Freddie Freeman blasted his second home run of the World Series as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-2 to take a 2-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven showdown on Saturday.
Freeman — who smashed a sensational grand slam to seal victory in Friday’s dramatic opener — followed a two-run home run from Teoscar Hernandez in a decisive burst of scoring in the third inning.
But the Dodgers’ victory celebrations were muted by an injury scare to Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani appeared to injure his left shoulder after falling heavily on his arm as he attempted to steal second base in the seventh inning, and needed to be helped off the field after remaining on the ground for several minutes.
There was no immediate confirmation of the exact nature of Ohtani’s injury.
Earlier, Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated the Yankees’ vaunted offensive batting line-up, allowing just one hit through 6.1 innings with a clinical performance.
The victory means the Dodgers will head to New York for game three on Monday in a commanding position with both momentum and history on their side.
In the history of Major League Baseball, teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven postseason series have prevailed 77 times out of the 92 times it has occurred.
Unlike Friday’s nerve-shredding extra-innings thriller, when the Dodgers rallied from 3-2 down in the 10th to win after Freeman’s walk-off grand slam, Saturday’s win was a more controlled performance.
In-form utility man Tommy Edman got the offensive ball rolling for the Dodgers in the bottom of the second inning, sweeping a towering 355-feet home run to left field off Yankees starter Carlos Rodon to make it 1-0.
Yankees star Juan Soto brought it back to 1-1 in the top of the third, creaming a solo home run to deep right field off Yamamoto.
But that was as good as it got for the Yankees as a line-up featuring home run leader Aaron Judge and power-hitter Giancarlo Stanton struggled to get to grips with Yamamoto’s variety of pitches.
The game was broken wide open in the bottom of the third, however, as the Dodgers bats jumped on Rodon.
After Rodon removed Miguel Rojas and Ohtani, Mookie Betts singled with hard drive into left field.
– Hernandez homers –
Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez then crushed a 98mph fastball 392 feet into right center field for a two-run shot to make it 3-1.
With the Dodgers sensing an opportunity, and with roars of “Freddie Freddie” once again reverberating around the famous old stadium, Freeman took advantage.
On a 3-2 count the veteran first-baseman jumped on a four-seam fastball to smash his second home-run of the series to make it 4-1.
That effectively signalled the end of Rodon’s night, with the starter being pulled by Yankees manager Aaron Boone after getting the first out of the fourth inning.
The Yankees gave the Dodgers a nervous finale after Stanton singled in the top of the ninth to score Soto off closer Blake Treinen.
The Yankees then loaded the bases but reliever Alex Vesia snuffed out the comeback by claiming the final out.
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