Morning sports update

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that, especially in a World Series or postseason game.”

The Yankees lose: The Dodgers clinched the 2024 World Series by defeating the Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 on Wednesday night in New York. Los Angeles completed the 4-1 series win despite falling behind 0-5 early in the game.

But with the season on the line, the Yankees made a series of errors – including two that occurred right in the decisive fifth inning – that doomed their attempt to send the series back to Los Angeles.

Aaron Judge, New York’s superstar centerfielder, dropped a routine fly ball with one on and no out in the fifth. On the very next at-bat, Yankee shortstop Anthony Volpe made another error with a low throw to third base.

Still, Yankee starter Gerrit Cole appeared to be on the verge of escaping the jam after scoring two straight hits. But with two outs, Mookie Betts managed to reach first base after a miscommunication between Cole and Anthony Rizzo resulted in neither reaching first base before Betts.

Faced with another out, the Dodgers didn’t miss the opportunity and scored three more runs to tie the game at 5-5.

Another defensive mishap occurred in the eighth inning when a catcher’s interference call gave Mookie Betts a chance to bat with runners in scoring position. The former Red Sox outfielder immediately hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman to score the game-winning hit.

After the game, the Fox Sports panel of two former Yankees (Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter) and one former Red Sox (David Ortiz) offered blunt commentary on what they had just seen.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like this, especially in a World Series or postseason game,” said Jeter, who won five championships in New York. “The Yankees made some mistakes. You can’t make mistakes against a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers. That particular inning (New York) gave them six outs.”

Rodriguez tried to frame the collapse in historical terms (though he conveniently left out his own ignominious events from history as a member of the 2004 Yankees).

“Cole was great, but that’s not the story. I mean, that was one of the biggest collapses I’ve ever seen in 40 years,” Rodriguez said.

Meanwhile, Ortiz seemed thrilled to see his former rival lose on baseball’s biggest stage. Still, he offers some measured commentary on how the Dodgers stormed through the open door left for them by the Yankees.

“You can’t ask for more than what Gerrit Cole did. But those three errors in this inning are unacceptable,” Ortiz said. “Especially playing against a great team like the Los Angeles Dodgers.”

Interesting facts: Which manager is tied with Casey Stengel for all-time World Series wins?

(Answer below).

Note: He managed the Red Sox for two and a half seasons, but (like Stengel) won his seven World Series titles with the Yankees.

Scores and schedules:

The Celtics lost 135-132 to the Pacers on Wednesday, Boston’s first loss of the season. The team will take the field against the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday at 7 p.m

Tonight the Bruins play the Hurricanes in North Carolina at 7 p.m

More from Boston.com:

Tie between the Red Sox: Mookie Betts, whom the Red Sox traded to the Dodgers in 2020, was the winner for Los Angeles in the deciding Game 5 of the World Series. The last Yankees out came from one of the players the Dodgers traded to the Red Sox in exchange for Betts: Alex Verdugo.

On this day: In 1980, the Celtics defeated the then Kansas City Kings 115-110. Boston was led by Cedric Maxwell, who scored a total of 24 points. Larry Bird contributed to the total box score, scoring 22 points of his own along with eight rebounds and seven steals. Robert Parish added four blocks (18 points and eight rebounds) in a strong team performance.

Daily highlight: Former Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo – now with the rival Yankees – has qualified for the 2024 World Series finale.