Author: rincon

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Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees‘ 2024 season ended in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday night, as they blew a 5-0 fifth-inning lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, then later watched Los Angeles go on to win the series.

Judge’s performance was front and center this postseason, specifically in the World Series, in what was a bumpy five-game stretch for the 2022 — and likely 2024 — American League MVP.

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Here are the World Series highlights and lowlights for Judge, who was playing in his first career Fall Classic.

Game 1 agony

Judge entered the World Series having struggled the previous two rounds. In New York’s combined nine games in the American League playoffs against the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians, he totaled two home runs, six RBIs and 13 strikeouts, while posting a .161/.317/.387 slash line. For perspective, Judge blasted 58 home runs and posted a .701 slugging percentage in the regular season.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Judge didn’t silence the critics in Game 1 of the World Series.

The Yankees led 3-2 going into the bottom of the 10th inning, and, of course, Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs. New York left 11 runners on base, with Judge stranding four of them while striking out three times and finishing 1-for-5.

Mid-series drought

Judge went a combined 0-for-7 in Games 2 and 3, striking out three times.

In Game 2, he left two runners. In the top of the ninth inning, which saw the Yankees draw to within two runs and load the bases with one out, he struck out. Games 2 and 3 were each 4-2 victories for the Dodgers.

Game 4 life

With New York staring down a sweep — and Judge’s offensive struggles at the center of team scrutiny — the superstar outfielder showed signs of waking up in his final at-bat of the game, hitting a single to left field, which drove in the Yankees’ 11th run of an 11-4 win. Judge had previously gotten on base via base on balls, hit by pitch and an infield error.

He carried that momentum into Game 5.

Game 5 duality

Game 5 featured Judge early and often — in both a positive and negative way.

Judge got the Yankees rolling in the first inning with a two-run home run to right field, giving them a 2-0 lead, which later became a 5-0 lead. Then, Judge made a leaping catch in the palm of his glove at the wall in the top of the fourth inning, robbing Freeman of a potential extra-base hit and the Dodgers of a run.

But in the top of the fifth, Judge made a consequential error, dropping a line drive in center field. Later in the inning, shortstop Anthony Volpe made a throwing error and starting pitcher Gerrit Cole didn’t get over to first base for Anthony Rizzo to flip him the ball for the would-be inning-ending out. The Dodgers went on to score five runs in the inning to tie the game. While the Yankees regained the lead in the sixth with a sacrifice fly, the Dodgers went in front in the eighth with a pair of sacrifice flies.

Judge doubled in the bottom of the eighth — and also walked twice in the game — to get the tying run in scoring position, but the Yankees couldn’t get even and lost, 7-6.

Judge’s only home run and error in the World Series came in Game 5.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers will finally get their parade.

The team announced that it would commemorate its World Series championship on Friday with a downtown parade followed by a celebration at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers earned that right with their World Series-clinching 7-6 victory over the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Thursday night.

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The team said Wednesday that because of logistics, traffic and timing, fans won’t be able to attend both the parade and the celebration at Dodger Stadium.

Friday’s celebrations, however, will be particularly poignant for both the Dodgers and their fans in Los Angeles.

Their last championship came in 2020, during a COVID-shortened season. Because of restrictions due to the pandemic, the entire World Series was played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. And after the Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games for the franchise’s seventh championship, the city was denied a parade because of those pandemic restrictions.

The Los Angeles Lakers also won the NBA championship that year, and no public celebration was ever held to commemorate the occasion.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen spoke on Wednesday night about how the team wanted to put any stigma attached to the 2020 championship to rest.

“There’s been a lot of people that want to discredit 2020, and I don’t want to harp on this alot, but it’s so great to see the guys that are still here, from Doc [Dave Roberts] to players to front office, being able to finally silence the critics on this,” he said, “because every year has its challenges, everybody has the same playing field. That’s a great team. This team has zero quit in it, and every single night, if we don’t have the outcome we want, there’s always guys out there picking each other up and challenging ourselves to be better. And that’s why we won tonight.”

When it comes to Friday’s celebrations, the parade will begin mid-morning at Gloria Molina Grand Park in front of City Hall with Mayor Karen Bass in attendance. It will continue on a 45-minute route that culminates at the intersection of 5th and Flower streets, with the Dodgers traveling atop double-decker buses.

The celebration at Dodger Stadium will begin shortly after noon. The parade will be carried on the stadium’s videoboards ahead of the team’s arrival.

Adding to the special nature of the parade for Dodgers fans, Friday is also the birthday of late pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who died on Oct. 22 at the age of 63. Valenzuela was an iconic figure in Los Angeles and a member of Dodgers championship teams in 1981 and 1988.

A portion of the proceeds from the ticketed stadium event will be donated to the Los Angeles Dodger Foundation.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Rowdy crowds took to the streets in Los Angeles after the Dodgers won the World Series, setting a bus on fire, breaking into stores and setting off firecrackers. A dozen arrests were reported by police early Thursday.

Video showed some people throwing objects at police in Los Angeles as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area after the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in Game 5 in New York.

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There were some “unruly, and at times violent and hostile celebrations,” with several acts of vandalism, including the burning of a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus, Los Angeles police spokesperson Officer Drake Madison said in an email. Arrests were on charges such as failure to disperse, receiving stolen property or commercial burglary, Madison said.

There were also several instances of street takeovers downtown and police used less-lethal munitions to control several hostile and violent crowds, Madison said. In the coming days, detectives will attempt to identify those responsible for crimes, he said.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

Other video showed revelers standing on top of a bus waving a Dodgers banner and other people leaving a boarded-up store with sneakers. It wasn’t known if anyone was hurt.

An email was sent to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The Dodgers plan to commemorate their World Series championship on Friday with a downtown parade followed by a celebration at Dodger Stadium. The team said Wednesday that because of logistics, traffic and timing, fans won’t be able to attend both events.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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