The Dodgers defeated the Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series, but lost Shohei Ohtani to injury

LOS ANGELES — Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6 1/2 innings, Freddie Freeman scored for the second straight night and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit three early long balls off Carlos Rodón to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Saturday and scoring 2 goals -0 Leading the World Cup.

Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández also went deep for the Dodgers, who watched star shortstop Shohei Ohtani leave the field with a left shoulder injury in the bottom of the seventh inning.

After the Yankees tied the game to 4-2 on Giancarlo Stanton’s RBI single in the ninth against Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia breathed a sigh of relief as the bases were loaded and retired pinch hitter Jose Trevino singled to make the save.

Yamamoto allowed a homer to Juan Soto in the third inning before retiring his last 11 batters and 15 of his last 16.

Soto also scored in the ninth and scored on Stanton’s single to third base. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled and Anthony Rizzo was hit by the ball, loading the bases. Treinen then punched Anthony Volpe, which left Vesia relieved.

Ohtani injured his left shoulder while making a first-leg slide when he was caught stealing second base and finishing seventh.

The third game will be on Monday night at Yankee Stadium. Forty-five of the 56 teams that went 2-0 in the World Series won the title.

New York’s Aaron Judge is 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is hitting .150 with six RBI and 19 strikeouts in 40 postseason at-bats.

Soto’s tying homer on an inside fastball was the only one Yamamoto allowed this year in two starts and 13 1/3 innings against the Yankees. The newcomer left to a thunderous ovation, and as he walked to the dugout, he slightly tipped his hat to the fans.

Yamamoto joined the Dodgers last December on a 12-year contract worth $325 million, a record for a pitcher, and working with Ohtani has generated record interest in Major League Baseball in Japan.

Yamamoto was sidelined from June 15 to September 10 due to a rotator cuff strain, which was his best start since the injury.

In his longest outing since starting in the Bronx, Yamamoto struck out four and walked two with a lineup that included curveballs, splitters, sliders and cutters. He improved to 2-0 in four postseason starts.

He had his best regular-season game at Yankee Stadium in June, when he allowed three hits over seven straight innings. In this three-game series, Hernández recorded three homers and nine RBIs.

A night after Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in Series history, turning a 3-2 deficit with two outs in the 10th inning into a 6-3 victory, Edman put the Dodgers ahead with a solo shot in the second inning.

After Soto tied the score, Mookie Betts singled with two outs in the bottom half and Hernández went 3-of-27 with a tackle to the right-center field.

Freeman, who before Friday had not gone deep since September 16, was greeted with huge cheers before each plate appearance. He completed the assignment and also singled to right center.

Playing with a sprained right ankle, Freeman has appeared in four straight games, dating back to Atlanta’s final two games of 2021 against Houston. That’s one shy of the record set by Astros’ George Springer.

All three Dodgers homers scored fastballs from Rodón, who allowed 31 long balls during the regular season, second-most in the major leagues. Los Angeles scored twice in the series for the second time after Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager combined with Yankees lefty Ron Guidry for a 2-1 victory in Game 5 in 1981.

Rodón allowed four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead in the series for the first time since 1988, when Kirk Gibson scored the first goal against Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley and Orel Hershiser had three goals. The Yankees are 0-2 for the first time since 2001, when they rebounded, won three straight at home and lost Games 6 and 7 in Arizona.

Next

Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt and Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler will start on Monday. Schmidt has a 3.86 ERA in two postseason starts, with a no-decision in Game 3 against Kansas City and Cleveland. Buehler also started two third games, allowing six runs over five innings in a 6-5 loss to San Diego and four runs in an 8-0 win over the New York Mets.