Passan: Yankees need to wake up before this dream World Series ends as a New York nightmare
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — The New York Yankees came into the World Series carrying themselves like dawgs and have spent the first two games playing like dogs. To beat the Los Angeles Dodgers takes firm constitution, clean execution and an ability to meet the moment. The Yankees have crumbled, stumbled and bungled. They look like an American League team in a National League world. And unless New York figures out how to reawaken the best version of itself, this dream World Series will be over in time for kids to go trick-or-treating in Yankees uniforms with paper bags over their heads.
For the majority of Game 2 on Saturday night, a 4-2 Dodgers victory that gave Los Angeles a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series, the Yankees appeared overwhelmed. They mustered one hit over the first eight innings. Their captain’s postseason disappearing act resulted in three more strikeouts. Their seeming starting-pitching advantage melted away with three home runs allowed. And it left them needing to do what few others have. Of the 54 teams that started the World Series with two-game deficits, only 10 recovered to win a ring.
“No one said it’s going to be easy,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s a long series, and we need to make it a long series now. We won’t flinch. We’ve just got to keep at it.”
Keeping at it necessitates a number of fixes, all of which are possible. Doing so on the fly, against a team as complete as the Dodgers, takes “urgency, will, grit,” Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “We’re going to have to will it to happen.”
Rizzo understands this better than anyone in the Yankees’ clubhouse. In 2016, his Chicago Cubs trailed Cleveland three games to one before rallying to win their first championship in 108 years. One untimely error could have doomed their season. One faulty pitch. One uncompetitive at-bat. Teams that dig themselves holes eradicate their margins for error. It’s hard enough to beat the Dodgers. Doing so with self-inflicted wounds won’t play.
It starts with Aaron Judge, the best hitter in the world, who at the most inopportune time has found his nadir. In the first two games of the World Series, Judge has swung the bat 24 times. He has missed on 14 of those swings, punching out six times in nine at-bats. His OPS this October is .605, down more than 500 points from his MLB-best 1.159 regular season. He is pressing, desperate to find the swing that carried the Yankees through a season with more ups than downs.
“I’ve got to step up,” Judge said, and it’s true. For all of Juan Soto‘s greatness — and this October has reinforced just how great he is — he and Giancarlo Stanton cannot be the only Yankees who are constant threats. Twice this postseason teams have opted to intentionally walk Soto to face Judge, and unless Judge contracts his strike zone and fixes his swing, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will be incentivized to continue doing so. Throw Judge spin — 10 of the 14 swings and misses have come on curveballs, sliders and sweepers — and continue to win.
At the same time, Judge is not the only New York hitter coming up short. The Yankees are losing because they have been allergic to contact. The Yankees have swung at 147 pitches and missed 52 times. The Dodgers have swung at 133 pitches in the first two games and missed just 24. It is the defining statistic of the first two games, particularly considering how comparatively infrequently the Yankees did so against Kansas City and Cleveland during their first two rounds: 601 swings, 154 misses.
It’s not just a matter of the Yankees’ offense awakening. They need better pitching, too. And for Game 3, that falls on starter Clarke Schmidt. “I’m not trying to go out there and be a hero,” Schmidt said, and while he’s correct that trying to play hero ball is a path to nowhere good, a savior must emerge from somewhere.
Even if Shohei Ohtani does not play Game 3 (his status remains unclear after he suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder on a slide during an attempted steal late in Game 2), the Dodgers can stack their lineup with left-handers to prey on mistakes from a right-hander whose arsenal runs almost entirely glove-side. Schmidt’s cutter-slider-curveball-heavy array doesn’t feature a changeup to keep hitters honest, and the Dodgers’ ability to fight off pitches — they’ve fouled off 39.1% of their swings in the World Series compared to the Yankees’ 29.9% — leaves any pitcher susceptible.
As if that’s not enough to remedy, the Yankees must do all of that while avoiding the blunders that doomed them in Game 1. No more misplaying balls in the outfield. No more kicking the ball around and allowing the Dodgers to take extra bases. No baserunning follies that give away outs.
“I feel like we’ve been playing really good baseball,” Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “The guys still feel very confident at the plate on the field, and we still feel really confident in our pitching, so I feel like we’re just going to go home and feed off the crowd’s energy.”
Here’s the reality: The Yankees have not been playing really good baseball. They have been OK, and OK is not enough to beat the Dodgers. Championships demand top-to-bottom excellence, from the batter’s box to the pitcher’s mound to the field to the dugout, where Boone’s decision-making could mean the difference between a ring and a naked finger.
His choice to call on left-hander Nestor Cortes to pitch the 10th inning of Game 1 loomed over Game 2. Boone stood by his decision to go with Cortes, whose balky left arm had kept him out for more than five weeks before he allowed Freddie Freeman‘s walk-off grand slam, over lefty Tim Hill, who has been one of the Yankees’ best relievers. If there was any regret, Boone said, it was that he didn’t stick with closer Luke Weaver, who had needed just 19 pitches to secure five outs, to protect a 3-2 lead.
The Yankees finally came alive in the ninth inning of Game 2, lacing three singles off Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen and loading the bases with one out and a two-run deficit. Then Anthony Volpe struck out swinging at a Treinen sweeper nearly a foot off the plate. And pinch hitter Jose Trevino, in for the platoon advantage against left-hander Alex Vesia, lofted a fly ball to center field for the 27th out.
“I loved the at-bats there at the end,” Boone said. “The compete, the fight.”
It was too little, too late, and now the Yankees are in a precarious position. For six months, they reigned as the best team in the AL. They cruised through the first two rounds, beating teams with payrolls a third of their size. The Dodgers are not the Royals and the Guardians. They are a machine, and over two games they have handed the Yankees as many losses as New York had the rest of October combined.
The Dodgers also are not infallible. San Diego pushed Los Angeles to the brink of elimination. The New York Mets took two games against them. The Dodgers’ Game 3 starter, Walker Buehler, hasn’t pitched since Oct. 16, they are primed to throw a relievers-only Game 4, and the Yankee Stadium crowd is bound to invigorate New York. The path to an even series is there. This is the Yankees’ first World Series since 2009, and they are at risk of blowing it spectacularly. They can win. They can convince Soto that he needs to spend the rest of his career in the Bronx. They can solidify Judge’s legacy. They can capture their 28th championship.
All they need is to back up their season-long bark with some World Series bite.
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David Schoenfield
There’s plenty of history in the rivalry between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. It’s about 116 miles from Citi Field to Citizens Bank Park. The two teams been competing for the NL East since 1969. Star players from Tug McGraw to Jerry Koosman to Lenny Dykstra to Pedro Martinez to Zack Wheeler have played for both franchises. Mets fans loathe the Phanatic, and Phillies fans laugh derisively at Mr. Met.
Despite this longevity, the two teams have rarely battled for a division title in the same season. The only years they finished No. 1 and 2 or were battling for a division lead late in the season:
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1986: Mets finished 21.5 games ahead
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2001: Both finished within six games of the Braves
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2006: Mets finished 12 games ahead
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2007: Phillies finished one game ahead
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2008: Phillies finished three games ahead
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2024: Phillies finished six games ahead of Mets and Braves
So it’s a rare treat to see the Mets and Phillies battling for the NL East lead in as New York faces the San Francisco Giants on “Sunday Night Baseball” this week. This season has also been a bit of bumpy ride for both teams, so there is pressure on both front offices to make trade deadline additions in hopes of winning the World Series that has eluded both franchises in recent years despite high payrolls and star-laden rosters. Let’s dig into what both teams need to do before Thursday.
The perfect trade deadline for the Mets
1. Bullpen help
The Mets already acquired hard-throwing lefty Gregory Soto from the Orioles, but David Stearns will likely look for another reliever, given that the Mets’ bullpen has struggled since the beginning of June with a 5.02 ERA. In my grade of the trade, I pointed out the importance for the Mets to add left-handed relief. Think of potential playoff opponents and all the key left-handed batters: Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on the Phillies; Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy on the Dodgers; Kyle Tucker, Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs.
Soto has held lefties to a .138 average this season, and it does help that the Mets have two lefty starters in David Peterson and Sean Manaea. They also just activated Brooks Raley after he had been out since early 2024. If he is back to his 2022-23 form, when he had a 2.74 ERA and held lefties to a .209 average, maybe the Mets will feel good enough about their southpaw relief.
They could still use another dependable righty reliever. Mets starters were hot early on, but they weren’t going deep into games, and outside of Peterson, the lack of longer outings is a big reason the bullpen ERA has skyrocketed. Carlos Mendoza has overworked his setup guys, including Huascar Brazoban and Reed Garrett. Brazoban has never been much of a strike thrower anyway, and Garrett similarly faded in the second half last season. Adding a high-leverage righty to set up Edwin Diaz makes sense. Candidates there include David Bednar of the Pirates, Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals, Griffin Jax or Jhoan Duran of the Twins, or maybe a longer shot such as Emmanuel Clase or Cade Smith of the Guardians.
2. Think big, as in Eugenio Suarez
Mark Vientos was a huge key to last season’s playoff appearance and trip to the NLCS, hitting .266/.322/.516 with 27 home runs after beginning the season in Triple-A. He hasn’t been able to replicate that performance, though, hitting .224/.279/.354. That has led to a revolving door at third base, with Vientos, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio starting games there in July. Overall, Mets third basemen ranked 24th in the majors in OPS entering Friday.
Lack of production at third is one reason the Mets’ offense has been mediocre rather than very good — they’re averaging 4.38 runs per game, just below the NL average of 4.43. They could use another premium bat, given the lack of production they’ve received from center field and catcher (not to mention Francisco Lindor‘s slump since the middle of June). Maybe Francisco Alvarez‘s short stint back in Triple-A will get his bat going now that he’s back in the majors, but going after Suarez to hit behind Juan Soto and Pete Alonso would lengthen the lineup.
3. Reacquire Harrison Bader to play CF
Tyrone Taylor is a plus defender in center and has made several incredible catches, but he’s hitting .209/.264/.306 for a lowly OPS+ of 65. Old friend Bader is having a nice season with the Twins, hitting .251/.330/.435. Maybe that’s a little over his head, given that he had a .657 OPS with the Mets last season, but he would still be an offensive upgrade over Taylor without losing anything on defense — and he wouldn’t cost a top-tier prospect. The Mets could still mix in Jeff McNeil against the really tough righties, but adding Suarez and Bader would give this lineup more of a championship feel.
The perfect deadline for the Phillies
1. Acquire Jhoan Duran
Like the Mets, the Phillies already made a move here, signing free agent David Robertson, who had a 3.00 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 72 innings last season with the Rangers. On paper, he should help, but he’s also 40 and will need a few games in the minors to get ready. Even with Robertson, the Phillies could use some more help here. They’ll eventually get Jose Alvarado back from his 60-game PED suspension, but Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason. At least the Mets have an elite closer in Edwin Diaz. Jordan Romano leads the Phillies with eight saves and has a 6.69 ERA. Matt Strahm is solid, but more useful as a lefty setup guy than a closer (think of all those left-handed batters we listed for the Mets, then sub out Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo for Harper and Schwarber).
And the Phillies’ bullpen has consistently come up short in big games. Think back to last year’s NLDS, when Jeff Hoffman lost twice to the Mets. Or 2023, when Craig Kimbrel lost two games in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks. Or the 2022 World Series, when Yordan Alvarez hit the huge home run off Alvarado in the clinching Game 6.
So, yes, a shutdown closer is a must. Maybe that’s Bednar, maybe Clase if he’s available (although he struggled in last year’s postseason), maybe Helsley. But the guy Dave Dombrowski should go all-in to get: Duran. The window for the Phillies is slowly closing as the core players get older. Duran is under control through 2027, so he’s a fit for now and the immediate future. The trade cost might be painful, but with his 100 mph fastball and splitter, he has the elite stuff you need in October.
2. Add Ryan O’Hearn
The Phillies have received below-average production from both left field (mostly Max Kepler) and center field (Brandon Marsh/Johan Rojas platoon). The center-field market is pretty thin except for Bader or maybe a gamble on Luis Robert Jr. I’d pass on Robert, stick with the Marsh/Rojas platoon and upgrade left field with O’Hearn, who is hitting .281/.375/.452 for the Orioles. He isn’t the perfect fit since, like Kepler, he hits left-handed and struggles against lefties, but he’s a patient hitter with a much better OBP, and he’s passable in the outfield.
3. Acquire Willi Castro
Here’s the bottom line: The Phillies have to admit that some of their long-term position players aren’t getting the job done — such as second baseman Bryson Stott, who has a 77 OPS+. Third baseman Alec Bohm has been better but also has a below-average OPS.
That makes Castro a nice fit. He’s not a star, but he’s an above-average hitter, a switch-hitter who plays all over the field for the Twins, having started games at five different positions. He could play second or third or start in left field against a lefty. Philadelphia could even start him in center instead of Rojas, although that would be a defensive hit. Bottom line: Castro would give the Phillies a lot more versatility — or a significant offensive upgrade over Stott if they start him every day at second.
Note as well: Stott has hit .188 in 33 career postseason games. Bohm has hit .214 with two home runs in 34 postseason games. The Phillies need a different offensive look for October.
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