Freddie Freeman may be one of the most popular players in the MLB, but to Yankees fans he is public enemy No. 1. He opened this game with a two-run blast, tying George Springer for the most consecutive World Series games with a home run in five. The Yankees’ offense never seemed to be able to get out of that hole and ended up being outscored 4-2 while only managing five hits, leaving them one loss away from becoming the first team in the World Series since defeating the Tigers in 2012.

Clarke Schmidt held the Royals and Guardians to two runs in 4.2 innings in his first two postseason starts, but the Dodgers met that quota in the first inning. He definitely seemed overwhelmed out of the gate, firing four straight uncontested fastballs at Shohei Ohtani. You never want to walk the game’s leadoff batter, especially on four balls in a row to a player who dislocated his left shoulder less than 24 hours ago. The walk came back to bite him when Freeman slammed a poorly executed cutter into the right-field seats to give him a home run in each of the first three games of the series.

Why Schmidt threw a 1-2 fastball when Freeman had hit two poor fastballs for home runs in his last two games was a mystery, and the fact that he missed his pitch so badly only made matters worse.

Meanwhile, Walker Buehler came out of the gate with a little more bounce on his fastball than he did in his last start against the Mets, but the Yankees did him a big favor by missing four-seamer after four-seamer down the middle of the plate. They managed just two baserunners in the first three innings – Gleyber Torres drew a walk both times.

With the opposing offense putting no pressure on their starter, the Dodgers’ lineup appeared to play free and loose. They struck again in the third when Tommy Edman drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on an Ohtani grounder. Schmidt then failed to fend off Mookie Betts after reaching a two-strike count. The Dodgers right fielder won the nine-pitch battle, hitting a single to right to drive in Edman’s third run. Schmidt then loaded the bases with walks from Freeman and Max Muncy to force Aaron Boone to bring back his starter after recording just eight outs. Mark Leiter Jr. came in as a fireman and somehow put out the inferno, causing Will Smith to go down and leave the bases juiced.

Leiter’s effectiveness would be short-lived as he gave up a walk by Gavin Lux and a single by Kiké Hernández to open the fourth with runners on the corners. The Dodgers then attempted the safety squeeze with Edman, but Leiter’s throw narrowly hit Lux to home plate – a decision that stood after review. When it was lefty Ohtani’s turn, Boone called out Nestor Cortes, just as he did in the 10th inning of Game 1. Cortes swore he would bounce back after the grand slam he served Freeman, and to his credit, he kept his word: striking out Ohtani and getting Betts to line up to tie the score to maintain the same level.

The Yankees had to wait until the fourth to record their first hit of the contest, when Giancarlo Stanton belted a ringing double off the wall in left with one out. Stanton then failed to advance to third on a Betts diving catch on a sinking liner from Jazz and they were immediately penalized for the indecision. Third base coach Luis Rojas made a highly questionable send call to Stanton on a Volpe single to left, and a rocket from Teoscar Hernández downed Stanton with a step on a play that could be seen coming from a mile away, to end the inning with the shutdown intact.

Buehler’s night was over after five shutout innings, and given the impotence of the Yankees lineup and the performance of the Dodgers bullpen so far, it was an easy decision. New York provided some traffic in the bottom of the sixth with a walk by Juan Soto and a single by Stanton, but Jazz came through to eliminate the pair and deepen the Yankees’ problems with RISP.

The fact that the New Yorkers were unable to make a big hit with runners was in stark contrast to their opponents. Lux was hit by a Jake Cousins ​​fastball with one out in the sixth and then promptly stole second on a rebounding pitch. Kiké then hit a single up the middle, and despite a perfect homer from Aaron Judge, Lux came into the game before the tag, making the Dodgers’ lead 4-0. Compare that to the bottom of the seventh, when the Yankees managed to put up a pair on a single by Anthony Rizzo and a walk by Alex Verdugo, but Torres was hit by a borderline high sinker by Anthony Banda, stranding another pair.

The Yanks had their best chance when Soto, Judge and Stanton walked in the eighth, but they only managed a Judge walk as fans headed for the exits. At least they managed to avert the shutout, Rizzo reached the ninth with a one-out walk and scored on a home run off Alex Verdugo to right, but Michael Kopech secured the final out with a Gleyber grounder, securing the 4th 2 wins for the Dodgers.

The Yankees are hoping they can at least avoid the sweep tomorrow with Luis Gil on the mound facing an as-yet-unnamed Dodgers starter who will likely start a bullpen game. First pitch will take place at 8:08 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FOX. Will there even be baseball on Wednesday? That all depends on the Yankees putting in a much better performance tomorrow.

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