TOUGH LOSES FOR YANKEES AS DODGERS LEAD WORLD SERIES 2-0

 Friday night the Yankees and Dodgers kicked off the World Series in Los Angeles with Gerrit Cole and Jack Flaherty on the mound.

The Dodgers took the lead first scoring 1 run in the fifth inning but Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2 run home run in the sixth inning to take the lead.

Cole pitched to 1 batter in the seventh inning before being replaced by Clay Holmes. He finished the night giving up 1 run on 4 hits and struck out 4.

Flaherty gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in 5 1/3 innings with 6 strikeouts.

The Dodgers tied the game in the eighth inning. Shohei Ohtani hit a double and later moved to third base on a throwing error by Juan Soto which lead to him scoring on a sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts.

With the bullpen holding both teams to no runs the game went into the tenth inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a single and proceeded to steal second and then third. Anthony Rizzo intentionally walked bringing Anthony Volpe to the plate. Volpe grounded into a fielder’s choice which allowed Chisholm Jr. to score.

With the Yankees leading by 1 run, Jake Cousins gave up a walk and a single before being replaced by Nestor Cortes who hadn’t pitched since September. Ohtani fouled out to left with a great catch into the stands by Alex Verdugo but the batters moved to second and third and Betts was intentionally walked. With the Yankees only 1 out away from the win, Freddy Freeman hit a walk off grand slam.

The Dodgers won game 1 with a score of 6-3.

Saturday night Carlos Rodon faced off against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Rodon struggled as he gave up 4 runs in 3 1/3 innings. Three of the runs were home runs by Tommy Edman, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddy Freeman.

Yamamato pitched well, giving up only 1 run on 1 hit in 6 1/3 innings. That run was a home run by Juan Soto in third the inning.

The Yankees were losing by 3 runs heading into the ninth inning. With Blake Treinen on the mound, Soto hit a single and scored on a single by Giancarlo Stanton. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a single and Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Oswaldo Cabrera was brought in to pinch run for Rizzo.  With only one out and the bases loaded the Yankees had the chance to win the game. But Anthony Volpe struck out with a 3-2 count and Jose Trevino, pinch hitting for Austin Wells, flied out to center field to end the game.

The Dodgers won game 2 with a score of 4-2.

Other notes from the game: Shohei Otani partially dislocated his shoulder on a slide into second base in the seventh inning and his status for game 3 is uncertain.  Aaron Judge was 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.

Sunday will be a travel day as both teams head back east where the next 3 games of the series will be in the Bronx.

The Yankees need to win Monday night and hope to do so with Clarke Schmidt on the mound. He will pitch against Walker Buehler.