Dodgers complete historic comeback in Game 5 to win 8th World Series, Freeman is named MVP

The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons by overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three defensive errors by the Yankees and rallying in the eighth inning thanks to sacrifice flies by Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts to put New York up 7 :6 to beat in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

After scoring five runs in four innings, the Dodgers' comeback win is the largest in a decisive game in World Series history.

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has dual Canadian citizenship and represents the country in international play, was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back homers in the first inning, Alex Verdugo's RBI single chased Jack Flaherty in the second and Giancarlo Stanton's third-inning home run off Ryan Brasier put the Yankees ahead 5-0.

But errors by Judge at center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, as well as pitcher Gerrit Cole's failure to cover Betts' grounder to first, helped Los Angeles score five unearned runs in the fifth.

After Stanton's sacrifice fly in the sixth inning gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead again, the Dodgers loaded the bases in the eighth against loser Tommy Kahnle before the sacrifice fly was batted away by Luke Weaver.

Judge doubled winner Blake Treinen with one out in the bottom half and Chisholm walked. Manager Dave Roberts took Treinen to the mound after 37 pitches.

“I looked him in the eyes. I said, how do you feel? How much do you have left?” Roberts recalled. “He said, 'I want it.' I trust him.

Treinen retired Stanton on a flyout and struck out Anthony Rizzo.

Walker Buehler, making his first appearance as a reliever since his rookie season in 2018, pitched a perfect ninth in his first major league save.

“We're obviously resilient, but there's so much love in the clubhouse that won this game today,” Betts said. “That was it. It was love, it was courage. I mean, it was just a beautiful thing. I’m just proud of us and happy for us.”

When Buehler struck out Verdugo to end the game, the Dodgers streamed onto the field to celebrate between the mound and first base. This capped a season in which they won 98 games and finished with the best record of the regular season.

“There’s just a lot of ways we can win baseball games,” Buehler said. “Of course the superstars we have on our team and the discipline fit together.”

Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers' record-breaking $700 million U.S. signing and baseball's first 50-homer, 50-steal player, went 2 for 19 with no RBIs and scored a single after reaching on a stolen base -attempt to separate his shoulder in Game 2.

Freeman sets the series record with 12 RBIs

Freeman hit a two-run single, tying the Series record of 12 RBIs set by Bobby Richardson in seven games in 1960 en route to being named Series MVP. After the Dodgers lost Friday's opener by just one point, Freeman hit a game-ending grand slam reminiscent of Kirk Gibson's home run off Oakland's Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of 1988, giving Los Angeles the title.

The Dodgers won their eighth championship and seventh since leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles – their first in a non-shortened season since 1988. They won a neutral-site World Series against Tampa Bay in 2020 after a 60-game regular season and made it not holding a parade because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Roberts won his second championship in nine seasons as Dodgers manager, tied with Lasorda and behind Walter Alston's four. The Dodgers won for the fourth time in 12 Series meetings with the Yankees.

New York has remained a record 27 since winning. in 2009 without a title. The Yankees acquired Juan Soto from San Diego in December, knowing he would be eligible for free agency after the 2024 Series. The 26-year-old star went 5-for-16 with an RBI in the series, starting an auction that will be hotly watched on the open market.

Judge finished the game 4-for-18 with three RBIs.

Cole didn't allow a hit until Kike Hernandez led off the fifth with a single. Judge, who an inning earlier made a diving catch against the wall to deny Freeman an extra-base hit, dropped Tommy Edman's fly to center. Shortstop Anthony Volpe then threw a throw on Will Smith's grounder, allowing the Dodgers to load the bases with no outs.

Cole struck out Lux and Ohtani and Betts hit a grounder to Rizzo. Cole didn't cover first and pointed to Rizzo, who was running to the bag as Betts passed the first baseman.

Freeman followed with a two-run single and Teoscar Hernandez hit a tying two-run double. Max Muncy walked before Kike Hernandez grounded out a forceout on Cole's 48th pitch of the inning.

Stanton's sacrifice fly in the sixth inning off Brusdar Graterol gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead, but the Dodgers rallied one last time in the eighth inning.

Kike Hernandez took the lead against Tommy Kahnle. Edman followed with an infield hit and Smith walked four pitches. Lux's sacrifice fly against Luke Weaver equalized. Ohtani reached after the catcher's intervention and Betts followed with another sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers their first lead.

The Dodgers were purchased by Guggenheim Baseball Management in 2012 and two years later hired Tampa Bay native Andrew Friedman to head their baseball operations. He bolstered the front office with a variety of analytics and performance science staffers, and the owners supplied the money.

Los Angeles went on an unprecedented $1.25 billion spending spree last offseason on contracts for Ohtani, pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and James Paxton, and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez. Much of the money was for future obligations, increasing the Dodgers' deferred compensation to $915.5 million owed from 2028 to 2044.

Given the injuries, the Dodgers brought in Flaherty, Edman and reliever Michael Kopech before the trade deadline, and all became key cogs in the title race. The increases pushed the payroll to $266 million, third behind the Mets and Yankees, plus a projected luxury tax of $43 million.