Big Edge fight between Dodgers and Yankees occurred in World Series after Ohtani injury and umpire deterioration | News, results, highlights, stats and gossip

Two games into the 2024 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in an awkward spot between undeniably good spirits and cautious optimism.

Good news? They have a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees after holding on for a 4-2 victory in Game 2 on Saturday.

Bad news? Shohei Ohtani has a left shoulder injury.

The future three-time MVP tried to show off his skills after drawing a walk against Clay Holmes in the seventh inning, but Austin Wells’ strikeout immediately became secondary as soon as Ohtani started wincing in pain:

According to ESPN Alden GonzálezDodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the second game that Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder. His strength and range of motion are good.

“We are encouraged,” Roberts said.

In other words, it could be worse.

At least for now, there appears to be a chance that Ohtani will return to his usual positions as designated hitter and at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup. And if that happens, they will be much more likely to complete their first full-season championship since 1988.

For their part, the Yankees would no doubt be happy to trade places with the Dodgers. If you have a choice between being 2-0 plus an injured Ohtani or being down 0-2 plus a floundering Aaron Judge, you choose Door #1.

The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani problem isn’t final

To say that the Dodgers don’t need Ohtani would be an attempt to fool everyone and end up fooling no one.

He’s a two-time MVP who recently began chartering the 50-50 club, and his postseason hits include some of the biggest the Dodgers have ever had. Damn, he is I just had one in game 1.

However, it is clear that the Dodgers can win without Ohtani at the tip of the spear.

His eighth-inning double on Friday was the only knock he struck out in eight World Series at-bats, and yet the Dodgers beat the Yankees 10-5.

Even before that point, the Dodgers had made it through the first two rounds of the playoffs, even though Ohtani was only a part-time star. He was 8-for-13 with two home runs with runners on base, but was otherwise 4-for-29 with the bases empty.

Take a step back and look at the bigger picture, and you’ll see a squad that still has two other MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, as well as several players with 30-goal power (Teoscar Hernández and Max Muncy). and what appears to be a revolving door of candidates who could guarantee a hit at any time.

Betts came into the spotlight with a 1.063 OPS in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Now it’s Freeman’s turn.

He spent the first two rounds of the playoffs as a featured star whose injury didn’t stop the Dodgers. Now his bad right ankle seems to be doing much better as it follows his own Grand Slam walk-off in Game 1 and a solo homer in Game 2.

In the second game we also went to the yard Hernandez AND Tommy Edman. The same would be expected from a Home Run Derby winner like the former, while the latter currently has a .429 hit percentage since Game 1 of the NLCS.

It’s too easy to hand out gold stars. Max Muncy set a record pass on base earlier after the season. Enrique Hernández has as many postseason homers as Babe Ruth, and he had a huge triple lead Game 1. Will Smith scored in Game 6 of the NLCS, effectively putting the game out of reach.

But while the sheer depth of the offense explains how the Dodgers won the first two games of this series, they also changed the narrative on the pitching side.

The Yankees should have had the starting pitching advantage, but Jack Flaherty matched Gerrit Cole in Game 1 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto just outscored Carlos Rodón in Game 2. The only hit allowed was a homer by Juan Soto, who otherwise fanned four and walked two.

Otherwise, the Dodgers’ apparent strength in relief pitching continues.

They have a 2.45 ERA in the series, while the relative shallowness of New York’s pen was on full display when Aaron Boone decided it would be prudent to call up Nestor Cortes to face Freeman with Game 1 on the line.

Yankees umpire Aaron’s problem may be final

I feel like Soto has narrowed the 2024 Yankees regular season down to a simple formula, but I’ll do it anyway.

When the referee struck, they won. When they didn’t, it was basically 50/50.

This is almost literally true when viewed through a home run lens. The Yankees were 39-14 on days when Judge went deep this season. On the days he didn’t, they went 55-54.

Therefore, these divisions are a definite PROBLEM for the Yankees:

• Regular season: 58 HR, 144 RBI, .322 AVG, .458 OBP, .701 SLG
• After the season: 2 HR, 6 RBI, .150 AVG, .280 OBP, .325 SLG

The 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge was notably absent from the World Series, allowing just one hit with six strikeouts in nine at-bats. Worst of all, he dealt with ducks on the pond in the ninth inning in both Game 1 and Game 2.

The referee knows what he needs to do, which is simply take better swings: