The Los Angeles Dodgers roared back from a 5-0 deficit late Wednesday to beat the New York Yankees 7-6 and win baseball’s 2024 World Series in five games.
The championship is the eighth in the Dodgers’ 140-year history and was clinched in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Yankee Stadium in New York, most of whom had hoped the Yankees could pull out a victory and take the series back to Los Angeles.
The Yankees jumped out to an early lead on the strength of home runs from sluggers Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm and Giancarlo Stanton. But the Dodgers tied the game with five runs in the fifth inning, aided by an error in center field by Judge.
After the Yankees scored in the next inning, Los Angeles went ahead for good with two runs in the top of the eighth, with the go-ahead run coming via a sacrifice fly from star outfielder Mookie Betts. Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler then shut down the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the title.
This was the Dodgers’ first championship since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. For the Yankees, it marked the end of a 15-year title drought, as they made their first World Series appearance since winning the championship in 2009.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was named the World Series’ Most Valuable Player after hitting four home runs and driving in 12 runs during the five-game series. The series also drew high TV ratings in the U.S. and Japan due to the presence of Dodgers star Shohei Otani, who is expected to be named the National League MVP.
The Dodgers’ comeback victory capped an exciting World Series that saw the National League powerhouse defeat the storied Yankees franchise to claim their eighth championship in franchise history.