Yankees lose World Series to Dodgers, but also to themselves

When Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run off Ryan Brasier to open up the bottom of the third inning, he extended the Yankees lead to 5-0. At the time, it felt like the Yankees were going to extend the series.

Aaron Judge had woken up from his deep slumber with a two-run blast in the first inning, which Jazz Chisholm Jr. immediately followed with a home run of his own. Once Stanton's ball left the bat, it seemed like the series was destined to head back to Los Angeles, and Stanton was the frontrunner for World Series MVP.

That feeling would only last a few short innings. In the top of the fifth, a cruising Gerrit Cole allowed his first hit of the night to Kiké Hernández. Then, Aaron Judge dropped the most routine fly ball that has ever been hit. Then, Anthony Volpe fired a ball in the dirt towards Chisholm at third base from 20 feet away. Things were falling apart fast, but Cole did what a $324 million pitcher is supposed to do, and struck out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani for the first two outs of the inning.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Mookie Betts took aim in the batter's box. Suddenly, the most important at-bat of the season was upon the world, with Cy Young winner doing battle with an MVP. After a first-pitch ball, Cole generated the groundout he needed, somehow escaping the threat caused by his defense.

Of course, that's not what actually happened, as Cole seemingly forgot to cover the bag at first base, allowing a run. [Anthony Rizzo could have been more aggressive when charging the ball, but the spin pushed him back and he clearly saw Cole start to run over before going to field it.] Three defensive miscues pushed Cole to his limit, and with his pitch count skyrocketing, he allowed four more (unearned) runs to score, and suddenly, Game 5 was tied.

From there, the Yankees proceeded to take the lead back, only to surrender it for good in the top of the eighth inning. With heroic efforts from Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler (on two days rest) out of the bullpen, the Dodgers wrapped up their second World Series title this decade.

Now, obviously, the Dodgers have assembled a collection of talent that is simply unrivaled in the sport. Their top third of the lineup, featuring Ohtani, Betts, and World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, is one of the greatest ever assembled. And even with injuries to Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May, their rotation still managed to feature the highest-paid arm in the game (Yoshinobu Yamamoto) and Jack Flaherty and Buehler.

But the Yankees didn't lose this series because of any sort of talent defecit. They have Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton in the heart of their order. Gerrit Cole was clearly the best pitcher on either side, and Carlos Rodón is a heck of a sidekick. Even a cobbled together bullpen managed to mostly match wits with the Dodgers' relief crew,

The Bronx Bombers lost this series because they just aren't as good of a baseball team as the Dodgers. Dave Roberts ran circles around Aaron Boone in terms of bullpen management throughout the series. Los Angeles was aggressive and smart on the basepaths, while New York... well, it wasn't pretty in that department. And, of course, the Yankees' defense let them down when it mattered most. In terms of just pure fundamentals, the Dodgers outclassed the sloppy Yankees in every aspect.

The story of this World Series will be Freeman's dominance at the plate, as well as the contributions from role players on the roster as Ohtani struggled with injury. However, the Yankees' failure to make routine plays, or advance from first to third on singles to the outfield, or put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, or so many other small things, is the reason the Dodgers won.

For as hyped as this edition of the Fall Classic was, the Yankees' greatest opponent remained themselves.

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