NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani couldn’t hide his discomfort.
After suffering a subluxation of his left shoulder in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night, the Dodgers superstar somehow found his way into the team’s lineup starting Monday’s Game 3.
The superstar and MVP appeared with his left arm wrapped around him during pregame introductions. After getting on base with a walk in the first inning, he winced on several swings and remained in a slung arm position.
The Yankees clearly looked like they were going to open the season with some damage to their star players, but the Dodgers didn’t look as worn out either. In Game 3 of the World Series, played in front of 49,368 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees’ offense lost 4-2, remaining neutral and taking early chances.
In the process, the Yankees fell into a long hole, 0-3 in the World Series. In Major League history, the only team to come back from losing three games and win seven games in a row was the Boston Red Sox in 2004.
“We’re trying to win games. That’s our focus,” coach Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully we can do this great story and shock the world, but right now we’re trying to take the lead. We’re trying to take the game, force the next game, and from there, the next game. But first. We have to grab the game.”
The Dodgers have a chance to win their eighth World Series crown in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday at 8:08 p.m. The Yankees have a three-game lead in the World Series and are hoping to avoid a fourth straight sweep.
To make that mission a reality, the Yankees must overcome these three looming obstacles.
Aaron Judge and the Yankees offense aren’t quite right.
Fans at Yankee Stadium gave Aaron Judge a rousing ovation before he took his first at-bat, even in the midst of a long postseason swoon.
In the third round, the judges could not confirm that enthusiasm. Against Walker Buehler, he got a strikeout in the first inning, but gave up a walk in the eighth inning, resulting in a 3-for-0 hit. In the World Series, Judge went 1-for-12 with 6 hits in 12 games and 7 strikeouts, giving him a postseason batting average of .140.
“I guess you want to get hits and you want to go out there and do your job,” Judge said. “I’m not working right now, so I need to go get it.”
Judge isn’t the only member of the Yankees getting into a brawl. After Monday night’s loss, they totaled seven runs on 19 hits. Alex Verdugo’s two-run home run in the ninth inning ended a disappointing night at bat in which six players each went two or more hitless innings.
Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, and Jazz Chisholm are the only Yankees players to have three or more hits in three World Series games.
“If we’re not scoring, we’re putting a lot of pressure on our pitchers to go out there and play perfectly against a really good Dodgers lineup,” Verdugo said. “We’re going to have to go out there and set a little bit of a precedent. We’ve got to get some hits, get some runs, get Lewis (Gill) relaxed and attack the zone. No.”
Yankees starting pitchers are putting a lot of pressure on the bullpen.
After the Yankees were unable to take advantage of Gerrit Cole’s one run in six innings in Game 1, the next two starters of Carlos Rodon and Clark Schmidt left a lot to be desired for the Yankees.
In Game 2, Rodon allowed four earned runs on six hits, including three home runs, in 3 1/3 innings. On Monday, Schmidt left the game with the bases loaded in the third inning and finished 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits, including a first-inning two-run homer to Freddie Freeman, and two hits, including four walks.
“Against that team, especially like us, if you’re not in the strike zone, they’re not going to chase you,” Boone said. “I think (Schmidt) struggled a little bit to capitalize a little bit. He made some pitches after the two-run homer to at least minimize the damage, but tonight was the next level for him. I had a hard time finding direction.” ”
Boone covered the final 6 1/3 innings of Game 3 with seven separate relief pitchers. Mark Leiter Jr., Jake Cousins and Tim Hill all threw at least 17 pitches on Monday. Cousins and Clay Holmes have both pitched three times in the last four days. The Yankees’ bullpen is a strength, but it will be cornered to get the team back to Los Angeles.
“Tonight on all sides of the ball, we weren’t stringing hits together, we weren’t putting zeros when we needed to put zeros,” Schmidt said. “It’s really difficult to play when you’re constantly at a disadvantage.”
The Yankees’ fate now rests on the shoulders of Luis Gil, who posted a 4.38 ERA over the final two months of the regular season but has made only one postseason start in his career. .
Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers are getting donations from all sides.
Ohtani went 1-for-11 in his first World Series appearance, but the Dodgers’ entire batting lineup contributed.
Most notably, Freeman stunned the Yankee Stadium crowd on Monday with his third World Series home run, pushing the Dodgers to a 2-0 lead.
Freeman, who is playing through a sprained ankle, has hit home runs in five consecutive World Series games since his success with the Braves in 2021, including the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history in Game 1. I am doing it. .
“I think obviously the days after the Championship Series probably had a positive effect on him and helped him, especially in the batter’s box,” Boone said. “He’s coming off the swing that we’re used to seeing Freddie come off, but maybe that didn’t happen in the last round with the injury.”
Compared to the Yankees, the Dodgers have five players with at least three hits in the series. And they were a huge hit.
In Game 2, Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez broke a 1-1 tie with back-to-back home runs. On Monday, Quique Hernandez went 2-for-4 with an RBI, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0.
Mookie Betts continues to be the second biggest threat behind Ohtani in the batting lineup. Betts replaced Tommy Edman, who added his leading scorer in the third inning, scored 11 points and won MVP honors, building a transcendent NLCS performance. Edman has four more hits so far in the World Series.
