A total defensive meltdown in the fifth inning Wednesday night cost the Yankees their season and their shot at a World Series title.
All year, right through the American League Championship Series, the New York Yankees overcame a tendency to play sloppy baseball by vanquishing opponents with overwhelming talent. The metrics calculated — and eyes figured — they were the worst baserunning team in the majors during the regular season. They regularly committed head-scratching defensive miscues. They were not nearly as fundamentally sound as one would expect for a 94-win, AL champion.
But the Yankees flaunted superstars. They had Aaron Judge and Juan Soto fueling an offense that banged home runs. They had Gerrit Cole fronting a topline starting rotation. They discovered an effective bullpen formula in time for October. Ultimately, they out-talented teams. Until they couldn’t.
Their shortcomings finally caught up with them in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night. A total defensive meltdown in the fifth inning, one that will be remembered as one of the worst in postseason history, cost the Yankees their season in a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium, ultimately ending their bid to become the first club to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the World Series.
“This is like as bad as it gets”, Cole, the Yankees’ starter, said.
Cole was on the mound for the fifth inning debacle. The right-hander, pitching on four days’ rest for the fourth time this season, cruised up to the disaster, holding Los Angeles scoreless over four hitless innings. Cole threw just 49 pitches. The Dodgers’ only baserunner reached on a walk. Trouble did not appear imminent. Then everything fell apart for New York.
It started with Enrique Hernández breaking the modest no-hit bid with a leadoff single. Four pitches later, Tommy Edman hit a routine line drive to Judge in center field. The sure-handed Judge had made a highlight catch crashing into the wall to steal extra bases from Freddie Freeman an inning earlier. This time, he flubbed the liner for his first error in 2024 — regular season or postseason.
“That doesn’t happen, we got a different story tonight”, Judge said.
Five pitches after that, Will Smith hit a groundball to shortstop Anthony Volpe’s right side. Volpe, a Gold Glove winner last season and a finalist this year, fielded the ball cleanly but short-hopped his throw to third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. attempting to nab the lead runner. Chisholm failed to corral the throw, loading the bases with no outs. Yankee Stadium went silent.
Then Cole went to work. He struck out Gavin Lux on four pitches, finishing him off with a 99.
