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The Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth World Series title in franchise history and first since 2020 on Wednesday night, coming back from a five-run deficit to complete a Hollywood ending to their season.
Los Angeles rallied back from an early hole to beat the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium, accomplishing one more piece of history with the biggest comeback to clinch a World Series in baseball history.
The Dodgers trailed 5-0 after four innings after the Yankee bats started off hot with back-to-back home runs from Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the first inning. They were the first back-to-back homers for the Bronx Bombers in the World Series since Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson did it in Game 5 in 1977, also against the Dodgers.
Up 4-0, New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton added another homer in the third inning, getting Yankee Stadium rocking as the home fans began to believe in an incredible comeback.
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Aaron Judge celebrates after hitting his first career World Series home run in the first inning
But costly Yankees’ errors and clutch hitting by LA helped the Dodgers rally to tie the game at 5-5 in a deflating moment for the once-surging Yankees in the fifth.
With a man on first, Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman lined one to center field, but Judge failed to catch the routine ball for the fielding error.
The next batter, catcher Will Smith, grounded one to Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe who tried to throw out the runner at third but couldn’t as all runners advanced safely. Volpe was given an error on the play.
With the bases loaded and no one out, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole would strike out the next two batters. Now with two outs, Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts hit a soft grounder to Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo, but Cole did not cover first base and Rizzo couldn’t beat the speedy Betts to the bag, giving Los Angeles its first run of the game.
The next batter, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman – named the World Series MVP after his incredible series – singled to center, driving in two runs and making the score 5-3. Then Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez hit a double to center, driving in two more to tie the contest at 5-5. All five runs in the inning were unearned.
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Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts hits a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to give the team its first lead of the game.
The Yankees reclaimed the lead 6-5 in the sixth on Stanton’s sacrifice fly, but a pair of sacrifice flies from second baseman Gavin Lux and right fielder Mookie Betts gave the Dodgers their first lead of the game at 7-6 in the top of the eighth.
The runs were all scored off reliever Luke Weaver, the Yankees’ closer who had pitched remarkably throughout October. Inheriting a bases-loaded, no-out jam, Weaver gave up the tying and eventual winning run on the sacrifice flies, which were sandwiched around a catcher’s interference that allowed superstar Shohei Ohtani to reach base.
Ohtani, the man with the richest contract in baseball history, was not much of a factor in the series after suffering a shoulder injury in Game 2.
There were still a couple more chances for the Yankees. The Dodgers turned to reliever Blake Treinen, their own stalwart bullpen arm who had come in an inning before, and he created and then got out of a jam.
Judge rocked a double to left and Chisholm followed up with a walk, and the House That Jeter Built was once again rocking. But Treinen got Stanton to fly out and struck out Anthony Rizzo, stranding Judge and Chisholm and stymying what ended up being the Yankees’ best shot at getting back in the game.
Game 3 starter Walker Buehler made a surprise appearance that sealed his own incredible October story. Buehler returned earlier this season from Tommy John surgery but had a lackluster season before looking like his dominant self in October.
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The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, front left, celebrates with teammates in the locker room after Wednesday's win.
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The Dodgers celebrate with the Commissioner's Trophy after winning Game 5.
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Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was named World Series MVP. He hit four home runs in the series.
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A sad Yankees fan reacts after the loss.
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Ohtani celebrates after Wednesday's win.
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The Dodgers' Enrique Hernández hugs family members after the win.
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Dejected Yankees watch from the dugout after the final pitch Wednesday.
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The Dodgers run onto the field after the final pitch Wednesday.
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Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler delivers the final strike of the series against Alex Verdugo. Buehler pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save.
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Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, left, gets a pat on the shoulder from teammate Anthony Rizzo as he leaves the game in the seventh inning Wednesday. All of the five runs scored against Cole were unearned because of New York fielding errors.
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Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts catches a fly ball to end the fifth inning Wednesday.
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Betts and Freeman celebrate after they scored on a double by Teoscar Hernández in the fifth inning. The Dodgers scored five runs in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5.
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The Dodgers' Enrique Hernández is safe at third base after a throwing error by Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe in the fifth inning. The error came right after Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge dropped a fly ball in the previous at-bat.
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Judge drops the fly ball in the fifth inning.
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Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty reacts in the dugout after he was relieved in the second inning down 4-0.
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The Yankees celebrate in the dugout after Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a solo home run in the first inning to put the Yankees up 3-0. It came right after Judge hit a two-run blast.
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Chisholm Jr. tosses his bat after hitting his first-inning home run.
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Judge smacks a two-run home run in the first inning to give the Yankees an early 2-0 lead.
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Judge rounds the bases after his home run. The Yankees star had been struggling at the plate, hitting under .200.
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The Yankees' Anthony Volpe hits a grand slam in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday. The third-inning home run gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
They would go on to win 11-4 and cut the Dodgers' series lead to 3-1.
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Fans celebrate after the Yankees won Game 4.
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Dodgers pitcher Brent Honeywell screams into his glove after giving up a three-run homer to Gleyber Torres in the eighth inning Tuesday.
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Volpe slides into home plate, scoring a run in the eighth inning.
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Rizzo catches a foul ball during the fourth inning Tuesday.
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Volpe steals second base in the second inning on Tuesday.
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A pair of Yankees fans were ejected from Game 4 after one of them grabbed Betts' glove and the other grabbed his arm when the Dodgers right fielder tried to catch a foul ball in the first inning Tuesday.
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Freeman celebrates his two-run home run in the first inning of Game 4. He homered in the first four games of this World Series.
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The Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton is tagged out at home by Dodgers catcher Will Smith during Game 3 of the World Series on Monday.
The Dodgers defeated the Yankees 4-2 to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
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Freeman celebrates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning on Monday.
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Freeman watches his home run in the first inning of Game 3.
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Stanton runs onto the field before Game 3.
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Players line up for the National Anthem before Game 3 at Yankee Stadium.
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Fans are seen outside Yankee Stadium prior to Game 3.
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Smith, left, and Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia celebrate their
4-2 win in Game 2 on Saturday.
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Stanton sits in the dugout during the eighth inning of Game 2.
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Dodgers pitcher Michael Kopech shushes the Yankees dugout during the eighth inning of Game 2.
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Fans cheer as Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto leaves the game during the seventh inning of Game 2. Yamamoto was nothing short of dominant, striking out four batters while only giving up one hit in 6 1/3 innings.
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Freeman celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning of Game 2. The run put the Dodgers up 4-1.
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Yankees outfielder Juan Soto hits a solo home run in the third inning of Game 2.
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Dodgers fans celebrate a home run hit by Tommy Edman in the second inning of Game 2.
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Yamamoto pitches in the first inning of Game 2.
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Rapper Ice Cube performs before Game 2.
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Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón warms up before Game 2.
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Freeman celebrates after hitting a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning of Game 1 on Friday. The dramatic home run gave the Dodgers a 6-3 win.
It was a moment that echoed one of the most famous swings in baseball history — Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series at the same ballpark. The parallels were uncanny: Freeman, like Gibson, is hobbled by a leg injury that has nagged him throughout the playoffs, and the ball landed in the exact same grandstand that Gibson’s home run landed 36 years ago.
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Freeman celebrates with teammates after his walk-off grand slam.
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The Yankees' Nestor Cortes leaves the field after giving up the walk-off grand slam to Freeman.
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Alex Verdugo of the Yankees dives to catch a foul hit by Ohtani in the 10th inning of Game 1.
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Chisholm Jr. steals second base during the 10th inning of Game 1.
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The Yankees take the field during the eighth inning of Game 1.
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Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Graterol reacts after striking out Stanton in the seventh inning of Game 1.
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Ohtani is forced out by during the sixth inning of Game 1.
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Stanton, left, and Solo celebrate Stanton's two-run homer that put the Yankees up 2-1 in the sixth inning of Game 1.
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Enrique Hernández slides safely into home to score the series' first run in the fifth inning of Game 1. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Smith.
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Fans cheer at Dodger Stadium. These two teams last met in the World Series in 1981, which was won by the Dodgers.
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Freeman breaks his bat as he grounds out in the fourth inning of Game 1.
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Flaherty throws a pitch in the second inning of Game 1.
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Judge takes the field ahead of Game 1.
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Fans sing along with a mariachi band that was playing during a tribute to
Fernando Valenzuela before Game 1. Valenzuela, the legendary pitcher whose incredible rise to stardom with Dodgers captivated baseball fans and created the cultural phenomenon known as "Fernandomania,” died October 22 at the age of 63.
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Country artist Brad Paisley sings the National Anthem before Game 1.
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Fireworks are set off during the National Anthem.
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Fans take a photo inside Dodger Stadium ahead of Game 1.
When he came on to pitch the ninth inning on short rest, he made an unlikely appearance seem routine, setting down the Yankees in order and striking out left fielder Alex Verdugo to seal the win.
The Dodgers last won the World Series in 2020 in the shortened Covid-19 pandemic season. While they were able to celebrate on the field at the time, there was no parade in the streets of LA. Manager Dave Roberts, who has been lauded for his work guiding his team of megastars throughout this season, celebrated with a rhetorical question.
“Yeah! Who wants a parade?!” he yelled to the traveling Dodger fans who remained in Yankee Stadium during the postgame ceremony. The team announced that the parade will be held on Friday.
CNN’s Omar Jimenez was present in the Dodgers clubhouse as they celebrated their win at Yankee Stadium, saying that he could “barely even see the camera” because of the champagne and beer which had been sprayed in revelry.
Dodgers players, decked out in goggles as is now traditional for title-winning teams, shared hugs – including the Japanese pairing of Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto – and enjoyed the moment with music blaring in the background, including unofficial LA city anthem, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
“This is a team coming in setting a lot of records, had high expectations and delivered. This is a manifestation of all that hard work,” Jimenez said while being soaked by the LA squad. “You’ve got the celebration, you’ve got the beer poured on it and, most importantly, you get the World Series trophy.”
In Japan, Ohtani’s victory with the Dodgers was celebrated with a special edition newspaper handed out to locals in Tokyo, according to CNN affiliate TV Asahi, while more fans celebrated the win at a watch party in Ohtani’s hometown of Iwate.
Dodgers fans back in Los Angeles took to the streets to celebrate their team’s Fall Classic victory, with fireworks set off around the city and outside Dodger Stadium, and police warning of affected traffic because of the celebrations.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) also issued a “dispersal order” at Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street near the stadium after an “unlawful assembly.” They also said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that they were responding to a “hostile crowd” surrounding a metro bus in downtown Los Angeles which was attempting to set it on fire.
Police noted that there reports of looting at stores in the area and that projectiles were thrown at officers earlier in the evening as well. Mayor Karen Bass had earlier warned residents that “violence will not be tolerated.”