As the World Series continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. World Series Game 5:
The Yankees extended their season yesterday with a 11-4 win over the Dodgers last night. An Anthony Volpe grand slam put the club in front in the third inning, and while L.A. scored a pair in the fifth the Yankees responded in the sixth before pouring on five runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the deal. After the club’s bats appeared to be largely absent throughout the series, the club is surely hoping yesterday’s offensive explosion will carry over into Game 5, which will be a rematch of Game 1’s duel between Gerrit Cole and Jack Flaherty. The Yankees ace threw six innings of one-run ball while striking out four in his first World Series outing since 2019, while Flaherty countered with six strikeouts and two runs over 5 1/3 innings of work. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:08pm local time this evening.
2. Freeman makes history:
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman made history last night when he became (as noted by MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) the first player in World Series history to hit a home run in six consecutive World Series games. After hitting homers in the final two games of the 2021 World Series against the Astros as a member of the Braves, Freeman has gone yard in all four games of the 2024 World Series to this point, including his walk-off grand slam in Game 1. Last night’s history-making blast was a two-run shot in the first inning that gave the Dodgers the only lead they’d have all night. No player has ever homered in every game of a single World Series, though Freeman could change that with a home run and a Dodgers win this evening. Will he and the Dodgers make history again today?
3. As White Sox wrap up managerial search, all eyes on Miami:
The White Sox are reportedly set to hire Rangers associate manager Will Venable as their next manager, giving the 42-year-old his first managerial gig after he previously served as the #2 in both Arlington and Boston. The White Sox have not yet officially announced the decision, as teams generally avoid announcing news on days where a playoff game occurs. While the baseball world waits for Chicago’s decision to become official, all eyes will be on the final managerial vacancy remaining this offseason: that of the Marlins. Venable was reportedly a finalist for the job in Miami alongside Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz. Will the Marlins’ managerial search conclude quickly in an Albernaz hire now that Venable is off the board, or is there a dark horse candidate who could emerge in the coming days?
Bet a huge amount on the Yankees with a bookie, please say it was still the right decision. Also bet that Ohtani would hit at least .400 for the World Series but he is only 2 for 15, not even hitting close to .300 let alone .400.
The bookie has been sending non-stop messages every couple of hours ever since the end of game 3 about payment instructions and doesn’t seem like the type who would be interested in negotiating.
Pay the man his money.
Don’t have it- thats the main issue.
Well, there’s always the witness protection program
I wish he had played like that against the Mets but it wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyways since he wasn’t the only one killing them
Hire a translator and pin it on him. Offer to take care of his family for life when he gets out.
Lmao !
Cant wait to see Jack Kaepernick get rocked tonight.
What does this even mean?
just more mush from the wimp
Cant find a pitcher who hates America more….sad!
@terry
Who?
Weird racist rant.
@van lingle
I don’t think he ever reads what he writes.
Don’t listen to him lol.
It’s a real shame that John Schneider wasn’t available to interview.
Even though I’m older and might get some grief from younger commenters, I think it’s a shame how the media have turned those Beavis and Butthead idiots who interfered with Betts into overnight “heroes”. I’m no Dodger or Yankee fan, but there’s no room for that sh$t in baseball or any sport for that matter.
rondon – What media? Other than that moron Earhardt on the Fox morning show, everything I’ve heard is condemnation.
Those two should be banned for life, what disgusting behavior. Very lucky Mookie didn’t get hurt and has been chill about it.
Jim Rice would have gone after those two idiots, just like he did when a Yankee fan stole his hat while he was laying semi-conscious on the field.
Well, it looked like the first tweets came from the media and it steamrolled. But honestly, I don’t care where it started. Glorifying those morons is pitiful.
They forcibly grabbed a player. Banned for life stuff right there.
Absolutely.
Why was dude ever nervous last night? He has neck tattoos…
Troy – I heard the words on his neck translate to “No Regerts”.
I also heard that’s his credo
Can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not but not sure how those two correlate…?
ny papi
100% serious, if someone willingly gets neck tattoos and can go out in public without any shame, with testicles larger than that bull statue on Wall Street, then why would Luis Gil be nervous while trying to throw a ball in such a way that some dudes holding sticks can’t hit it?
What’s wrong with neck tattoos? You can’t really judge him for being nervous on the biggest stage of young career when his team is down 3 games. When was the last time you pitched in the ws?
Why pitch to Freeman? I don’t get it.
@Manfred Rob’s Earth Band
They were pitching everything inside to him and he was crushing it. Once they threw outside, he started rolling over it. Fortunate for him, he’s a fast big man.
So what would your game plan be? To walk Ohtani, Betts and Freeman and deal with the bases loaded every time?
Did Ohtani and Betts kill the Yankees this series? I wasn’t talking about them but now that you bring them up. I wouldn’t pitch to Freeman I know that. How many times do you put your hand on a hot stove before learning your lesson?
Hypothetical, if the Yankees reverse sweep with a different player acting as hero each game, AND Freeman continues his homer streak, would you give him World Series MVP? Been a long time since we had a player on the losing team win MVP
@Kapler’s Coconut Oil
MVPs for both sides. Problem solved.
Doubt it. For one, the only time a player from the losing team won the WS MVP (Bobby Richardson, Yankees, 1960) was because the award voting was finished before the 8th inning of game 7, which was before the final lead change of the series. For another, if the Yankees pull off a reverse sweep I dare say that someone playing for NY would have eclipsed Freeman’s value regardless of how many home runs he hits.
Kap – It’s actually a great question, and the answer is likely yes. Since there are no requirements such as being on the winning team, if Freeman hits 7 homeruns in the World Series he would most likely be MVP.
BTW – Chuck Howley won Superbowl MVP despite being on the losing team.
Except LA never tied the game in the 5th….. closest they got was 5-4.
That confused me too… tried to figure out if I missed something for a moment.
I was beginning to doubt the script writers were doing their job but they proved their worth in gold last night.
Freddie is a short porch merchant
Yeppers, partially why Truist is designed the way it is. (happy tear)
I like it honestly, adds more scoring, and better scoring chances
Braves and Red Sox are still crying that Freeman and Betts are no longer with their teams. I have no idea how they let those players go. Eventually, I can only hope that teams will refuse to help the Dodgers at the trade deadline. Eventually, teams will get tired of all the winning.