It is a long proven fact that walks kill you. Not the ones you take around the block or in the park, but the base-on-ball type in baseball … unless you are the recipient of those walks, that is.

In Monday’s 4-2 Los Angeles Dodgers win over the New York Yankees in Game-3 of the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium, the Dodgers drew six walks. Of those six walks, two would come around to score. The first the result of a four-pitch walk by Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani to lead off the game, which was followed by Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman‘s fifth home run in five consecutive World Series games (two with the Atlanta Braves in 2021), a two-run shot to right field in the top of the first, and the second on a one-out RBI single to right by Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts in the top of the third to score Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman, who had walked on four pitches to lead off the top of the third inning.

But turnabout is fair play, as they say. The Yankees two runs came in the bottom of the ninth inning on Monday on a two-run home run to right-center field by former Dodger and current Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo, scoring Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo … who had reached on a one-out five-pitch walk by Dodgers right-hander Michael Kopech.

Fortunately, that walk didn’t kill the Dodgers.

Play Ball!

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