Some games start with a bang and end with a gut punch — Friday night in Los Angeles was exactly that for the New York Yankees.
Aaron Judge crushed a first-inning home run to put the Yankees ahead, but things unraveled quickly in a rare off night for their ace.
The Dodgers pounced, the bats couldn’t string enough together, and the result was an 8–5 loss that felt heavier than the score.
A rare stumble from the ace
Max Fried has been nothing short of masterful this season, but even elite pitchers eventually hit a wall — and Friday was his.
He entered the game with a sparkling 1.29 ERA and undefeated record, commanding each start like a seasoned maestro.
But the Dodgers jumped on him early and often, tagging Fried for six earned runs across eight hits and a pair of long balls.
Shohei Ohtani, doing what Shohei does, crushed both homers to centerfield with no hesitation, swinging the momentum entirely.
Fried lasted just five innings and threw 75 pitches, a reminder that even greatness has its off nights when facing elite lineups.
The bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding
With the Yankees already trailing, they turned to Yerry de Los Santos, who struggled to get outs and surrendered two earned runs.
He recorded just one out and gave up three hits, forcing the Yankees to bring in Brent Headrick to stop the onslaught.
At that point, the Dodgers already had the upper hand and the Yankees were forced to try and slug their way back into it.
It wasn’t that the bats disappeared — it’s that every answer they had was met with more damage from the other side.
Four home runs but no rally
The Yankees hit four home runs in the game, including Paul Goldschmidt’s blast to right-center in the third inning.
But three of those were solo shots, which makes it tough to keep up when the opposing offense is scoring in bunches.
Despite notching nine total hits, the Yankees struggled to cash in with runners on base or string hits together when needed.
It was the kind of night where the fireworks came early, but the rhythm of the offense never truly clicked after the initial burst.
What’s next for the Yankees?
The Yankees will try to bounce back Saturday night with Will Warren taking the mound in Game 2 of this heavyweight series.
Warren enters with a 4.09 ERA and will go up against Landon Knack, who sports a 5.22 ERA — so expect more offense.
This has the makings of another slugfest, and the Yankees will need to find a way to win the middle innings this time.
Against a team like the Dodgers, one bad stretch can quickly turn into a game-changing avalanche.
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