The New York Yankees played the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time since falling short against them in the 2024 World Series, and it's safe to say things didn't go well. Max Fried had his worst start in pinstripes, the bullpen faltered, and they fell by a final score of 8-5.
What makes this frustrating for Yankees fans is that this was a game New York seemingly had in the bag. Aaron Judge got things started with a bang, and while Shohei Ohtani did respond, the Yankees held a 5-2 lead after five innings of play.
What happened after that, though, has Yankees fans irate, and for good reason.
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Yankees loss gave fans worst kind of flashbacks
The Yankees led 5-2 after five innings with arguably the best pitcher on the mound. Yankees fans expected a win, but disaster struck. Fried imploded in the sixth, surrendering four straight hits to begin the inning, forcing Aaron Boone to turn to his bullpen. Ultimately, the 'pen wasn't much better, as Jonathan Loaisiga gave up a game-tying hit to the first batter he faced, Tim Hill issued a bases-loaded walk, and then Yerry de los Santos allowed the Dodgers to score a pair of insurance runs.
This game unfolded eerily similar to a couple of last year's World Series contests. The Yankees played well enough to earn an early lead, but for reasons mostly in their control, imploded late. The Dodgers are a great team, but how can you explain blowing a 5-2 lead with your ace on the mound? How can you explain a bases-loaded walk to arguably the worst player in the Dodgers' lineup? There was even a frustrating Oswald Peraza error later for Yankees fans to get annoyed about, even if it didn't lead to more Los Angeles runs.
Yankees failed first attempt at exorcizing Dodgers demons
This Yankees team is a lot better than many expected after losing Juan Soto to free agency and losing Gerrit Cole to a season-ending injury before the year even began. They entered the night with a 35-20 record, sitting comfortably in first place in the AL East and looking like the best team in the American League.
Some of their early-season dominance can be attributed to their ability to hold onto leads and their much-improved defense. Well, their bullpen blew a lead, and their defense, which did make some nice plays during this game, also committed an error.
Beating the Dodgers in May wouldn't have guaranteed them anything, obviously, but it would've, at the very least, given the fan base hope that perhaps New York could flip the script and defeat the Dodgers in a potential World Series rematch. Instead, they looked more like their 2024 team, which isn't a good thing.
At the end of the day, this fan base has a World Series on its mind. The Yankees have played extremely well for most of the year, but games against teams like the Los Angeles Angels simply don't mean nearly as much as contests at Dodger Stadium. The Yankees had a chance to keep the good vibes rolling in a big way by defeating the team that knocked them out of last year's postseason, but came up short in a preventable way.
Yes, the Yankees can still win the series, but until they actually accomplish that feat, this one will sting for a while.