to face Volpe, who hit that grand slam last time up.

Dodgers 4-5 Yankees, bottom 5th

Stanton waves at a slider away: strike three! That’s a big out for Knack. Rizzo to the plate now.

Dodgers 4-5 Yankees, bottom 5th

Now Chisholm walks, as the error by Edman sets up New York in their fifth. Stanton up, two on, nobody out.

Dodgers 4-5 Yankees, bottom 5th

Knack is back and so is Judge, who hits a routine ground ball to short that Edman boots! He recovers and throws but it’s not in time so the Yankees have a lead off runner on for Chisholm!

Will New York respond to LA’s two-run fifth?

Dodgers 4-5 Yankees, top 5th

Hernandez swings at the first pitch and pops out to right. He slams his bat furiously as he heads to the dugout. The inning is over but LA scored twice to pull within a run.

Dodgers 3-5 Yankees, top 5th

Betts hits a bouncer to second. Torres tosses to Volpe for the out at second base. One down, and runners at the corners for Freddie Freeeman.

He also bounces to second – can New York turn two? Torres throws to Volpe for the first out, but the throw to first seems late! The ump calls him out but LA will challenge. If LA wins the challenge, Ohtani will score and it’ll be a one run game!

Dodgers 3-5 Yankees, top 5th

So Hill is in to keep that walk from scoring, which is very hard to do.

And sure enough, Ohtani takes the first pitch to center. that’s a base hit!

Betts is up with two on now. Dangerous times for New York.

Dodgers 3-5 Yankees, top 5th

Gil walks Edman, which is exactly what you cannot do against this team. You cannot walk anyone at the bottom of the lineup when Ohtani and company are waiting at the top.

Boone comes out and gets Gil, who was looking good, until he gave up a routine pop up home run and a walk. Here comes Tim Hill, one of the best arms in the Yankees pen to face Ohtani.

Dodgers 2-5 Yankees, bottom 4th

Soto grounds out to second. Inning over.

Dodgers 2-5 Yankees, bottom 4th

So Knack, part of a bullpen game for LA designed to get the Dodgers through a game without using their best relievers, gets Torres to ground out into a 4-6-3 double play. That means the bases are empty for Juan Soto, which if you’re an LA fan, is just how you like it.

Dodgers 2-5 Yankees, bottom 4th

So the Yankees finally come to the plate not having to overcome a deficit for the first time since this series began on Friday. That’s a long time ago! And now Verdugo opens with a base hit to right over new pitcher, Landon Knack.

And here comes the top of the Yankees lineup.

It is high, it is far…

Dodgers 2-5 Yankees, top 4th

Lux grounds out softly to second. Inning over. Yankees with momentum!

Dodgers 2-5 Yankees, top 4th

The call on the field is reversed and so the inning continues. Two outs, one on for Gavin Lux.

Dodgers 2-5 Yankees, top 4th

Hernandez grounds to short – Volpe has it, he fires to second for one – Torres throws to first, in time! Inning ending double play!

Or is it? The Dodgers are challenging the out call at first.

Dodgers 2-5 Yankees, top 4th

Rizzo makes a fine catch near the screen on the first base side of the infield retiring Hernandez. Tough play and another reason for the Bronx crowd to cheer.

Muncy is at the plate and now the count is full.

Ball four! That’s the first walk of the night issued by Gil.

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

Rizzo pops it up in the infield! The only thing Rizzo couldn’t do! Wow!

Now it’s up to Volpe.

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

Rizzo is ahead 2-0.

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

Hudson walks Stanton, and so the bases are loaded for Anthony Rizzo.

Mark Prior heads to the mound for a little chat with his reliever. That makes sense, this is a huge moment in this ballgame.

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

It is indeed a strike, so Stanton is in the hole 1-2.

Hudson fires to first to hold Chisholm, much to the chagrin of the lively Yankees crowd.

Now Chisholm takes off for second base – no throw!

Second and third, with one out! It’s a full count to Stanton now!

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

Now Stanton is hit! Right on the hand! But he swung at the pitch, so that should be a strike!

The umps are chatting to figure this out but it’s pretty obvious – that’s a strike.

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

Chisholm hits a line shot off the wall in right! Betts plays it perfectly off the wall! That means Jazz only has a single! Great defense from Betts!

Judge is on third base, and New York are a sac fly away from tying this game. Stanton is up!

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

Soto can’t find the low slider from Hudson. That’s strike three and the first out.

Then Hudson hits Judge right on the wrist, as if he doesn’t have enough problems! that was nasty! But it means Judge doesn’t strike out, so that’s progress.

One out base runner here for Chisholm.

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, bottom 3rd

Right handed Daniel Hudson relieves Casparius, while Aaron Boone makes excuses for bad base running while speaking to FOX TV US in an in-game interview.

Soto is at the plate.

Dodgers 2-1 Yankees, top 3rd

Ohtani skies to deep right, Betts ground to secong, and get this, they even get Freeman out! He pops to left. Inning over: an easy one for Gil.

Yankees fans representing NYC well

I hope they enjoyed their last ever MLB game.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 2nd

Wells hits a long, deep drive to center field! Is that out? No, it’s off the top wall! Volpe misreads it and he doesn’t score from second on a double! How is that possible? Are you kidding me?

Wow!

OK, so second and third, one out, and here’s Verdugo who had the ninth inning garbage time homer last night.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 2nd

Wells is behind in the count, of course. Casparius throws to first to check Volpe who is leading off first.

Now he delivers and Wells pops it up, out of play behind home plate – that’s foul and out of play.

Then Volpe takes off on the next pitch! It’s a good jump and the Yankee shortstop slides in safe! So New York have a third runner in scoring position!

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 2nd

Volpe draws a walk. The problem is Wells is up next, and he hasn’t hit a lick in a long long time. What about now?

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 2nd

Casparius is back out there for LA and Rizzo is up for NY. The first baseman has hit, but hasn’t had any power with his hand issues. Here he watches a moving fastball, strike three!

Volpe is next.

The Bronx Zoo

What a moron. Get out!

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, top 2nd

Smith pops out to second. One down, a big out for New York. Now Gil faces the NLCS MVP Tommy Edman.

He hits one on the screws to the right side of the infield – Rizzo makes the catch, and then fires to second to get Lux who was off the bag. That’s a bang-bang inning ending double play! New York survive a lead off double!

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, top 2nd

Bottom half of the lineup for LA and Gavin Lux steps to the plate. He hasn’t had a knock in 14 at-bats. Gil runs the count full to the struggling second baseman and then allows a line drive down the line. That’s fair! It’s off the side wall, Soto scoops it up and fires in, not in time to get Lux who is in with a lead off double!

LA’s slumping Will Smith is up and looking to break out here.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Stanton has been a force this postseason, but here, he grounds out to second. So 25-year-old Casparius leaves with a scoreless World Series frame in his back pocket.

The Yankees leave with another squandered opportunity. We’ve seen that a few times this series.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Chisholm grounds out: Edman moved to his right across second base to gather the ball and fire to first for the second out. The runners advance to second and third and here’s Stanton coming to the plate with first base open. Mark Prior comes out for a chat with his hurler.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

The count is full to Chisholm!

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Casparius deals, it’s outside, the count is now 1-2. this is a huge spot in this game early.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Big cut through a fastball on the first pitch! The second pitch is grounded foul. Chisholm in an 0-2 hole.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Judge walks, his patience pays off. It’s first and second now for Chisholm, not Stanton, who was dropped to fifth. Good idea from Boone? I’m not so sure. Can Jazz prove me wrong?

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

The 3-2 pitch to Judge is fouled away.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Judge is down 0-2 in the count before watching a pitch away. The 1-2 pitch just misses down. Now the 2-2 pitch is a check swing that makes contact, foul.

Better at-bat from Judge here – the next pitch is up – the count is full!

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Now reliever starter Ben Casparius, with all of seven games of experience, walks Soto. And here comes Judge with a runner on and one out!

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, bottom 1st

Torres skies to right, it hooks into foul territory. Betts is at the wall and makes the catch! And then a fan pries the ball from him! You can’t do that, that’s fan interference! So Torres is out! And that fan will be out soon as well. Bye bye, you idiot!

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, top 1st

Hernandez pops into foul ground on the right side and Rizzo is there to make the catch. Side retired but not before Freddie Freeman becomes the new Mr October.

Will New York show us something? Anything?

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, top 1st

Muncy chases a pitch up and strikes out. That’s two away and Kike Hernandez steps to the plate.

Freeman does it again!

Bananas.

Dodgers 2-0 Yankees, top 1st

Now Teoscar Hernandez scratches out an infield hit. Is this going to get away from New York before the Yankees even hit?

One on, one out for Max Muncy.

Dodgers 0-0 Yankees, top 1st

Gil is ahead 0-2 on Betts, who then fouls off a fastball and watches a slider away. Now Betts slaps a ball into right field, right down the line! that’s going to be extra bases! Betts is in with a one-out double after whacking a changeup for a two bagger.

And here’s Freddie Freeman!

Dodgers 0-0 Yankees, top 1st

Ohtani is buzzed high and tight, his helmet goes flying! Now the count is full. Ohtani swings and pops it up to short, and it’s easy for Volpe who puts it away. One down, here’s Mookie Betts.

The readers say…

This from David Athya:

“Looking for a Yankees win tonight to prolong the series (even if just for one more game!) Will be sad when the season is over. Just don’t think the Yankees have enough depth in quality. I was actually in New York a short while ago (on holiday from Glasgow!) and took in a game in the Bronx. Wells hit 2 hrs that night but I don’t think he’s hit anything since! They’ll need a lights out pitching performance tonight to stand any chance.”

Well David, I have to agree. Luis Gil has only pitched once since the end of the regular season, so it should be interesting to see how he springs back into game form.

Speaking of October surprises, how this for an upset? The World Series managed to topple Monday Night Football in the battle for television viewers. From the Associated Press:

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the Fall Classic averaged 13.64m viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and streaming according to early numbers by Nielsen. That beat the 13.4m that tuned in for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 26-18 win over the New York Giants on ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN2 and streaming.

The audience for Yankees-Dodgers peaked at 14.25m from 9-9.15pm EDT. It was the most-watched Game 3 since 2018, when the Dodgers’ 18-inning victory over the Red Sox averaged 13.3m.

It is Fox’s most-viewed prime time telecast on a Monday since Game 5 of the 2013 Series between Boston and St. Louis (14.45m).

It was the ninth time since 1986 that a World Series game was played on a Monday night, but only the fourth that it went head-to-head against Monday Night Football on network television.

National Anthem

That would be singer/songwriter Ashanti. And she gave us a great rendition with some flare! I’d score it an 8.5/10! Here’s what it sounded like at Madison Square Garden.

The readers say…

It’s his to lose for sure. It would take a real October surprise for that to change.

Lineups!

They’re in and they’re here. Jazz Chisholm swaps places with Giancarlo Stanton as Yankees manager Aaron Boone attempts to lengthen his lineup. Catcher Austin Wells, an automatic out, is back in the starting lineup after sitting most of Game 3. for the Dodgers, catcher Will Smith falls in the lineup with Gavin Lux and Kike Hernandez move up. For the record, I think Smith, who has really struggled, is due.

Will Freddie Freeman hit a home run in a sixth consecutive World Series game?

Pile on time

When you’ve won 27 titles, people get excited when you lose.

The 3-0 hole

You don’t want to be in a 3-0 hole in the baseball playoffs because you almost always lose. Only the 2004 Red Sox have come back from such a deficit, defeating the Yankees in the ALCS.

Yankees fans pointing to that series as evidence that such an event is possible should consider that the Red Sox team is in a different league than this Yankees club.

In that series, Boston got a ninth inning game-tying run off Mariano Rivera, the most dominant closer in MLB history before winning Game 4 in the 12th inning. It was Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager who scored that tying run. Then Boston won Game 5 in 14 innings, a game in which they were down two runs in the eighth inning. Then they won a tight Game 6 before blowing out New York in Game 7, on the road.

This Yankees team isn’t doing that, no matter how many times Yogi Berra tells us that “it ain’t over till it’s over.”

Hello…

…and welcome to our coverage of Game 4 of the 120th World Series! Tonight could be the night that Major League Baseball awards its underwhelming gold trophy to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will collect an eighth franchise title with a win over New York at Yankee Stadium.

Will the Bronx Bombers, lords of the Fall Classic, winner of 27 titles, go out without even a whimper and be swept away by a vastly superior Dodger team? Or will New York show some pride, win a game: heck – win an inning – and get this to a Game 5 with the ultimate aim of forcing this series west to a Game 6 in Los Angeles?

And having said all of that, will we get to see even a glimpse of the future MVP Aaron Judge, who put up video game type numbers during the regular season before struggling epically in the playoffs? So far Judge has struck out 20 times in 54 at bats. If New York’s season ends tonight and Judge has another poor outing, it will leave a stain on what has been an extraordinary campaign for the slugger. What’s more, he’ll have to hear about his postseason flop this all of winter and all of next season until he gets another October shot. That would be unfortunate for a player of his caliber.

That’s why most of the pressure is on Judge and New York in this Game 4. Barring a baseball miracle, LA are going to win this title. It doesn’t have to happen tonight and it doesn’t have to happen tomorrow, because it’s going to happen: these Dodgers will not lose four games straight to an inferior Yankees team. But New York have just one shot to show their fans who waited 15 years for World Series home games some kind of life.

The Yanks will look to starter Luis Gil to stymie LA’s lineup and buy time for New York’s bats to finally wake up. Gil was a revelation this season carrying an ERA of just above two in his first nine starts. Since then he’s been inconstant, which is to be expected for a pitcher who has thrown over 150 innings this season, more than he’s ever hurled before by some margin.

The Dodgers throw a parade of relievers at the Yankees as they bid for their latest title, which is a gross way to chase a championship if I’m being honest. But I digress: Ben Casparius will be the opener for LA.

World Series baseball is heading your way soon! Get your popcorn ready and write me, either via “x” or by email, with all your thoughts and feelings. And even if they aren’t about baseball, that’s fine with me! More to come: stick with us!

David will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look back at Monday’s Game 3.