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The champions managed to come back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Yankees in front of a stunned Yankee Stadium.

Paige Austin,Patch Staff
Posted Wed, Oct 30, 2024 at 8:52 pm PT|Updated Wed, Oct 30, 2024 at 9:00 pm PT

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Dodgers ground out a Game 5 win to beat the Yankees 7-6 and take the series four games to one.
It was a thrilling, exhilarating, utterly frustrating World Series game for fans of the Dodgers and Yankees, alike.
The Dodgers managed to come back from a 5-0 start to the game for a nail-biter win. It was the largest comeback in World Series history.
It wasn’t a slugfest with Dodger grand slams or even home runs. The pitching wasn’t great, but it was as good as it needed to be. Rather, it was a fitting win for this team, a gritty, opportunistic victory with every player doing their part.
“There was so much love in this clubhouse that won this game today — That’s what it was,” said Mookie Betts, whose hit drove in the winning run. “It was love, it was grit. It was just a beautiful thing.”
Betts, who won his third championship Thursday, had a message for Dodgers fans waiting for their parade.
“We’re coming from for you, LA.”
In the end, it came down to the pitching. Star starter Walker Buehler came into the ninth inning as the closer to defend the Dodgers’ 7-6 lead. It was his first career save, and it was three up and three down.
First, he faced Anthony Volpe, who ground out at first. Then he struck out Austin Wells. Then he struck out Alex Verdugo for the World Series win.
With a 7-6 lead, Teoscar Hernández started off the top of the ninth inning with a base hit. He was followed by Max Mucny with a fly ball out to right field. Next Kiké Hernández got on base with a walk.
The Dodgers went into the bottom of the eighth inning with a 7-6 lead and reliever Blake Trienen had to strike out the Yankees’ Rizzo with two outs and two on to defend the lead. He did.
After getting off to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings, the Yankees appeared to be cruising to a Game 5 victory, but then came the error-ridden fifth inning.
That’s when the Dodgers put on a hitting and base-running clinic with two outs already on the board.
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole was having a career game when Kiké Hernández got on base with a single to right field. Next, the Yankee’s star center fielder Aaron Judge dropped an easy fly ball hit by Tommy Edman. It allowed Hernández to get to second. Next, Will Smith was able to single after Anthony Volpe went for the out at third, but threw the ball short of third base.
As the Yankees’ errors piled up, so did the scoring chances.
With the bases loaded, Cole struck out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers appeared poised to strand the three men on base when Mookie Betts hit a run to first base for what should have been an easy out, but Cole didn’t cover first baseman Anthony Rizzo as he caught the ground ball, leaving no one to catch the ball at first. The single drove in Hernández.
Then Freddie Freeman hit a single into center field to drive in Edman and Smith. With the score 5-3, Teoscar Hernández hit a two-run double to center field to tie the game. Cole then walked Max Muncy before facing Kiké Hernández once again. Hernández hit a grounder to short, allowing the Yankees to get Muncy out at second to end the five-run inning.
The 8th inning, however is when the Dodgers took their first lead of the game.
At the top of the 8th Gavin Lux stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. In the same situation in the fifth, he struck out. This time, he hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Kiké Hernández to tie the game 6-6.
With a man on third and first, Shohei Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box and was quickly sent to first due to catcher’s interference. That brought Mookie Betts to the batter’s box with three on for another sacrifice fly to Arron Judge in center field, driving in Tommy Edman for the Dodgers’ first lead of the game.
With two outs and two on, Freddie Freeman struck out to head into the 8th inning with a 7-6 lead
Before the fifth inning, the Yankees seemed unbeatable.
Aaron Judge busted out of a postseason slump with his first World Series home run, connecting for a two-run shot in the first inning that put the New York Yankees ahead in Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The star slugger was batting just .152 in October and .133 during his first Fall Classic before sending a 403-foot shot to right-center on the first pitch he saw from starter Jack Flaherty.
Juan Soto was aboard after drawing a one-out walk.
It was the 16th postseason homer and third this year for Judge, expected to win his second AL MVP award in three years next month. He hadn’t gone deep in 29 plate appearances since a tying drive at Cleveland late in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 17.
Judge also homered in Game 2 of that series.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with another home run off Flaherty, giving the Yankees back-to-back homers in a World Series for the fifth time and first since Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson connected in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium in 1977.
In the second inning, the Yankees’ Alex Verdugo hit a single to right field, driving in Volpe for a 4-0 lead. That was the end of the shaky night for Dodger starter Jack Flaherty.
In the third inning, Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo home run to right field for the 5-0 lead. After the Dodgers tied the game, Stanton drove in Soto the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to get back the lead 6-5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.