The Dodgers held off a late Yankees comeback attempt on Saturday in Game 2 of the World Series – but saw their star man Shohei Ohtani get injured in the process.
LA won 4-2 to take a 2-0 series lead following a nervy final inning which saw the visitors load the bases.
Alex Vesia was able to finish off the game after Blake Treinen allowed a Giancarlo Stanton RBI and hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch, but the greater concern now will be Ohtani’s health after the Japanese superstar suffered a shoulder injury.
Ohtani left the game in the bottom of the seventh inning after attempting to steal second base and getting tagged out.
He walked off with the help of a trainer and grimaced in pain as he left the field.
Freddie Freeman hit a home run for the second straight night as the Dodgers won again
But Shohei Ohtani was injured trying to steal second base in the bottom of the seventh inning
It remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be available for Game 3, which will be on Monday in New York.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called the injury a left shoulder subluxation, which is a partial dislocation.
LA scored all four of their runs off of homers, as Tommy Edman, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman all went deep.
New York, before their late push, were kept quiet by Yoshinobu Yamamoto aside from Juan Soto hitting a game-tying solo home run in the top of the third inning.
Yamamoto allowed just one hit over 6 1/3 innings, and retired his last 11 batters and 15 of his final 16 after Soto’s home run.
Soto also singled in the ninth and scored on Stanton’s one-out hit off the third-base bag. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled and Rizzo was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Treinen then struck out Anthony Volpe before Vesia relieved.
Forty-five of 56 teams holding 2-0 World Series leads have gone on to win the title.
New York´s Aaron Judge went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and is hitting .150 with six RBIs and 19 strikeouts in 40 postseason at-bats.
Freeman, meanwhile, has homered in four straight Series games dating to Atlanta´s last two games against Houston in 2021. That is one shy of the record held by the Astros´ George Springer.
Aaron Judge reacts after striking out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth inning
Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a strong outing for the Dodgers as he allowed just one hit
All three Dodgers homers came on fastballs from Yankees starter Carlos Rodón, whose 31 longballs allowed during the regular season tied for second-most in the major leagues.
Los Angeles had back-to-back Series homers for just the second time, after Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager connected against Yankees lefty Ron Guidry for a 2-1 win in Game 5 in 1981.
Rodón allowed four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Los Angeles took a 2-0 Series lead for the first time since 1988, when Kirk Gibson´s walk-off homer against Oakland´s Dennis Eckersley won the opener and Orel Hershiser followed with a three-hit shutout.
The Yankees are 0-2 for the first time since 2001, when they rebounded to win three straight at home and lost Games 6 and 7 at Arizona.
