3 Yankees to blame for falling into an 0-2 hole in the World Series

The New York Yankees lost Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in excruciating fashion, but still had another opportunity to even up the series on Saturday night. Losing a Gerrit Cole start, especially when he pitched well, is never ideal, but splitting the two games at Dodger Stadium would've been a dream outcome for New York nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Game 2 of the World Series would not go the Yankees' way. The Dodgers took an early lead as Tommy Edman continued his heroics. Juan Soto tied it with a moonshot of his own, but back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the third from Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman put the Dodgers up 4-1 in an eye blink.

The Yankees made things interesting against Blake Treinen in the ninth, but fell short. They lost this game 4-2, and now trail 2-0 in this best-of-seven series. The series isn't over, especially with the scene shifting to the Bronx, but the Yankees have an extremely difficult task, having to now beat the Dodgers four times with only one more loss to play with.

These three players are to blame for putting New York in this difficult position.

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3) Anthony Volpe came up small when the Yankees needed him most

Anthony Volpe's second MLB season was full of ups and downs. He went on a couple of hot streaks that gave Yankees fans the idea that he was the second coming of Derek Jeter, and had some rough patches that had some fans wondering if the team should send him back down to Triple-A.

The start to his postseason career couldn't have been much better. He only had one extra-base hit through the first two rounds of the postseason, but also had nine hits in 29 at-bats (.310 BA) and had drawn eight walks compared to six strikeouts. The World Series has been a different story, though.

Volpe went 0-for-4 in Game 1, and followed that up with another 0-for-4 showing in Game 2. The only time he's reached base came on an intentional walk in Game 1.

The Yankees couldn't generate much on the base paths in Game 2, but Volpe did have several chances to produce. Anthony Rizzo drew a walk with one out in the second inning, Volpe followed that up with a lineout. Rizzo was hit by a pitch with two outs in the seventh inning against Anthony Banda, but Volpe followed with a fly out.

In the ninth inning, the Yankees put one last rally together against Dodgers closer Blake Treinen. They had the bases loaded and one out with Volpe coming up. If he could just come through with a single as he had done throughout the first two rounds of the postseason, the game likely would've been tied. Unfortunately, Volpe struck out, flailing at a sweeper nowhere near the zone.

He didn't record the last out, but with New York's light-hitting catcher spot on deck, they needed Volpe to be the one to come through. He did not, and the Yankees lost the game.

2) Aaron Judge's October struggles continued in Game 2

Has anyone seen Aaron Judge? The player we're seeing wear No. 99 for the Yankees looks like him physically, but he has not played like the soon-to-be two-time MVP winner.

Judge entered the day in a 6-for-36 slump with 16 strikeouts in October, but was one massive game away from potentially flipping the script of being an underperforming postseason player. Not only did Judge fail to have the massive game Yankees fans have been waiting for, but he was a liability out there for New York.

The 32-year-old went 0-for-4 on the night, striking out three times, one of which came in a crucial spot in the top of the ninth. Juan Soto led the inning off with a single, giving Judge the opportunity to make things really interesting. If he reached base, he would've allowed the tying run to come up to the plate in the form of the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton. Unfortunately, Judge did what he has done all postseason long, strike out by waving at an off-speed pitch out of the strike zone.

Judge didn't record the final out, but when looking back, that at-bat was a killer. Giancarlo Stanton, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Rizzo all found ways to reach base behind Judge, but the Yankees captain failed to contribute to the rally and wound up being one of their final three outs of the night.

The Yankees needed him to step up in Game 2, and he failed to deliver. This feels obvious, but if their best hitter (when right) isn't contributing, the Yankees' chances of coming back from a 2-0 deficit are virtually non-existent.

1) Carlos Rodon's rough start put the Yankees in a hole they couldn't dig themselves out of

This felt like a big game for Carlos Rodon. Gerrit Cole is the ace of the staff, and is treated as such, but Rodon, when right, is no slouch. I mean, the Yankees signed him to a six-year deal worth $162 million for a reason, right?

With the Yankees already facing a deficit in the series, they badly needed Rodon to step up and show why he signed the contract that he did. Completely shutting the Dodgers down is a tall task, but he could've at least kept things competitive. Unfortunately, Rodon just didn't have it.

The southpaw gave up the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, but then the Yankees got it right back thanks to Soto's solo home run in the top of the third. The Yankees responding like that gave Rodon the chance to keep the momentum in New York's favor and give their bats a chance to take the lead in the fourth. Unfortunately, not only did he fail to record a shut-down inning, he let the Dodgers put up a crooked number.

Rodon served up back-to-back crushing home runs to Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman, turning what was a 1-1 game into a 4-1 game. Sure, the Yankees offense had to do better than they did, but the $162 million man putting his team in a 4-1 deficit in the third is also inexcusable.

Overall, he surrendered three home runs and coughed up four earned runs in just 3.1 innings of work. He didn't give the Yankees any length, and didn't give them quality innings, either. Just a brutal showing for such an important X-Factor in this series.