Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, particularly the top of the fifth inning on Halloween Eve, will haunt New York Yankees fans forever.
The meltdown included a dropped ball by center fielder Aaron Judge (his first error of the entire season), shortstop Anthony Volpe’s ill-advised throwing error to third base, and the most egregious mental error of the series, when pitcher Gerrit Cole failed to cover first base on a grounder from Mookie Betts to first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Those miscues led to five unearned runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and wiped out a 5-0 Yanks lead. It was one of the more bizarre series of events in the history of the Fall Classic, and even though New York was able to reclaim a 6-5 advantage in the sixth inning on a Giancarlo Stanton sacrifice fly, LA had an answer in the eighth.
A pair of base hits from Kike Hernandez and Tommy Edman and a walk to Will Smith greeted reliever Tommy Kahnle, forcing Yankees manager Aaron Boone to bring on the team’s closer in recent weeks, Luke Weaver. Weaver has enjoyed a rebirth in the New York bullpen after a terrible 2023 season that included a 2-4 record with a 6.87 ERA in 21 starts for the Cincinnati Reds. The first batter he faced, Gavin Lux, lifted a fly ball to center
for a sac fly to knot the game at 6-6, and after a catcher’s interference call went against catcher Austin Wells, Shohei Ohtani trotted to first to reload the bases.
That brought up Betts, and he delivered with a long drive to center field that plated Edman with what proved to be the winning run. Weaver was able to strike out World Series MVP Freddie Freeman to end the frame, but the damage was already done.
The always rowdy crowd assembled at Yankee Stadium tried their best to rally their beloved Bronx Bombers in the bottom of the ninth, but Lexington native Walker Buehler came out of the bullpen two days after blanking the Yanks for five innings in the Dodgers’ 4-2 win in Game 3 to thwart any hopes of a comeback. Buehler, who struggled during the regular season after returning to the mound from a pair of Tommy John surgeries, retired the Yankees 1-2-3, ending the series with a groundout from Rizzo, and fanning Wells and Alex Verdugo.
The series also concluded with an all-Kentucky battery of Buehler on the hill and Will Smith behind the plate for LA. Buehler attended Henry Clay High School before matriculating at Vanderbilt, while Smith was a Kentucky Country Day graduate before playing at Louisville.
It was a series featuring two of the highest payrolls in baseball, which was a turnoff to many, but Major League
Baseball had to be thrilled with the TV ratings. Game 5 drew 18.6 million viewers, the largest audience to watch a Game 5 since 2017. The ratings would’ve undoubtedly grown to even higher numbers if the series would have gone seven games.
The interest in Japan exceeded the U.S. numbers in the first two games. More than 15 million television viewers in Japan watched on average in Japan, compared with 14.5 million in the United States. Sports bars were packed as well, with fans cheering for current Dodgers and former Japanese stars Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, despite the games beginning at 9 a.m.
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ANOTHER MUST-WIN – The Cincinnati Bengals face yet another so-called must-win tomorrow afternoon at Paycor Stadium when they host the struggling Las Vegas Raiders at 1 p.m.
The Men in Stripes can ill afford a loss to the 2-6 Raiders if they hope to have any chance at reaching the postseason. The 3-5 Bengals are three games behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North, and still have to play the surprising Steelers twice, at home Dec. 1 and on the road on Jan. 5. Cincinnati also has a road game in Baltimore next Thursday before heading to LA to face the Chargers on Nov. 17. There is little room for a slip-up to teams like
the Raiders, Dallas (a road game Dec. 9), at Tennessee on Dec. 15, or the home game vs. Denver on Dec. 29.
After picking the Bengals to defeat the Eagles last week, a mismatch that resulted in a 20-point loss, this guy is refraining from making any more predictions concerning this team the rest of the way.
I really should know better.
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UK HOPES TO SLOW HIGH-POWERED VOLS – In a game that appears on paper to result in a blowout victory for the Tennessee Volunteers this evening in Knoxville, it’s difficult to argue with the oddsmakers. The line has increased during the week from 13.5 to 17.5 points, indicating that most of the money being wagered is on the Vols.
Hard to argue with the bettors, especially when you see all of the starters who are not going to play for UK due to injury, especially on the defensive side of the ball, the perceived strength of the team. Even if all hands were on deck for this one, it’s hard to see the Cats keeping it close.
UT will be looking to make a statement and showing any mercy whatsoever to a bitter rival ain’t gonna happen. The Vols will be looking for style points, and the point spread looks low to this guy.
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COLLEGE HOOPS BEGINS – For most sports fans in the Commonwealth, the season that gets the majority of them pumped up begins Monday evening in Rupp Arena. That is when the Mark Pope era officially commences for the basketball Wildcats as they meet Wright State in a 7 p.m. tip that will be shown on ESPNU.
The opener promises to be a high-scoring affair, with the propensity of Pope’s teams in the past to launch the 3-pointer at every opportunity, and the Raiders bringing last season’s scoring average of 86.5 points per game to Lexington.
The Cats will face Bucknell next Saturday afternoon before their first huge test of the season occurs next Tuesday in Atlanta. That’s when UK matches up with Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic nightcap at approximately 9 p.m. The opener will pit Kansas against Michigan State at 6:30.
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VOTE! – If you haven’t voted yet, please do so.
It cannot be understated how important this year’s election is to our country, and voting is one right we should never take for granted. It’s tempting for me to write a political column and endorse a certain candidate, but my better judgment says I better not.
This isn’t really the forum for those thoughts, but suffice it to say, the choice was easy for me when I voted early
on Thursday. Nearly everyone has already decided on who they’ll be voting for anyway, and revealing my pick isn’t going to sway you to vote for my candidate.
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“I think falling short in the World Series will stick with me until I die, probably.” – Aaron Judge
***** “No party holds the privilege of dictating to me how I should vote. If loyalty to a party is a form of patriotism, I am no patriot. If there is any valuable difference between a monarchist and an American, it lies in the theory that the American can decide for himself what is patriotic and what isn’t.” – Mark Twain
