The Yankees are headed back to New York already half dead in their first World Series in 15 years.
In the shadows of the Hollywood sign, the Dodgers punched and punched and punched the Yankees in Games 1 and 2 like it was the early rounds of the first Rocky Balboa-Apollo Creed fight.
Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton threw back, but the Yankees have been out-hit, out-slugged, out-pitched, out-fielded and out-managed dropping two tight games at Dodger Stadium.
After blowing Game 1 on Friday night in historic fashion, the Yankees lost 4-2 on Saturday night when their ninth-inning rally fell short.
Down three heading to their last ups, three hits and a hit batter made it a two-run road with the bases loaded and one down.
From there, Blake Treinen struck out Anthony Volpe for the second out, then lefty Alex Vesia come on to pitch, Jose Trevino pinch-hit for left-handed hitter Austin Wells and one pitch later, a flyball to center ended the game.
The Yankees fell into an 0-2 hole in this best of seven that will be a four-round knockout if things don’t change starting Monday night when Game 3 is staged in the Bronx.
Carlos Rodon was pathetic starting Game 2 for the Yankees. They needed the lefty to pitch like someone deserving of his $162-million contract and all they got was 3 1/3 innings and four runs on three homers.
The last two were back-to-back shots in the Dodgers third when Teoscar Hernandez broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run shot before Game 1 hero Freddie Freeman put another in the seats to make it 4-1.
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Yankees to one hit in six innings, a solo homer by Soto in the third inning that tied the game 1-1.
Stanton drove in the Yankees’ second run with a ninth-inning hit.
The Yankees may be getting a lot of help to get back in this season.
The Dodgers may play the rest of the series without uniform superstar Shohei Ohtani, who injured his left wrist sliding into second base on a caught stealing that ended the seventh inning.
Ohtani hasn’t killed the Yankees so far, but his eighth-inning double in Game 1 led to the tying run in a game the Dodgers won in 10 when Freeman turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 win hitting the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
With or without Ohtani, the Yankees need to play a lot better to just make it a series let alone win it.
They certainty need a lot more from Aaron Judge, who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Game 2. He’s 1-for-9 in his first two World Series games and batting .150 for the postseason with two homers and 19 strikeouts in 40 at-bats.
Game 3 is Monday night at Yankee Stadium. Clarke Schmidt will start the biggest game of his life for the Yankees, who either will climb back into the series or really be dead men walking.
