WS Gm5 Reaction: Fifth inning from Hell dooms Yanks

10/31/2024 08:30 AM

The Yankees' sloppiness caught up to them in spectacular fashion.

For a team in the World Series, the Yankees had a problem getting the easy things right.

From baserunning blunders, to fielding errors, to just general mental lapses—those slip-ups added up to big problems in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series. Before the meltdown, it felt like the team was going to cruise for one final trip to Los Angeles to try to complete the improbable quest (and through four innings, I wouldn't have called you crazy if you felt like they could do it).

Instead, we're left with a host of what-could-have-been, butterfly effect thoughts for the offseason after a cavalcade of mistakes:

• What if Aaron Judge had focused on securing that routine flyball?
• What if Anthony Volpe had been on target with his throw to third?
• What if Gerrit Cole had covered first base (or Anthony Rizzo charged the ball)?
• What if the Yankees had cashed in more baserunners?

All the electric moments from the first four innings were wiped away in a flash. With a top-heavy roster filled with veterans and impending free agents, this season always felt like it could be the Yankees' best chance in some time to secure that elusive 28th ring. It's uncertain when an opportunity like this will come again.

For four innings, this team had everything in the world going for them. With some better-looking at-bats in Game 4, Judge seemed to have finally figured out his timing, seemingly in the nick of time. Last night, he was finally ready to attack mistakes. On his first pitch from Jack Flaherty, he got a major monkey off his back with his first World Series home run.

We were so young that first inning.

Judge also added a highlight catch to save a extra-base hit against the World Series MVP Freddie Freeman:

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton followed suit with homers to build a 5-0 lead. It felt like the Dodgers didn't have a prayer to claw back, as Cole was unhittable out of the gate. He had a clear "I got this" look on the mound, reminiscent of his time as the feared, bearded ace with Houston during the 2019 postseason. Through four innings, he hadn't allowed a hit. His fastball was humming with season-high velocity and great location. His six-pitch arsenal was in full effect, keeping hitters off balance.

Then, in the fifth inning, that unflappability came crashing down. It started with an innocent leadoff single. Then Judge picked the worst possible time to drop his first fly ball of the entire season.

The momentary shock of Judge's miscue was at least assuaged by the situation. Only two men were on and the Dodgers weren't making great contact. Sure enough, the next batter, Will Smith, hit a roller to the left side. Volpe ranged over, got the ball, and since his momentum had taken him toward third, he threw to Chisholm.

It wasn't a good one. The ball bounced, hit Kiké Hernández, and there was no play to be had.

Now, it was bases-loaded with no one out. And yet Cole remained in control. He struck out the next two batters (including Shohei Ohtani), dialing up the heat to 99 mph. The ace appeared to be on the verge of an epic escape with the 5-0 lead still intact. The next at-bat ended in a weak groundball to first by Mookie Betts.

No one covered the bag, and the Yankees had their third disaster of the inning.

Whether you blame Cole or Rizzo more, the outcome was the same: a blown play and the Dodgers full of life.

The MVP of the series, Freddie Freeman, came to the plate to batter the Yankees' hopes one last time with a two-run single, tying a World Series record by reaching 12 RBI. Cole still had a chance to get out of the inning with a lead, but Teoscar Hernández tied the game with the Dodgers' only extra-base hit of the game, a double to center that brought in two runs.

It really is staggering how it all fell apart so quickly for the Yankees. In a sense, it's not surprising because fundamentals have inexplicably been an issue all year long for this pennant-winning team, but to actually see this implosion in real time ... that was something. The Dodgers are not a team that can typically be granted extra outs, let alone three. Credit to Freddie and Teoscar in particular for making sure that the Yankees paid for their fumbles.

After an inning where Cole faced nine batters and threw 38 taxing pitches, Boone made the decision—one that could have backfired—to bring his ace back for the sixth and, to everyone's surprise, the seventh inning. It wound up working out, and he finished his final outing of the year on a positive note. His final line was incredibly unusual: zero earned runs (five unearned) with four hits (all in the fifth inning), four walks, and six punchouts.

Honestly, Cole was nasty in Game 5. As good as he was in his first four innings, him coming back out to pitch another 1.2 innings after his straining fifth frame was his most impressive part of the night. He left that terrible inning behind him and got back to work. That took fortitude. Forget that blemish at Fenway in 2021; Cole is a great postseason pitcher.

In the sixth, the Yankees took a 6-5 lead on Stanton's sacrifice fly. It feels a little odd to quibble with an offense that plates six runs, but the Yankees could have done so much more damage. They knocked out Flaherty after just four outs and tasked the Dodgers' bullpen with covering nearly the entire game a day after doing the same thing. It was awesome to see the Yankees build that 5-0 lead, and yet they went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Seven Dodgers pitchers combined for 7.2 innings of one-run ball. Among the missed opportunities:

• Chisholm and Gleyber Torres both made outs with the bases loaded to end the second and fifth, respectively.
• With one out and runners on first and second in the fourth, Judge hit one just a bit too high and flew out to left; Chisholm then struck out.
• Volpe grounded out with runners on first and second to end the sixth against eventual winning pitcher Blake Treinen.
• In the last gasp, Judge and Chisholm were on first and second with one down in the eighth, but Treinen got Stanton to fly out and fanned Rizzo in perhaps the latter's final at-bat as a Yankee.

Despite the frustrations, the Yankees did have that slim 6-5 lead. The bullpen needed to get seven outs for the win. Through wins and losses, the unit has been excellent this postseason. However, while Clay Holmes got the final out of the seventh, Tommy Kahnle had nothing working and promptly loaded the bases to start the eighth. This forced Luke Weaver to come in for the third straight day for the first time in his career, with the bases loaded and no outs.

A Gavin Lux sacrifice fly tied the game at 6-6, and moved Tommy Edman to third. Austin Wells was called for catcher's interference with Shohei Ohtani up, loading the bases again. Then came what was ultimately the series-deciding run: another LA sac fly by Mookie Betts, allowing the Dodgers to take a 7-6 lead that held. New York went down in order in the ninth to finish off the 2024 MLB season, with Game 3 starter Walker Buehler working on one day of rest after Dave Roberts absolutely emptied out his bullpen.

According to the Fox Broadcast, it was the largest comeback win in an elimination game in World Series history.

Yankees fans waited 15 years for some new World Series memories at Yankee Stadium, like Volpe's Game 4 slam. From Judge's homer and earlier catch to Cole's "putting the team on his back" performance, it felt like we should have gotten them last night. However, the sloppiness that lingered all season showed up on the biggest stage to ruin any chance of a series miracle. The Yankees will have to live with that as their lasting memory of 2024.