Anyone who feared the New York Yankees would repeat history — blowing a big lead against the Los Angeles Dodgers like they did in the fifth inning of the 2024 World Series — could breathe easy on Friday.
They blew the lead in the sixth inning this time.
In their first meeting since a 2024 World Series that ended with the Dodgers raising a trophy and the Yankees swallowing instant infamy, both teams followed a similar script in an 8-5 Dodgers win. First came the Yankees runs, then the Dodgers comeback, aided and abetted by New York’s miscues.
Aaron Judge, Austin Wells, Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt all hit homers off Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin in the first three innings, giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead despite a first-inning response from Shohei Ohtani.
Granted, it wasn’t a 5-0 lead like the one the Yankees blew in Game 5 of the 2024 Fall Classic, but the game certainly had a similar vibe as the Dodgers responded in the sixth inning. Ohtani got things started with his second homer of the game, pushing him to 22 on the season and a Dodgers record-tying 15 in the month of May.
That was the beginning of a painful inning for the Yankees, as the next four Dodgers reached base to tie the game and leave runners on the corners with no outs.
A Tommy Edman fielder’s choice and Max Muncy intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, setting up Michael Conforto for some heroics.
Conforto walked, giving the Dodgers a 6-5 lead and the Yankees another mistake to ponder.
The Dodgers added to their lead with two more runs in the seventh inning, with Freddie Freeman somehow sliding under a throw that beat him to home plate by several feet. Replay upheld the safe call on the field.
Friday was the first game of a three-game series between the two premier franchises of MLB, with a little history together beyond the World Series. The Dodgers beat the Yankees, yes, but they and their fans also talked a not-small amount of trash about how the Yankees blew Game 5.
The Yankees took a bit of umbrage over that, and had a great chance to respond on the field Friday. Instead, they just gave the trash-talkers more material.
The win improves the Dodgers’ record to an NL West-best 35-22, while the Yankees are now 35-21, still tops in the Al East. The next game of the series is Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET.
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