Dodgers win the World Series after a defensive tank job by the Yankees

 After signs of life in game 4 on Tuesday, the Yankees were looking to take the World Series back to Los Angeles by beating the Dodgers in game 5 on Wednesday night.

For four innings, it looked like mission accomplished. Gerrit Cole looked like an ace. Looked like the Cy Young award winner of a year ago. He held the Dodgers hitless through 4 innings.

But, in the 5th, Cole and the Yankees ran out of gas.

Aaron Judge, who put the Yankees up, 2-0, in the 1st with a homer, had a routine fly ball clank off his glove for an error. On the next play, Anthony Volpe tried a force out at 3rd, but the ball deflected off the glove of Jazz Chisholm, Jr. for another error.

Then, with the bases loaded, Mookie Betts hit a ground ball to 1st baseman Anthony Rizzo, but, instead of covering the bag, Cole directed traffic, and got caught catching flies as a run scored, and Betts sprinted to 1st without a throw. Next, Freddie Freeman locked up Series MVP honors with a double that plated two more runs, and he'd come around to score shortly thereafter, tying the game at 5 going into the home 5th.

Cole came back for the 6th, but he was clearly gassed.

Let's look at the highlights.

Cole and Juan Soto will be free agents, and agent Scott Boras Badenov will want them chasing the money. Cole is opting out of his contract, a Boras tactic, but that 5th inning may have been what wrote his ticket out of town if he does decide to leave.

And, for his gaffe in that 5th inning, Cole gets this:

We'll send one to Yankee manager Aaron Boone, who may have had his last game in the Bronx, as well. His decision making was questionable for much of the post-season.

As for the Dodgers, the passing of 1981 hero Fernando Valenzuela last week, after clinching the NL title, galvanized them even further. Small wonder a lot of people felt that tipped the Series in LA's favor.

Now, can the Dodgers repeat as champs? We'll find out this time next year.