The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a series victory against the New York Yankees with an 11-3 win, and now have a chance to sweep the marquee matchup between two of MLB’s premiere clubs.
After a scoreless first inning from both sides, Teoscar Hernández gave the Dodgers an early lead with a solo home run. It was his 14th of the season and continued his hot streak after providing the game-winning hit the night before.
However, the Yankees came back to tie it in the bottom half of the inning when a force play scored a run following Ia pair of singles against Gavin Stone.
The game proved to be back-and-forth for the first few innings as the Dodgers re-took the lead in the third. Kiké Hernández started them off with a walk, and Chris Taylor singled to set the table.
Shohei Ohtani came through with a one-out RBI single to put the Dodgers up 2-1. But the Yankees answered right back to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning with a home run from Aaron Judge.
The Dodgers once again jumped ahead in the fifth when Kiké Hernández hit his fourth homer of the season, benefiting from the short porch in right field to put the Dodgers up 3-2.
It’s the first time this season both Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández have homered in the same game.
The Dodgers added on again in the sixth, which was started by a double from Freddie Freeman and a single from Will Smith before Teoscar Hernández grounded into a force out, which scored Freeman.
But the Dodgers really broke the game open in the eighth when they loaded the bases for Teoscar Hernandez, who unloaded them with a grand slam to double their score. He finished the day with six runs batted in for the third time in his career.
In the ninth, the Dodgers continued to add on, just for good measure, when Freeman doubled home two runs, giving the Dodgers 10 runs in the game. The Yankees went to a position player to record the final out, but he ended up walking in the 11th run of the game.
The Yankees had a chance to re-take the lead or tie the game in the sixth when Stone loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of singles and a walk. Alex Vesia took over for Stone and retired Anthony Volpe to end the threat, ending all the Yankees’ momentum and allowing the Dodgers to further extend their lead.
Stone finished his day with another solid outing, going 5.2 innings and allowing two runs on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He dealt with some poor luck on batted balls, but was overall able to limit the damage each time.
Vesia also pitched the seventh, shutting down the heart of the Yankees’ lineup. Ryan Yarbrough worked the final two innings to finish out the game, allowing a homer to Judge in the ninth inning.
Yankees vs. Dodgers feels like playoff games
After the series opener, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, and both Kiké and Teoscar Hernandez discussed the excitement of the game between the two juggernaut teams. It was also described as a playoff atmosphere, and the adrenaline was clear, with most pitchers experiencing an uptick in their velocity.
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