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World Series

Greatest Words in Sports: Game Seven!

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As if there were not enough drama, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays will go at it again – TONIGHT – in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.

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The teams played an 18-inning Game 3 in Los Angeles, won 6-5 by the Dodgers on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run. Then came the ending of Game 6 on Friday. With the Dodgers leading by two runs, one out and runners on second and third, Andres Gimenez lined out to left fielder Enrique Hernandez, who threw to second baseman Miguel Rojas to double off Addison Barger at second.

That completed the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory to set up a Game 7 in the World Series for the first time since 2019, when the Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros.

It will be the seventh elimination or call it, in this case, winner-take-all, game of the 2025 postseason, matching 2012 for the most.

After the Friday contest, the term “all hands on deck” was thrown around frequently when referring to pitching possibilities for Game 7.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he had not decided on a starter. He did say that Tyler Glasnow, Los Angeles’ Game 3 starter who got the final three outs of Game 6 for his first career save, would be available.

“They are all possibilities,” he said.

That includes Game 4 starter Shohei Ohtani, who could either open or relieve.

“Just kind of figuring out what his temperature is on starting versus coming out of the ‘pen, and so we’re close to a decision,” Roberts said.

Toronto will go with Max Scherzer (1-0, 4.50 ERA postseason), who started Game 3.

Scherzer will be starting his second career World Series Game 7. The other was with the Nationals in 2019, when he threw five innings of two-run ball in a no-decision.

“No better guy to have on the mound to kind of navigate the emotions, the stuff,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Max has been getting ready for Game 7 when he knew he was pitching Game 3. So all the confidence in the world in him and everyone (Saturday).”

Scherzer allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings during the Game 3 marathon.

The Dodgers are trying to become the first repeat World Series champions since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.

“I’m excited. It’s going to be fun,” said Los Angeles catcher Will Smith, who hit an RBI double in Game 6. “We work all year long to be in this situation to win a ballgame and win a World Series.”

Roberts added, “We’re going to leave it out there. I don’t think that the pressure, the moment’s going to be too big for us. We got to go out there and win one baseball game. We’ve done that all year.”

The Blue Jays will be trying to win their first World Series since they won back-to-back titles in 1992-93, their only previous appearances in the Fall Classic.

Toronto is headed to its second Game 7 of the 2025 postseason. The Blue Jays won Games 6 and 7 at home to take the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners.

Schneider believes his team is good at keeping things as normal as possible, and he expects the same on Saturday.

We’ve done that a lot this year,” Schneider said. “We’ve got voices in the clubhouse and people in the coaching staff that will keep it normal (Saturday). It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be three or four or five hours of mayhem and great baseball.

“But these guys are going to be ready for it. Hopefully they get to slow some things down but enjoy it. It’s Game 7 of the World Series at your home stadium. I mean, what the hell else do you want?”

–Field Level Media

Blue Jays One Big Win Away

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LOS ANGELES – (Wire Service Report) – From Class-A to a class of his own, Trey Yesavage put the Toronto Blue Jays one victory away from a championship.

The rookie dominated with 12 strikeouts, Davis Schneider hit a home run on the opening pitch and the Toronto Blue Jays cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday.

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The result sends Toronto home with a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series.

Yesavage, who made his major league debut in September after pitching at four minor league levels this year, set a rookie record for strikeouts in a World Series game. He also became the first pitcher with at least 12 strikeouts and no walks in a Fall Classic contest.

“Yeah, it’s a crazy world. Crazy world,” Yesavage said. “Hollywood couldn’t have made it this good. So just being a part of this, I’m just very blessed.”

The 22-year-old, who has started two of the Blue Jays’ three victories in the series, allowed one run on three hits over seven innings.

“Historic stuff,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “When you talk about that stage and his numbers, getting ahead of a lot of hitters, tons of swing-and-miss. … I said it before the game, he’s a different pitcher when he has his stuff.”

Schneider’s homer was followed by one from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the third pitch of the game, leaving the Blue Jays in need of a victory either in Game 6 on Friday or Game 7 on Saturday to win their first title in 32 years. The remainder of the series will be contested in Toronto.

Enrique Hernandez hit a home run for the Dodgers, while veteran Blake Snell was charged with five runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. Snell walked four and fanned seven.

Los Angeles star Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-4, making him 0-for-7 over the past two games after he reached base a World Series-record nine times in Game 3.

“It doesn’t feel great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of his team’s offense. “You clearly see those (Toronto) guys finding ways to get hits, move the baseball forward, and we’re not doing a good job of it. I thought Yesavage was good tonight mixing his fastball, slider and the split.”

The Dodgers shook up the lineup by moving Will Smith to the No. 2 spot and dropping Mookie Betts to No. 3. Alex Call also started in the outfield over a struggling Andy Pages, all to no avail. Los Angeles has scored four runs over the past 29 innings.

“We faced this last year,” the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman said about last year’s best-of-five National League Division Series. “We were down 2-1 to the Padres and won two games in a row, so we can do it again.”

Yesavage (3-1) ended up taking over, but only after the Toronto offense set the tone from the start.

Schneider hit Snell’s 97 mph fastball to open the game over the wall in left field, his first in seven postseason games. Guerrero waited two pitches before depositing a 96 mph fastball from Snell also to left, his eighth of the postseason and second of the World Series.

Yesavage opened the third inning by fanning Max Muncy, his fifth consecutive strikeout to set a World Series record by a rookie. Hernandez ended the run with a home run to left to cut the Dodgers’ deficit to 2-1.

Los Angeles right fielder Teoscar Hernandez misplayed a hit down the right field line by Daulton Varsho that turned into a triple to lead off the fourth, and Ernie Clement followed with a sacrifice fly to center to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead.

Snell (3-2) left the game in the seventh inning with two outs and two aboard. The Blue Jays cashed in both runners against Edgardo Henriquez on a run-scoring wild pitch and an RBI single from Bo Bichette for a 5-1 lead.

“Vlad is a really good hitter so you got to do stuff there, but the rest of the lineup, they’re ambushing,” said Snell, who lamented what he called bad luck. “If we get to a Game 7, I’ll see them again, so I can’t say much.”

Toronto’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa added an RBI single in the eighth.

Blue Jays relievers Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman each pitched a scoreless inning to seal the win.

– Field Level Media

World Serious

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – It was not so much the heartbreak that the resilient Toronto Blue Jays overcame on Tuesday, it was the actual pain.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run, Shane Bieber pitched into the sixth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays got even in the World Series with a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4.

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Andres Gimenez, Bo Bichette and Addison Barger each had RBI singles in a four-run seventh inning as the Blue Jays moved past the agony of an 18-inning loss in Game 3 to guarantee a Game 6 at Toronto on Friday.

The Blue Jays powered through the physical demands after a 6-hour, 39-minute game one night earlier.

“What didn’t hurt?” said 29-year-old Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement, who had two hits and scored a run. “I barely got out of bed. … But yeah, nobody felt sorry for themselves today. We got to play a World Series game.”

Shohei Ohtani pitched six-plus innings for the Dodgers in his first career World Series start and was charged with four runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts. After reaching base nine times in Game 3, he went 0-for-3 at the plate in Game 4 with a walk and two strikeouts.

The Dodgers’ offense has managed three runs over the past 20 innings going back to the eighth inning of Game 3.

“Whether it’s during the regular season or the postseason, my goal is to be able to pitch six innings,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “The situation, this game, I wanted to go seven, and it was regrettable that I wasn’t able to finish that inning.”

Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

Enrique Hernandez gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a sacrifice fly that scored Max Muncy.

The Blue Jays moved in front 2-1 in the third inning on Guerrero’s two-run shot to left-center against Ohtani. The long ball was the seventh of the postseason but the first of the World Series for Guerrero, who entered the night without an RBI in the Fall Classic.

“I was just looking for a pitch to do damage, and I saw it right there up in the zone, and I could do damage,” Guerrero said through an interpreter about hitting a home run off an Ohtani sweeper.

When Bieber struck out Ohtani on a foul tip in the third inning, it ended Ohtani’s World Series-record streak of reaching base in 11 consecutive plate appearances. Ohtani had singled in the eighth inning of Game 2, reached base all nine times in Game 3 (including two doubles and two homers) and walked in the first inning of Game 4.

“You know, we’re facing quality arms this time of the year against really good teams, and we’re facing the best of the best, so I think it’s not that easy,” Ohtani said about the Dodgers’ offense. “But at the same time, we could do at least the bare minimum to be able to put up some runs.”

Bieber (2-0) gave up one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings with three walks and three strikeouts.

“I would have loved to give the team a couple more innings, but ultimately, it’s the World Series and a win is all that matters,” Bieber said.

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Ohtani (2-1) departed from the mound in the seventh after the Blue Jays opened the inning with a single from Daulton Varsho and a double from Clement.

Dodgers left-hander Anthony Banda took over on the mound, and Gimenez greeted him with an RBI single to left, making it a 3-1 game. Ty France delivered a run-scoring groundout before Bichette and Barger added RBI hits for a 6-1 lead.

Los Angeles got back one run in the ninth on a run-scoring groundout by Tommy Edman.

Toronto played without leadoff man George Springer because of an injury to his right side that occurred in Game 3.

“I feel really good about this team every night,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “It’s hard to play 18 innings and come back and kind of flip the narrative against a very talented team and a very talented individual in Shohei Ohtani on the mound.”

– Field Level Media

It’s On to LA

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LOS ANGELES  – (Wire Service Report) – After the long 32-year wait to return to Canada, the World Series shifts back to Los Angeles, where memories remain thick from its visit just one year ago. All even at one game each, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers will duel to get the upper hand in the best-of-seven matchup when Game 3 arrives Monday night.

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In Game 1 at Los Angeles last year, the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman hit a game-ending grand slam against the New York Yankees on the way to becoming the first player to hit a home run in each of the first four games of a World Series.

A different kind of history is set to unfold in the opening inning Monday. Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer is set to become the first pitcher to take the mound for four different teams in the World Series.

After already appearing in a World Series for the Detroit Tigers (2012), Washington Nationals (2019), and Texas Rangers (2023), Scherzer is chasing his third career title. He will enter off a strong 5 2/3-inning start in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series when he helped the Blue Jays past the Seattle Mariners.

The outing came after he went 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA over his last six starts in the regular season.

“This is what you play for, to be able to get to this spot, to get to this moment, to have a shot at it,” said Scherzer, who is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in four postseason appearances (three starts) against the Dodgers. “… Just so fortunate to have another crack at this. There’s so many great players that have never gotten to a World Series.”

Scherzer pitched for the Dodgers in 2021, when they fell in the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves. He was scratched from a scheduled start in a decisive Game 6 of the NLCS saying his arm was “locked up.”

After the Blue Jays dominated Game 1 on Friday by scoring 11 runs, the Dodgers responded with Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s complete game in a 5-1 victory that evened the series.

Los Angeles is now 9-0 this postseason when a starter goes at least six innings.

“These guys aren’t going to go away. They’re very confident. It’s a very talented team,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the Blue Jays. “(Offensively), you got to continue to tack on, you got to get to the pen, and you got to beat those guys up and keep building on innings.”

Los Angeles right-hander Tyler Glasnow will follow Yamamoto’s command performance with a start in Game 3. After going 4-3 with a 3.19 ERA in 18 regular-season starts, Glasnow has been impressive in the postseason.

Glasnow gave up one run over 5 2/3 innings of a Dodgers win in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers and has a 0.68 ERA in three appearances (two starts) this postseason with 18 strikeouts over 13 1/3 innings.

In 11 career regular-season starts against the Blue Jays, Glasnow is 1-4 with a 5.82 ERA, last facing them at home Aug. 10 when he allowed two runs with eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of a no-decision.

After returning from a broken hand in the NL Division Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers’ Will Smith had his best game of the postseason when he hit a home run and had three RBIs in the Game 2 victory.

“You got to embrace the emotions, but you also got to tame ‘em,” Smith said. “… You got to just focus on the task at hand. Basically, just not try to do too much at times. Kind of let the game come to you, not try to force anything, and just kind of focus on what you’re doing.”

–Field Level Media

Dodgers Knot World Series

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TORONTO – Finishing what he starts has become a postseason trend for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander pitched his second consecutive complete game Saturday night in a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays to knot the World Series at one apiece.

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Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be played Monday in Los Angeles, with Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow opposing Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer.

With the game tied 1-1 in the seventh, Will Smith (three RBIs) and Max Muncy each hit solo homers to back Yamamoto.

Yamamoto (3-1) allowed one run, four hits and no walks while striking out eight.

“To be honest, I was not thinking I could complete the game because my pitch count racked up kind of quickly,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “But I’m very happy I completed the game.”

He managed his pitch count as the game progressed and it finished at 105 with 73 strikes, retiring his final 20 batters.

“At the end of the fifth inning, I believe the pitch count was 71, so at that point I was still trying to take it one inning at a time,” Yamamoto said. “If I was going to the ninth inning or not, we didn’t really talk about it.”

In his previous start, he pitched a three-hit complete game in a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 14. He was the first Dodger to throw a postseason complete game since Jose Lima in 2004.

Orel Hershiser was the last Dodger with consecutive postseason complete games in Game 7 of the 1988 NLCS and Games 2 and 5 in the 1988 World Series.

“Second complete game in a row in the postseason, that’s pretty impressive, with a layoff in between,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I think he made it hard for us to make him work. He was in the zone, his split was in and out of the zone. It was a really good performance by him.”

Los Angeles opened the scoring in the first inning against Kevin Gausman (2-2). Freddie Freeman ripped a two-out double into the right field corner and scored on Smith’s single to center.

The Blue Jays threatened in the bottom of the inning when George Springer led off with a double and Nathan Lukes singled. Yamamoto escaped the jam with two strikeouts and a lineout.

Toronto tied it in the third. Springer was hit by a pitch to open the inning. He took third on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s one-out single to deep left and scored on Alejandro Kirk’s sacrifice fly to center.

Game 2 then settled into a pitchers’ duel.

“After that first inning, I was thinking six (innings),” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I felt he would find a way to get through six. …Then the pitch count kind of stayed where it needed to stay. And then for me, I just didn’t see anything fall off as far as his delivery and the execution.”

Gausman retired 17 in a row until Smith smashed a 3-2 fastball to left with one out in the seventh for his first home run of the postseason. With two outs, Muncy hit his second homer of the postseason, a blast to left on a 2-2 fastball.

World Series: Dodgers vs Guerrero Jr.

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TORONTO – (Wire Service Report) – Given the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting pitching dominance in the postseason, manager Dave Roberts could pick anybody in the rotation and feel good about his team’s chances.

But after the way left-hander Blake Snell and righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto performed in the first two games of the NLCS, why change anything for the World Series?

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Roberts confirmed this line of thinking on Tuesday as he tabbed Snell and Yamamoto to start on Friday and Saturday in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Both will be working on 10 days’ rest.

“I think we’re going to run the same rotation back, I think for sure for the first two,” Roberts said.

Snell, who inked a five-year, $182 million deal with the Dodgers in the offseason, threw 21 innings versus National League competition in the playoffs and allowed just two runs (0.86 ERA) and six hits. He blanked strong-hitting teams in Philadelphia and Milwaukee — highlighted by allowing just one hit over eight innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Brewers.

Yamamoto threw a complete game the next night in Game 2 against Milwaukee, allowing 1 run on 3 hits.

Both of those efforts came on the road, the same challenge the duo will face against the hot-hitting Blue Jays.

Roberts has other outstanding options for Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles as power right-handers Tyler Glasnow (0.68 playoff ERA) and Shohei Ohtani are lined for those games.

The Dodgers’ relative weakness — the bullpen — may get a lift in the World Series. Southpaw Tanner Scott, who missed the last two series after an emergency surgical procedure, could return to boost that group.

Scott, another free-agent acquisition this winter, earned 23 saves but struggled at times. He blew 10 saves and pitched to a 4.74 ERA.

“It’s just kind of trying to get a grasp on the doctors giving him the full kind of green light, the go-ahead,” Roberts said. “I know that he’s anxious, which is a good thing, but fortunately, we get to see for a couple more days how he responds to throwing and bullpens and things like that.”

–Field Level Media

The Revenge of Mookie Betts

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NEW YORK – Was it the revenge of Mookie Betts, the Curse of the Betts-bino, or is it a deeper, darker Curse of the Morons? That’ll be the question the New York Yankees and their ill-fated fans will have to answer after the Los Angeles Dodgers performed the unthinkable and defeated the Yankees in a comeback for the ages, a day after a fan attempted to grab a baseball right out of Betts’ glove. The fan was ejected and banned from baseball but, the Curse might remain.

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Betts, LA’s right fielder, lifted a tie-breaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers overcame a five-run deficit and clinched their eighth World Series title with a 7-6 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night in Game 5 in the Bronx.

Six outs away from being forced back to Los Angeles for a sixth game on Friday, the Dodgers won their second title in five seasons and first in a full season since Kirk Gibson and the 1988 team stunned the Oakland Athletics.

Los Angeles also avoided becoming the first team to win the first three games of a best-of-seven Fall Classic and get taken to a sixth game.

The Dodgers trailed 6-5 entering the eighth before Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle (1-1) allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs. Gavin Lux cracked a tying sacrifice fly to center field off Luke Weaver.

Shohei Ohtani then reached base on catcher’s interference when his bat grazed Austin Wells’ glove. Following a brief review, the call was confirmed.

On the next pitch, Betts lifted a fly ball to center fielder Aaron Judge, and utility man Tommy Edman trotted home for a 7-6 lead.

It was the largest comeback ever in a World Series clincher, surpassing the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates overcoming a four-run deficit in Game 7 against the Washington Senators.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead after Los Angeles erased its 5-0 deficit by sending 10 to the plate in fifth. The Dodgers capitalized on physical errors by Judge and Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe along with a mental error by Gerrit Cole, New York’s starting pitcher.

New York held a 5-0 lead and Cole had yet to allow a hit before Enrique Hernandez singled to open the fifth inning.

Edman reached when his fly ball caromed off Judge’s glove, putting runners at first and second. Will Smith followed by hitting a grounder to Volpe, whose throw bounced in front of third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., loading the bases with no outs.

After Cole struck out Lux and Ohtani, Betts hit a soft grounder to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Cole went about halfway off the mound before stopping, and Betts beat Rizzo to the bag allowing the Dodgers’ first run to score.

Cole was one strike away from ending the inning with a 5-1 lead but allowed a two-run single to Freddie Freeman. Teoscar Hernandez also was one strike away from making the final out before lining a two-run double over Judge’s head, tying the game 5-5.

Los Angeles rallied after getting a short start from Jack Flaherty, who was tagged for four runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings.

Blake Treinen (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out Anthony Rizzo with two on in the eighth.

Two days after winning Game 3, Walker Buehler pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first major league save, regular season or postseason.

Judge hit a two-run homer in the first and Chisholm followed with a solo shot. Alex Verdugo added an RBI single to chase Flaherty in the second, and Stanton homered in the third off Ryan Brasier.

Cole allowed five unearned runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked four.

–Field Level Media

Series Goes to Game 5

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jack Flaherty and Gerrit Cole spent Tuesday afternoon preparing for a game they weren’t certain would happen. A few hours later, Anthony Volpe ensured the World Series would continue with Game 5 on Wednesday, when Flaherty pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cole starts for the New York Yankees.

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The Dodgers held a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series entering play on Tuesday, but New York cruised to an 11-4 victory in Game 4, sparked by Volpe’s third-inning grand slam.

Another Yankees win on Wednesday would create some history. Of the 24 previous teams that fell behind 3-0 in the World Series, 21 were swept in four games and the other three were eliminated in Game 5.

If New York can extend the series again, Game 6 would be played Friday in Los Angeles.

The Yankees hit .186 in the first three games and scored a total of seven runs. The Dodgers then grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Wednesday before Volpe sparked a comeback.

“They’re just like, ‘Let’s go get it,’” New York manager Aaron Boone said of his players. “Again, these guys love playing with each other, and you kind of got that sense before the game. And obviously as the game unfolded, it kind of got better and better tonight.

“It’s one game. We wanted to get it to tomorrow, and we’ve done that. Excited for the opportunity tomorrow.”

The Yankees are now hitting .206 in the series after posting their highest-scoring World Series game since a 12-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1978 Fall Classic.

Besides Volpe, Austin Wells and Gleyber Torres homered for New York. Aaron Judge hit an RBI single and walked, and every New York player except Anthony Rizzo reached base at least once.

“We’re just going to play our game,” Volpe said. “We feel like if we do that and we play the way we know we’re capable of playing, they can — they’re obviously a good team, and they can do what they do and whatever they want to do. We just have so much confidence in us that we play … that way, we feel like we’ll win.”

The Dodgers had few highlights other than Freddie Freeman setting a pair of major league records by homering in his sixth straight World Series game and becoming the first player to homer in the opening four games of a Fall Classic. Los Angeles mustered just six hits and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

“We’re up 3-1 right now,” Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts said. “We feel pretty good about it, but you know that they’re going to fight. It doesn’t matter what the score is and it doesn’t matter when it is; they’re going to fight. So, I mean, no lead is safe until you win the fourth game.”

Flaherty (1-2, 6.10 ERA in the postseason) allowed eight runs in three innings during Game 5 of the NLCS against the New York Mets on Oct. 18, but he opened the World Series by allowing two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Flaherty departed his first World Series start due to hamstring tightness he felt on the pitch before allowing a two-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton on his final delivery, but he said he feels fine now.

“It’s caused a little extra work that I normally wouldn’t have to do, but I’m feeling good today, felt good yesterday during my bullpen (session),” Flaherty said before Game 4. “At this point, it’s not anything I’m worried about.”

Cole (1-0, 2.82) will make his fourth career World Series start and first in an elimination game. Cole is 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in World Series starts, and he took a no-decision in Game 1 when he allowed one run on four hits in six innings while throwing 88 pitches.

Cole was not a consideration to start Game 4 on three days of rest because his season began with a 2 1/2-month absence caused by an elbow injury.

“I feel now like I’m in good shape,” he said. “I have a reserve while I’m pitching. So if I need to dip into the tank, I can go get it, and then I can go get it again. It’s not like a one-time thing.

“And then familiarity both with myself and my delivery, how I’m moving, how well I’m concentrating the ball in the areas of the strike zone that I want to get. I’m … missing east and west very rarely anymore. Things are more defined.”

–Field Level Media

Bullpen Opener for World Series?

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With a commanding lead in the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers will turn to rookie right-hander Ben Casparius to open Game 4 on the road against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.

Holding a 3-0 advantage in the series, the Dodgers are in position to pull off the sweep for their first title since 2020, and their first championship after a full 162-game season since 1988.

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Casparius, 25, has just three games of regular-season experience. They all came after Aug. 31 when he went 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 8 1/3 total innings. After he was given a spot on the postseason roster, he has made three appearances in the playoffs, going 1-0 without allowing a run in 4 1/3 innings.

Tuesday’s game will be the Dodgers’ fourth bullpen game of the postseason, going 2-1 in those contests. They entered the playoffs with just three healthy starters: Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler.

The Dodgers’ most recent bullpen came in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against New York Mets when they earned a 10-5 victory to clinch a spot in the World Series. Casparius went 1 1/3 scoreless innings in that game while earning the win.

Right-hander Ryan Brasier started two bullpen games in the playoffs for Los Angeles, while right-hander Michael Kopech started the other.

–Field Level Media

World Series Continues in the Bronx

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NEW YORK – In the opening two games of their first World Series appearance since 2009, the New York Yankees were close to at least exiting Dodger Stadium with a split and possibly two wins.

Instead, the Los Angeles Dodgers were productive enough and even with Shohei Ohtani off to a quiet start and sustaining a partially dislocated left shoulder, the best team during the regular season is halfway to a title.

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While Ohtani is slated to play and attempt to help the Dodgers inch closer to their eighth title, the Yankees hope returning home can aid them in getting back into the series when the Fall Classic shifts to Yankee Stadium on Monday.

After the Dodgers won games started by Jack Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler gets the nod for Game 3. Following losses in games started by Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt gets the ball for New York in a matchup of former first-round picks.

The Dodgers are attempting to win their first title in a 162-game season since beating the Oakland Athletics in five games in 1988. Like that series, Los Angeles won the opening two games at home and the Dodgers are seeking a three games to none lead for the first time since 1963 when they swept the Yankees.

Los Angeles held serve by earning a 6-3 victory in the opener and following it up with a 4-2 win in Game 2 on Saturday. Freddie Freeman hit the game-ending grand slam with two outs in the 10th inning off Nestor Cortes in the opener, and homered again Saturday before Alex Vesia needed one pitch to escape a bases-loaded jam after the Yankees scored their second run.

Vesia’s escape occurred after Ohtani hurt his shoulder attempting to steal second in the seventh inning. Ohtani is 1-for-8 in the series and manager Dave Roberts said the superstar felt good Sunday morning, flew separately from the team and was able to participate in their workout.

“If (Ohtani) feels good enough to go, I see no reason why he wouldn’t be in there,” Roberts said of the starting lineup before the Dodgers worked out.

The Yankees are hoping to get some better clutch hitting after going 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position in Los Angeles. Juan Soto homered in Game 2 but Aaron Judge went 1-for-9 with six strikeouts and is 6-for-40 with 19 strikeouts during the postseason.

“Just expanding the zone. That’s what it really comes down to,” Judge said. “I think it’s trying to make things happen instead of letting the game come to you. Plain and simple, I’ve got to start swinging at strikes.”

Judge is struggling while hitting between Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, who are hitting a combined .313 (26-for-83) with 10 homers and 23 RBIs in the postseason.

“We’ve been through a lot of tough moments throughout the year. So I think we’ve been there,” Soto said. “We know how (to take) a couple punches in the face and just keep battling and keep going. We can go home and do our thing.”

The Yankees are facing a 2-0 deficit for the first time since dropping the first two against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 in a series that reached Game 7. New York is facing a two games to none World Series deficit for the ninth time and rallied to win a title in 1996 against the Atlanta Braves, 1978 against the Dodgers, 1958 against the Milwaukee Braves and 1956 against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Under the World Series’ current 2-3-2 format, the team winning the opening two games has won 45 out of 56 times. The last team to overcome a two games to none deficit was the Yankees, who are the only team to do so since the 1986 New York Mets.

Schmidt, who has a pair of no-decisions in the postseason, will pitch in Game 3 for the third straight time. Schmidt is pitching for the first time since allowing two runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings in Cleveland in Game 3 of the ALCS on Oct. 17.

“I’m obviously very excited to get out there, but I know I have a job to do. We’re trying to win this World Series,” Schmidt said before Game 2. “I think for me I’m just trying to go out there and execute and do my job.”

Buehler is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in a pair of postseason starts. He was tagged for six runs in five innings in Game 3 of the Division Series at San Diego and allowed three hits in four innings during an 8-0 win over the Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS on Oct. 16.

Buehler is 1-0 with an 0.69 ERA in a pair of World Series Starts which occurred in Games 3 in 2018 against the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay two years later.

“We love Walker in big games,” Roberts said. “The road isn’t going to faze him. It also allows him potentially to be available for a Game 7 too.”

–Field Level Media