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Yankees Commit Three Defensive Blunders in Nightmare Fifth-Inning Meltdown

New York's five-run lead quickly disappeared thanks to a flurry of ugly mistakes.

Tom Dierberger

Cole allowed five runs (none earned) in his Game 5 start.
Cole allowed five runs (none earned) in his Game 5 start. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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It appeared the New York Yankees were on their way to forcing a Game 6 in commanding fashion when they opened up an early 5–0 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.

That lead disappeared in a matter of minutes.

After Kike Hernandez led off the inning with a base hit, the Yankees continued to shoot themselves in the foot for the rest of the frame. Tommy Edman reached base when Aaron Judge dropped a routine fly ball, which was his first error of the 2024 season, and Will Smith got aboard on a throwing error from Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe.

With the bases loaded, Yankees starter Gerrit Cole whiffed Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani for the inning's first two outs. And when he got Mookie Betts to hit a soft ground ball to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, it appeared the Yankees would get out of the inning with no harm done.

But Cole didn't cover first base, and Betts beat Rizzo to the bag to bring home a run.

Los Angeles was just getting started. The Dodgers scored four more runs that inning to tie the game at five runs apiece, with Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez bringing in a pair apiece. All in all, the Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored all five runs with two outs.

An epic meltdown at Yankee Stadium. An epic meltdown that could cost New York a chance at another World Series championship.

The MLB world was astounded by the Yankees' unforgivable mistakes:

If the Yankees can rally back for a Game 5 win, they'll force Game 6 at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. But if they can't, those fifth-inning blunders will haunt them for the entire offseason.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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