Unstoppable Dodgers deliver near-fatal blow to Yankees in the World Series

The Dodgers are one step away from clinching the World Series. With Freddie Freeman's third consecutive game with a home run, the team won 4-2 in New York against the Yankees. The team from Los Angeles is dominating this best-of-seven game Major League Baseball championship three games to none.

They can win the title in the fourth game, again in New York. Meanwhile, the Yankees, who did not take advantage of the physical limitations of Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, will need to be the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a World Series to win the title.

That feat has only been accomplished once in playoff history, by the Boston Red Sox against the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.

After two thrilling wins in Los Angeles, the Dodgers this time took a 4-0 lead against the Yankees, who only woke up in the last inning with a two-run home run by Mexican-American slugger Alex Verdugo.

The Dodgers are on the cusp of cashing in on the monumental gamble it took to sign Ohtani this season and win their first title since 2020 and eighth in their history. In front of a Yankee Stadium crowd of 49,368, Freddie Freeman cemented his status as the star of the playoffs by homering for the third straight game in the opening inning.

Before Freeman, only Hank Bauer (1958) and Barry Bonds (2002) had homered in the first three games of a World Series.

Freeman, who cemented the inaugural victory with a walk-off grand slam in extra innings, hit a deep shot to right field that drove in Ohtani. The Japanese superstar was the Dodgers' designated hitter despite the partially dislocated left shoulder he suffered down the stretch in Saturday's game.

Ohtani batted with visible discomfort and after each at-bat went to the locker room for treatment. However, he said he feels fine.

The early deficit came as a surprise on New York's potent offense, which crashed against pitcher Walker Buehler. The right-hander allowed only two hits in five innings against a potent offense that includes Dominican outfielder Juan Soto and American star Aaron Judge.

The Dodgers made up more ground in the third inning, when Mookie Betts hit an RBI single off Tommy Edman. In the sixth, Gavin Lux was hit by a pitch, stole second base and cruised past home plate after a single by Puerto Rico's Kike Hernandez.

Although in the last inning Alex Verdugo awakened some excitement in the stands with a two-run homer with two outs, the home team no longer had time for a comeback.