Dodgers' 'very deep team' proving difficult to thwart

NEW YORK -- The buildup to Game 3 of the World Series, naturally, centered around two players. Would Shohei Ohtani be healthy enough to play? Would Aaron Judge hit his way out of a series-long slump? The preeminent superstars on baseball's preeminent franchises grabbed all the headlines. They always do.

Then, the Dodgers and Yankees took the field for Game 3 on Monday night at Yankee Stadium, and the biggest difference between the two clubs was laid bare. The Yankees need Aaron Judge mashing for everything to function. The Dodgers without a fully firing Ohtani? You know what? They're just fine.

Therein lies the beauty of this 2024 Dodgers team -- which finds itself on the precipice of a championship after Monday’s 4-2 victory gave them a 3-0 lead in the World Series. They’re one win away -- and, really, Ohtani hasn’t had to do much.

“It's just really [about] focusing on winning the game tomorrow as a team,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “There's nothing better than to be able to have the opportunity.”

After suffering a subluxation of his left shoulder in Saturday’s Game 2, Ohtani was right back in the lineup on Monday night. He walked in the first and was hit by a pitch in the ninth but was otherwise quiet, finishing the night 0-for-3 to fall to 1-for-11 in the Series.

But the Dodgers have Freddie Freeman. They have Mookie Betts. They have Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman, all of whom have starred in this series. Most importantly, they have one of the deepest collections of hitters in the sport -- players who can change games on both sides of the ball. They showed it again on Monday.

“We’ve dealt with a lot from the moment we [opened the regular season] in Korea this year,” Freeman said. “We’ve battled, we’ve faced adversity, and we keep coming back and punching back.”

Freeman continued his homer binge with a two-run blast in the top of the first inning to open the scoring and quiet a raucous Yankee Stadium. The Dodgers -- picking an incredibly opportune time to play one of their most complete games of the season -- never let New York back up for air.

Betts tacked on an RBI single in the third, before making one of two outstanding defensive plays in the fourth inning -- perhaps the game’s decisive frame. Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler was excellent, tossing five scoreless. But the Yankees started to get to him in the fourth.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a one-out double, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a liner to right. Betts ranged in and made a diving catch on the sinking line drive. A batter later, Anthony Volpe laced a single to left, where Hernández came up throwing. He delivered a perfect one-hop strike to the plate to cut down Stanton, ending the Yankees’ best chance to score until the ninth.

“There's this bond that's kind of different,” Buehler said afterward. “We play for each other. That play from Teo is kind of significant in terms of what I'm saying -- in that, like, OK, I slipped up a little. I gave up a couple hits. And we cover it.

“I haven't been on that many teams that we cover each other the way this team does. I've also never been on a team that's up 3-0 in the World Series.”

Indeed, the Dodgers find themselves one win from their second World Series in five seasons and their first in a full season since 1988. After the game, Ohtani spoke with reporters for the first time since he sustained the injury.

“The pain has subsided,” he said. “So I felt pretty good.”

Maybe so, but cameras captured Ohtani wincing after a couple swings. He needed to wear a device to keep his shoulder warm during pregame introductions, and he held his jersey with his left hand while running the bases to remind himself not to use it during a slide.

After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani would be back in the lineup for Tuesday’s Game 4. It’s entirely possible he could be the driving force behind a World Series-clinching victory.

And yet, these Dodgers seem wholly capable with or without that production. Which is a marvel, considering Ohtani is coming off one of the greatest offensive seasons in the history of the sport. (The juxtaposition with their opponent is stark. The Yankees’ presumptive American League MVP in Judge also has one hit this series, and their offense has been listless.)

• Dodgers-Yankees World Series Game 4 FAQ

Now, the Dodgers are so close they can practically taste the champagne. Their superstar has delivered a season’s worth of superstar moments. But on the biggest stage, the collective team effort has shined brightest.

“We never stopped believing in each other,” said center fielder Kiké Hernández. “We just were very hurt throughout the year, and I felt like we never had our full team. We still don't.

“We didn't really care about that. We believe in each other, and we have a very deep team. It's been showing.”