How a “crazy” inning sparked the Dodgers’ World Series title rally

NEW YORK – There was only one word to describe the five-run fifth inning that brought the Dodgers back to life in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night, leaving it up to the man who delivered the most bizarre hit of the implausible rally to deliver it .

“Crazy!” Mookie Betts screamed, his eyes burning from the beer and champagne his teammates poured over his head after a stunning 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the New York Yankees secured the eighth championship in Dodgers franchise history. “It was crazy how it turned out. I mean, you have to play a clean game to beat us.”

The Yankees didn't play a flawless game on Wednesday night, accumulating most of their errors in a fifth inning that was arguably one of the ugliest in postseason history and erased the 5-0 lead they had taken on Aaron Judge's two-run home had built up a run in the first inning and solo hits by Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the first and Giancarlo Stanton in the third.

New York star Gerrit Cole needed just 49 pitches to go four hitless innings, and his defense actually saved a potential run in the fourth when Judge, with Betts aboard after a leadoff walk, struck out in left-center field Wall ran to score a run-scoring diving catch of a Freddie Freeman drive before slamming into the wall.

But the Yankees suffered an epic defensive collapse early in the fifth, committing two physical errors and a mental faux pas that allowed the Dodgers to score five unearned runs and tie the score at 5-5.

“When you get extra outs and capitalize in a game like that, it's huge,” said Freeman, who was named the series' most valuable player after hitting .300 (six for 20) with four home runs, a triple and 12 RBIs had beaten five games. “For us to even it out, you could just feel the momentum [shifting].”

Kiké Hernández, who has a career average of .391 (nine for 23) with three doubles, a triple and a home run off Cole, led off Cole in the fifth with a single to right-center field, breaking Cole's no-hitter.

Tommy Edman followed with a sinking line drive to shallow center. Judge, who didn't commit an error in 158 regular-season games and 13 postseason games, ran and had enough time to catch what looked like a routine fly ball.

But Judge seemed to take a last-second look at the runner and missed, sending the ball clattering off his glove and flying to his right. Judge recovered and made a strong throw to second, but Hernández beat the throw – just – with an aggressive feet-first slide.

“Even in baseball, they always say things,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “I never believed it, but I don’t know, man… the guy makes an incredible catch and then he misses. So maybe things even out.”

Teoscar Hernández hits a two-run double in the fifth inning to tie the game in Game 5 of the World Series against the Yankees.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The error led to two ons with no outs for Will Smith, who hacked a grounder to the shortstop hole that Anthony Volpe fielded cleanly. But the Yankees' shortstop threw a spike to third base to force out the lead runner, an error that loaded the bases with no outs.

“I know they gave Volpe a mistake on that play, but when you slow it down and see Kiké running to third base, that set up the play,” Freeman said of Hernández, who veered slightly to the right and into the von Volpe ran into throwing lane as he approached third. “That’s he’s got an incredible base-running IQ there.”

Cole stiffened up and struck out Gavin Lux with a 99 mph fastball and Shohei Ohtani with a nasty 87 mph knuckle curve, leaving him one point away from escaping the jam.

But the inning took another bizarre turn – literally – when Betts hit a slow squibber toward first base that curved slightly left as it approached Anthony Rizzo, who delivered the ball cleanly to his right, about 15 feet from the bag.

Cole initially broke out toward first base to cover, but inexplicably stopped between the mound and the bag, leaving Rizzo out to dry. Rizzo failed to hit Betts and Betts was credited with an RBI infield single that cut New York's lead to 5-1.

“Mooke hits a squibber, so Rizz couldn’t really run through it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He had to stay there and make sure he secured the catch because of the spin of the ball. And I think Gerrit…he was kind of busy trying to get out of the situation and he just didn't react quickly enough to get over it.”

Betts wasn't entirely sure what was happening in the play.

“All I know is I made it and had to run,” Betts said, “and I’m glad Cole didn’t cover first.”

Cole singled Freeman on a 1-and-2 count, and Freeman fouled off a 93-mph changeup before getting just enough of a 99.5-mph fastball to the inside corner for a flare to shallow center Hitting for a two-run single cut the Yankees' lead to 5-3.

“I got two hits and was able to stop that transition, which was huge,” Freeman said. “Because in situations like this you have to commit fouls on the pitch of the thrower. I was able to foul him and see a different pitch and luckily I hit the ball up the middle.”

Cleanup man Teoscar Hernández then launched a 1-and-2 slider 404 feet to the base of the center field wall, out of Judge's reach, for a two-run double in which Freeman, who had injured his right ankle, From first goal to first, the game was tied 5-5. Muncy walked Cole, who used his 38th pitch of the inning to give Kiké Hernández a groundout to end the inning.

“A lot of crazy things happened this whole game, really, this whole series,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “This is the magic, the beauty and the theater of October baseball.”

There was more to come. The Yankees scored in the sixth for a 6-5 lead. The Dodgers countered with two hits in the eighth to take a 7-6 lead. Kiké Hernández and Edman started the rally with singles, and Lux ​​and Betts scored runs on sacrifice flies.

Seemingly invincible reliever Blake Treinen threw a season-high 42 pitches, giving up just one hit, striking out three and walking one, recording seven outs from the sixth to eighth innings.

Game 3 starter and winner Walker Buehler then came out of the bullpen to throw a ninth-run double for the save, stretching his arms wide after striking out Alex Verdugo at the end of the game while his teammates stood by theirs Positions rushed in and out of the dugout to embrace the right-hander in a giant human hug.

“Tonight was basically the epitome of our season,” Muncy said during a wild celebration in an alcohol-soaked clubhouse. “We got a few hits, we came back. He got another hit and came back. It's just one guy at a time coming out, doing the work and struggling.

“You get injury news, guys coming back, more injury news, guys coming back, and yet we kept hanging on. This game was literally our season.”