All the pressure is on Aaron Judge and the Yankees as the World Series returns to the Bronx

The Dodgers become the 57th team to take a 2-0 series lead. 45 of the previous 56 won the title.

Martinez, who turned 53 last week, will be at the stadium Monday night working for MLB Network. He is living proof that a team can overcome even a 3-0 deficit in the postseason.

There is a clear path for the Yankees. If they can win on Monday, the Dodgers have a bullpen game on Tuesday and the tenor of the series could quickly change. Don't let them win one, as Kevin Millar would say.

“Nobody said it would be easy. It's a long series and we've got to make it a long series now,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Game 2. “We're not going to back down. We just have to keep going.”

Just showing up would be a good start.

The Yankees had just three extra-base hits in the first two games and struck out 20 times. They held the lead for two innings.

Aaron Judge is 1 for 9 with six strikeouts and 6 for 40 (.150) in 11 postseason games this season, recording 19 strikeouts. He is 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the postseason.

Judge hit a game-winning home run against Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the eighth inning of Game 3 of the ALCS. He is 2 for 18 with 11 strikeouts since then and has yet to drive in a run.

It's a timing issue with his swing coming at the worst possible time.

Years ago, reporters waited outside Yankee Stadium after playoff games to get a comment from George Steinbrenner as he marched toward his limousine.

Hal Steinbrenner, his son, doesn't act like that. But the pressure is on Judge to regain his momentum.

While the Yankees wait for Judge to make an impact, the Dodgers got what seemed like the best news on Sunday about their MVP Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani is expected to play Monday after his left shoulder briefly popped out of its socket in the seventh inning of Saturday night's 4-2 win when he was caught stealing.

Tests showed Ohtani has normal strength and flexibility in his shoulder. It's about dealing with any discomfort.

“If he feels good enough to go, then I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be there,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “If he can play and is willing, he will play.”

Ohtani hit three home runs, drove in 10 runs and scored 13 points in his first postseason.

Since Ohtani is a left-handed hitter, Roberts doesn't expect the shoulder to hinder his swing.

The Dodgers will start Walker Buehler against Clarke Schmidt. Both of Buehler's previous World Series starts came in Game 3. The Dodgers won both games as he allowed one run over 17 innings.

“I've never pitched a game other than Game 3 in the World Series, so it's a little bit familiar to me,” said Buehler, who would be facing the Yankees for the first time in his career.

Schmidt allowed two runs over 4⅔ innings in both starts earlier this postseason. He has never played against the Dodgers before, but faced Ohtani in 2022 and 2023 when the Yankees played the Angels.

He hit him twice and Ohtani hit a home run.

“Schmidt will know Shohei is in the box, so that means everything,” Roberts said.

Peter Abraham can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @PeteAbe.