It’s hard enough to beat the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers if you’re not giving away free runs. Yankees allowed FIVE unearned runs in the top of the fifth inning, allowing the Dodgers the rally from down 5-0 to forge a 5-all tie (Yankees fans will hate the number FIVE forever!). Two sac-flies in the top of the eighth would be enough to carry LAD to a 7-6 victory and the 2024 World Championship.
Yankees fans will hate game stats even more…
*The Los Angeles Dodgers (+130) won at the New York Yankees 7-6, even though the YANKEES won Total Bases plus Walks by a whopping 28-15 count. That would normally be about a 7-4 win for the Bronx Bombers. But, the Dodgers clustered their bases well WHILE taking advantage of boneheaded Yankees errors. Yanks also missed opportunities with the bat, leaving 12 runners on base (to 10 for the Dodgers) and batting just 1 of 10 with runners in scoring position (Dodgers 3/12).
Gerrit Cole was throwing a gem until defense abandoned him. He would throw 6.2 innings without allowing any earned runs. Six strikeouts with no homers. Jack Flaherty only lasted 1.1 IP, allowing two homers and four ER. Then, SEVEN Dodgers relievers allowed only two ER in 7.1 innings…with Game Three starter Walker Buehler pitching the ninth to get a save.
A 4-1 series victory looks one-sided. Not the case in the big picture.
Regulation Runs: Yankees 23, Dodgers 20
Okay, that was padded by the 11-4 victory in G4. Dodgers won the other four games 16-12 in regulation, 20-13 if you count the tenth inning of G1. But, check THIS out…
Regulation Total Bases plus Walks by Game
G1: Yankees 16, Dodgers 11
G2: Dodgers 20, Yankees 9
G3: Yankees 15, Dodgers 14
G4: Yankees 27, Dodgers 17
G5: Yankees 28, Dodgers 15
Very easily could have been 3-2 either way after five games. Yanks didn’t need much luck to have taken the series in five games! Poor defense at the worst possible time…poor production with runners on base (9 of 46, for a .196 batting average)…relative quiet from Aaron Judge until it was too late.
I’m not saying the Dodgers lucked their way to a title. Defense matters. Smart baserunning matters. Having a depth of offensive threats matters. (Apparently having rotation depth DOESN’T matter these days!). Baseball is always a mix of execution and luck. Can’t argue about LAD’s execution throughout this playoff run. And, the Yankees can’t make the case that “swinging and missing” through five games is just bad luck.
Congrats to Dodgers fans, and bettors who took LAD to win the series, or had them in the preponderance of games. That wraps up baseball coverage for this season. Plenty of football still ahead! Back with you late Thursday night to crunch numbers from Houston/NY Jets, and see how sharps are betting Friday and early Saturday college football. (If you don’t receive emails, it’s because a typhoon knocked out power for a bit where I’m currently staying. I’ll get caught up shortly if that happens.)
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