Dodgers-Yankees World Series Game 3 stats, interesting facts

NEW YORK – The Dodgers continued their dominance in the World Series on Monday night, defeating the Yankees 4-2 at Yankee Stadium to take a 3-0 lead.

In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams that took a 3-0 lead have won the series 39 of 40 times (98%), including 31 sweeps. Only two teams that trailed 3-0 have even forced a Game 7: the 2020 Astros, who lost to the Rays in the ALCS, and the 2004 Red Sox, who beat the Yankees in the ALCS. The last team to force a Game 5 in a 3-0 loss in a World Series was the Reds in 1970 against the Orioles.

The World Series hasn't ended with the Giants winning over the Tigers since 2012. The Dodgers have one best-of-seven win: the 1963 World Series against the Yankees.

Before we learn whether 2024 will make this list, here's a look at eight stats and facts from Game 3.

• Freddie Freeman came into the game having hit a home run in every game of the series and wasted no time adding Game 3 to the list by getting the yardage in the first. He became only the third player to hit a home run in Games 1, 2 and 3 of a World Series, joining Barry Bonds (Giants) in 2002 and Hank Bauer (Yankees) in 1958. No one did it in the first four years. The only player to hit a home run in four consecutive games in a single World Series is George Springer in Games 4–7 of 2017.

• Freeman has now hit a home run in five consecutive World Series games since 2021 with the Braves. This is the longest winning streak in the Fall Classic with Springer. Freeman hit a home run in his final three games this postseason, tying Bill Madlock in 1985 for the longest streak in Dodgers postseason history.

• The Game 3 performance gave Freeman five World Series home runs in nine games. This makes Chase Utley the second most in a player's first nine career World Series games, behind only Springer with six.

• Walker Buehler pitched five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. It was the 13th scoreless World Series start in Dodgers history and the first since Buehler himself in Game 3 in 2018. He, along with Sandy Koufax, are the only Dodgers with multiple scoreless starts in the World Series.

• In this start in 2018, Bühler also only allowed two goals. He joins Madison Bumgarner, Warren Spahn and George Earnshaw as the fourth pitcher with multiple scoreless World Series appearances of at least five innings and two or fewer hits allowed.

• Let's go one step further. Buehler also pitched for Game 3 of the World Series in 2020, allowing one run on three hits over six innings. He is the only pitcher in World Series history to make three appearances with at least five innings and four or fewer baserunners allowed – and they are the first three World Series appearances of his career.

• One reason Buehler went scoreless was an assist from Teoscar Hernández in the fourth period. At 93.9 mph, it was the third-fastest tracked World Series outfield assist according to Statcast (2015), behind 94.9 mph by Hunter Renfroe of the Rays in 2020 and 94.6 mph by Adolis García of the Rangers last year. It was also the third-fastest tracked outfield assist in Hernández's career, including the playoffs, behind a 94.8 mph assist in 2016 and 94.0 mph in 2022.

• As mentioned above, there have been no wins in 11 consecutive World Series games, with the Giants' last win coming in the 2012 World Series against the Tigers. Eleven consecutive World Series without a win is the second-longest such stretch in World Series history, behind a 12-year streak from 1977 to 1988.