Dodgers complete historic Game 5 comeback to win 8th World Series, Freeman named MVP
CBC
The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons, overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three Yankees defensive miscues and rallying on sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to beat New York 7-6 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Down five runs through four innings, the Dodgers comeback victory is the largest in a clinching game in World Series history.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who holds dual citizenship as a Canadian and represents the country in international play, was named the World Series' Most Valuable Player.
Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning, Alex Verdugo's RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second, and Giancarlo Stanton's third-inning homer against Ryan Brasier built a 5-0 Yankees lead.
But errors by Judge in centre and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, combined with pitcher Gerrit Cole failing to cover first on Betts' grounder, helped Los Angeles score five unearned runs in the fifth.
After Stanton's sixth-inning sacrifice fly put the Yankees back ahead 6-5, the Dodgers loaded the bases against loser Tommy Kahnle in the eighth before the sacrifice flies off Luke Weaver.
Judge doubled off winner Blake Treinen with one out in the bottom half and Chisholm walked. Manager Dave Roberts walked to the mound with Treinen at 37 pitches.
"I looked in his eyes. I said how you feeling? How much more you got?" Roberts recalled. "He said: `I want it.' I trust him."
Treinen retired Stanton on a flyout and struck out Anthony Rizzo.
Walker Buehler, making his first relief appearance since his rookie season in 2018, pitched a perfect ninth for his first major league save.
"We're obviously resilient, but there's so much love in the clubhouse that won this game today," Betts said. "That's what it was. It was love, it was grit. I mean, it was just a beautiful thing. I'm just proud of us and I'm happy for us."
When Buehler struck out Verdugo to end the game, the Dodgers poured onto the field to celebrate between the mound and first base, capping a season in which they won 98 games and finished with the best regular-season record.
"There's just a lot of ways we can win baseball games," Buehler said. "Obviously the superstars we have on our team and the discipline, it just kind of all adds up."
Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers' record-setting $700 million US signing and baseball's first 50-homer, 50-steal player, went 2 for 19 with no RBIs and had one single after separating his shoulder during a stolen base attempt in Game 2.
