The Los Angeles Dodgers have the New York Yankees to thank for not hosting the Commissioner’s Trophy after taking a major 11-4 loss in Game 4 of the 2024 World Series.
The Dodgers entered the affair with a 3-0 series lead and a chance to pull off the first World Series sweep since 2012. Instead, they found themselves victims to a vicious onslaught from the Yankees at the plate that stymied any efforts that L.A. made to stay alive.
Many things could have been done better on Los Angeles’ part, but there were a couple of pronounced blunders that directly contributed to the elongation of the series.
The Dodgers fell apart on the mound in the third inning
Ben Casparius set up Daniel Hudson to do work on the mound with a 2-1 lead entering the third inning. After striking out Yankees superstar slugger Juan Soto to kick off the inning, Hudson let the bases get loaded with the next three batters he faced in Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton. That allowed Anthony Volpe to step up to the plate and smack a 390-foot grand slam home run to left center field, making it a 5-2 affair in favor of the Yanks.
Behind Will Smith, as well as Freddie Freeman’s MVP caliber play, the Dodgers were able to narrow the lead down to one point in a successful fifth inning, but the damage done two innings prior gave New York a sense of confidence that did not wane as the matchup progressed.
The Dodgers failed to deliver in the clutch
Given the electric spark that Volpe gave the Bronx Bombers early on, Los Angeles being down 6-4 entering the eighth inning was a testament to their resiliency, sound work when up to bat and a long-awaited performance of note from young talent Landon Knack for four innings on the mound.
Nevertheless, once Knack’s number was called after only allowing one earned run, Brent Honeywell let the Yankees run rampant in the eighth, first letting Alex Verdugo drive Anthony Volpe home and Austin Wells to third with an RBI ground ball into a fielder’s choice. Gleyber Torres saw a golden opportunity to put L.A. away and did so with a three-run home run in the middle of the inning, and American League MVP favorite Judge put the finishing touches on the night with an RBI single to left field.
Los Angeles had the chance to quell New York’s firepower and give their sluggers one last chance at a late-game surge, but the opposite happened, as the 11-4 lead created in the eighth stood the rest of the way.
The Dodgers’ questionable bullpen allowed too many Yankees to hit their stride
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Dodgers’ loss in their first series-clinching game was the questionability of their bullpen strategy and with that, their relievers letting far too many Yankees taste success with their bats.
This is now the second straight game that the Dodgers’ bullpen has not played up to expectation in these 2024 MLB playoffs. There were seven Yankees players who registered at least one hit in the contest and far too many instances where New York’s sluggers capitalized with runners in scoring position.
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Indeed, the Dodgers were not as sharp at the plate as they’ve been throughout the Fall Classic, and National League MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani’s struggles continued in Game 4 as he posted a subpar .246 batting average by his nonpareil standards. That being said, Los Angeles’ rotation, which seemed to be turning a tide of late, was brought back to earth.
Fortunately, the Dodgers can look forward to concluding the World Series knowing that they’ll have their top-three active starters in Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler ready to close the show if necessary. No matter, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will need to find ways to fine tune what went wrong on Tuesday night ahead of their third straight road game at Yankee Stadium in Game 5 on night if they want to close out the Yankees in short order.
