2024 World Series Recap: Dodgers Defeat Yankees
Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Photo via MLB)
By Hailey Clark, Staff Writer
On Friday, Oct. 25, the 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees began. Spanning five games, the Dodgers claimed their eighth World Series victory, winning the set 4-1.
Game 1: Friday, October 25
What started as a back-and-forth game ended with a walk-off grand slam, the first in World Series history. Freddie Freeman’s incredible hit led the Dodgers one step closer to victory, but the beginning of the game was unexciting. Los Angeles’ first run was scored off a pop fly when Enrique Hernández ran home. Then, what looked like a home run for Yankees’ Gleyber Torres was ruled as fan interference. Following Torres’ hit was Freeman’s historic play–despite an injury that left him unable to swing a bat days before, he led the Dodgers to a 6-3 win at home.
Game 2: Saturday, October 26
Game two was like the first, with a slow start, thanks partly to Los Angeles’ starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto pitched the first six innings, with only one hit off his throws. This was Juan Soto’s home run in the third inning to tie the game after Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman’s back-to-back home runs. Meanwhile, Aaron Judge struggled throughout the game, striking out four times. Dodgers’ star Shohei Ohtani exited the game during the seventh inning after suffering a left shoulder injury and was questionable whether he would return. The Yankees fought a hard game; however, they remained unable to overcome the star power of Yamamoto and the Dodgers and lost 4-2.
Game 3: Monday, October 28
The Los Angeles Dodgers again defeated the New York Yankees in the third game of the World Series, 4-2. The Dodgers started strong with a Freeman home run in the first and continued with Walker Buehler pitching five scoreless innings with only two hits allowed total. Ohtani was also back in despite dealing with an injury from the previous game. The Yankees moved to the ninth inning scoreless, however Alex Verdugo was able to hit a two-run homer. Regardless, Torres grounded to end the game at his next at-bat. The Yankees once again struggled against the Dodgers and their talent.
Game 4: Tuesday, October 29
The New York Yankees were able to force a win to stay alive in a landslide fourth game. Once again, Freeman hit a two-run homer to start the first inning and give the Dodgers the lead. However, this became void when Yankees catcher Austin Wells hit a home run in the sixth and Anthony Volpe managed a grand slam to extend the lead to 5-1. Judge was also able to give New York a run, his first of the series. The Yankees ended with an 11-4 score to play another game in Los Angeles.
Game 5: Wednesday, October 30
In the final game of the 2024 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed victory in a close 7-6 game. Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back homers in the first inning, leaving Los Angeles trailing 5-0. However, they were able to capitalize off New York’s fielding mistakes and scored five runs tying the game, and eventually winning
Freeman was the World Series MVP, ending an impressive array of stats: four home runs, twelve RBIs, and a .300 average. He also homered in six consecutive World Series games, dating back to his time with the Atlanta Braves in 2021. The last the Dodgers won the World Series was in 2020, during an unexpected year with no fans. However, there was no questioning the legitimacy of this title, considering how dominant LA was during the series. The Los Angeles Dodgers proved this year that they are more than worthy of a World Series title.
