Dodgers studied Yankees’ defensive, baserunning flaws that led to crushing World Series defeat: report

The top of the fifth inning on Wednesday night was an absolute nightmare for the New York Yankees.

In an alternate universe, the Yankees have a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the World Series Friday.

However, the Yankees had one of the worst defensive innings ever in Game 5, just a few days after some errors in Game 1.

Both games were Dodger wins.

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New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto, right, reacts with outfielder Aaron Judge after Judge dropped a fly ball during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 5 of the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium. (James Lang/Imagn Images)

On Wednesday night, the Yankees were on course to become the first team to force a Game 6 in the Fall Classic after trailing 3-0 in the series and jumping out to a 5-0 lead. Then the sky fell.

In the fifth inning, Aaron Judge dropped a routine fly ball to put runners on first and second and no outs. Then, Jazz Chisholm couldn’t make a short throw to third, loading the bases. Gerrit Cole got two big outs, but on what should have been the third, he didn’t cover first base, keeping the inning going.

The Dodgers saw an opportunity and pounced. Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez each drove in two runs to tie the game at five.

None of this was accidental as far as the Dodgers were concerned.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge makes a fielding error during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

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The New York Post reports that the Dodgers had emphasized in team meetings that the Yankees were a “talent over fundamentals” team.

“That if you run the bases with goals and aggression, the Yankees will inflict damage on themselves. … That the value was very high to put the ball in play to get the Yankees to execute,” the Post reported, noting that the Yankees were MLB’s worst baserunning teams “by every metric.”

“They were excited about how short Yankee leads were at first base to potentially be less of a threat against pivots at second, where Gavin Lux doesn’t excel,” Post added.

It also reported that the Yankees’ outfield was poorly positioned. Alex Verdugo and Juan Soto may be Gold Glove finalists this year, but the eye test will tell you Soto is a liability in right field. (The Yankees prefer him in right over left.) And Judge’s skills in center field don’t come close to what he can do in his normal right field position.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is tagged out by New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres on a steal attempt during the seventh inning of Game 2 of the World Series Oct. 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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The Dodgers also noticed that infielders were out of position on balls hit to the outfield. That was the case when Shohei Ohtani reached third on a double after a ball got away from Gleyber Torres and nobody was around to retrieve it.

The Yankees overcame their poor fundamentals from April to September. They were even able to do it against the Royals and Guardians in the ALDS and ALCS, but elite teams are clearly taking note and taking advantage.

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