Buehler Dominant For Dodgers; Yankees Pushed To Brink

The Los Angeles Dodgers are just one win away from their second World Series title in five years.

A 4-2 win in Yankee Stadium on Monday night gave the Dodgers a 3-0 series lead and pushed the New York Yankees into must-win territory.

Dodgers WWWin! pic.twitter.com/dxPzZ5puKV

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 29, 2024

It was another excellent all-around performance from Los Angeles, which took care of business hitting, pitching and defending.

Buehler’s Big Night

Right-hander Walker Buehler was on the mound for the Dodgers to start the game. Buehler had a terrible regular season, finishing just 7 starts and going 1-6 in them with a 5.38 ERA. But boy, has he regained form in these playoffs.

Buehler was excellent in Game 3 surrendering no runs and giving up just two hits in five innings.

Big game pitcher, Walker Buehler. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/HGzPzc12os

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 29, 2024

Buehler relied on his four-seam fastball to blow the Yankees away and mostly succeeded. He peppered pitches all over the zone and forced New York’s hitters to make tough decisions at the plate.

But it wasn’t just fastballs in Buehler’s tool belt. The veteran also dished out some nasty off-speed pitches to make the Yankees swing and miss on several occasions. He found major success with his knuckle curve, and also kept New York off balance with his cutter and sweeper.

Buehler now has a slim 0.50 ERA in three career World Series starts, allowing just one earned run in 18 innings.

Freeman Makes History

When the lights are at their brightest, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman always seems to shine. His two-run shot off of a Clarke Schmidt cutter in the first inning set the tone for Los Angeles.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1851123358441537631

And with that homer, Freeman became only the third player in World Series history to hit a home run in each of the first three games. The 35-year-old also homered for the Atlanta Braves in Games 5 and 6 of the 2021 World Series, giving him home runs in a record-tying five consecutive World Series games.

And incredibly, Freeman is doing this on a bad ankle. He has not fully recovered from the right ankle sprain he suffered near the end of the regular season. This really hampered him earlier in the postseason, but he has clearly found his stroke now.

If the Dodgers close out this series, it will be difficult to deny Freddie Freeman‘s status as a big-game player.

Judge’s Slump Continues

Yankees centerfielder Aaron Judge was dominant in the regular season. His stats at the plate – .322 batting average, 58 homers and 144 RBI – were nothing short of monstrous. He will likely be announced as the American League’s Most Valuable Player next month for his efforts.

But a career-long issue for Judge has continued to rear its ugly head – postseason struggles. In 56 career playoff games, he is hitting just .196, and that’s not even the worst of it.

This postseason alone, he has just 6 hits in 43 at-bats, a measly .140 average. With the middle and back end of the Yankees’ lineup struggling to get on base against Los Angeles, Judge needed to step up. Unfortunately for New York, he has repeatedly failed to do so.

There’s still a chance for Judge and the Yankees to get back on track. But more likely than not, it will be too little, too late.

Game Time

Game 4 of the World Series begins in New York tonight at 8:08 on Fox.