Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run, and Walker Buehler delivered a dominant outing as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday, moving one win away from clinching the World Series.  

The Dodgers had Japan's Shohei Ohtani at the top of their lineup, as expected, despite him suffering a partial dislocation of his left shoulder in last Saturday’s game.

The Yankees, playing their first game of the series in New York, continued to struggle and have only scored seven runs across the three games they've played against the Dodgers, five of which came from home runs.

Buehler (1-0) took the mound for five innings, doing his job for the Los Angeles team by mixing his powerful fastball, reaching 97 miles per hour, with his knuckle curve to dominate the Yankees' batters. He allowed just two hits without giving up any runs, walked two, and struck out five.

Freeman continued his explosive World Series performance, and in the very first inning, he connected with a fastball from Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt, sending the ball to the right-field stands at Yankee Stadium, with Shohei Ohtani on base, putting two runs on the board for the Dodgers.

With this home run, Freeman has now homered in five consecutive World Series games, having gone deep in each of the three games of this year’s Fall Classic and in the last two games of the 2021 series, when he won with the Atlanta Braves.

The Dodgers scored again in the third inning when Mookie Betts hit a single to right field, allowing Tommy Edman to reach home plate and add the third run for Dave Roberts’ team.

The Yankees attempted to score in the bottom of the fourth inning when, with two outs, Anthony Volpe hit a single to left field, but Dominican outfielder Teoscar Hernández fielded the ball and made a precise throw to the plate, retiring Giancarlo Stanton and preventing the Yankees’ first run of the game.

After this missed opportunity by the Yankees, the Dodgers extended their lead, adding another run in the sixth inning. Puerto Rican Kiké Hernández hit a single up the middle, driving in Gavin Lux for the Dodgers' fourth run.

The Yankees put runners on first and second again in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded out to second base, ending the threat.

The Yankees’ two runs came in the ninth inning thanks to a home run by Mexico's Alex Verdugo with Anthony Rizzo on base. 

For the second consecutive game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone had to rely on his bullpen early, as Schmidt (0-1) could only last 2.2 innings, giving up four walks, allowing two hits, and conceding three runs, taking the loss.