By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Los Angeles Dodgers mounted a comeback for the ages to beat the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game Five on Wednesday and win their first World Series since 2020.
The Dodgers trailed 5-0 in the fifth inning and were down a run in the eighth before a sacrifice fly from All-Star Mookie Betts capped the biggest comeback win in a clinching game in World Series history.
New York had hoped to become the first team to force a Game Six after trailing 0-3 in a World Series but fell flat in their first trip to the Fall Classic in 15 years.
The Dodgers found themselves on the back foot almost immediately as slugger Aaron Judge delivered a two-run homer in the first inning and third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. sent another one over the wall immediately after.
Alex Verdugo added an RBI and Giancarlo Stanton homered to give the hosts a 5-0 lead but the New York defense unraveled from there with an untended first base allowing Betts to bat in the Dodgers’ first run.
Yankee Stadium fell into a grim silence as Freddie Freeman’s single sent two of his team mates home and Teoscar Hernandez doubled to level the game.
Stanton’s sacrifice fly saw the Yankees retake the lead in the sixth inning but that was wiped out by second baseman Gavin Luxs’ sacrifice fly and an RBI from Betts in the eighth.
The showdown between two marquee franchises had been a boon for Major League Baseball, with Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani driving record TV ratings in his native Japan.
