The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the World Series title on Wednesday night, defeating the New York Yankees 7-6 to win the series four games to one. Fans in Los Angeles celebrated as the Dodgers came back from a five-run deficit in one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent baseball history. Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts each hit sacrifice flies in the eighth inning to secure the Dodgers’ victory.
“This is what we set out to do in spring training,” Betts said, champagne in his eyes.
New York took an early lead with back-to-back home runs by Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the first inning. By the third, Giancarlo Stanton’s homer extended the Yankees’ lead to 5-0. But defensive errors by Judge and shortstop Anthony Volpe allowed Los Angeles to erase the deficit in the fifth inning.
The Yankees briefly regained the lead in the sixth inning, but the Dodgers loaded the bases in the eighth and pulled ahead with sacrifice flies from Lux and Betts. Blake Treinen pitched a critical eighth inning, retiring Stanton and striking out Anthony Rizzo, and Walker Buehler closed out the game, earning his first major league save.
In the Dodgers’ clubhouse, MVP Freddie Freeman, who tied the Series record with 12 RBIs, celebrated the team’s resilience. “When you’re given extra outs and you capitalize in that kind of game, that’s huge,” he said.
Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ $700 million signing, battled through the Series despite a shoulder injury and celebrated alongside his teammates. “The success of the postseason is very similar,” he said through a translator, referring to the team’s unity.
This victory marks the Dodgers’ eighth championship and their first in a full season since 1988. Manager Dave Roberts, now a two-time champion, praised the team’s journey through injuries and challenges. “We faced every adversity possible and overcame every single one,” Freeman added.
Los Angeles will hold a victory parade on Friday, coinciding with what would have been the 64th birthday of Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela, who passed away just before the Series began.
