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World Champions! Dodgers win World Series with epic comeback against Yankees in Game 5

NEW YORK (KABC) — The Dodgers are world champions for the 8th time!

They found themselves in a 5-0 hole against the Yankees early in Game 5, but staged an epic comeback to earn the 7-6 victory in New York on Wednesday.

Dodger fans throughout Southern California — and many in New York City — erupted at the end, when Walker Buehler returned on just two days’ rest to end the ninth inning.

“Being down 5-0, a hostile environment, Yankee Stadium … we kept fighting,” manager Dave Roberts told ABC7’s Rob Fukuazki as champagne sprayed everywhere in the locker room. “We persevered. Now we’re World Series champions!”

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Game 5 featured a rematch of the starters from the series opener, Jack Flaherty for Los Angeles and Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. Both are residents of Southern California.

The Yankees enjoyed Flaherty early, giving up four runs — including back-to-back home runs — before Dave Roberts yanked him in the second inning to send in Anthony Banda.

Aaron Judge, who had been fairly quiet this series, fired one to right center with Juan Soto on first. The next batter was Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also took Flaherty deep for a solo shot to right center.

Things weren’t looking good for the Dodgers as they entered the fifth inning trailing 5-0.

But then they finally discovered Cole. A long string of singles and doubles, aided by a pair of Yankee fielding errors, helped them break the order and tie the score at 5-5 heading into the sixth.

In the top of the eighth the score was tied at 6 apiece.

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With the bases loaded, Mookie Betts hit a deep pop fly ball to center and Tommy Edman tagged in to make it 7-6. That left Freddie Freeman with two men, and the chance to be the hero of the game again. But Freeman struck out swinging, sending the Yankees back to the plate.

Freeman, who hit home runs in the first four consecutive games of the series, was named World Series MVP.

Walker Buehler, who pitched five scoreless innings in Game 3, came back on short rest to end the game in the ninth.

“It’s more than I could ever imagine,” Edman said afterward. “It’s been an amazing trip. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

The Dodgers’ victory was aided by multiple Yankees errors at key moments, including fielding errors by Aaron Judge in center and Anthony Volpe at shortstop, combined with Cole’s failure to cover first on a grounder from Betts.

When Buehler struck out Verdugo to end the game, the Dodgers poured onto the field to celebrate between the mound and first base, capping a season in which they won 98 games and finished with the best record of the regular season.

“There’s just a lot of ways we can win baseball games,” Buehler said. “Obviously the superstars we have on our team and the discipline, it all adds up.”
Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ record-breaking $700 million signing and baseball’s first 50-homer, 50-steal player, went 2 for 19 with no RBIs and had one hit after dislodging his shoulder during a stolen base attempt in Game 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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