NEW YORK — The Yankees paraded three different relievers over the last two innings. None of them could effectively throw consistent strikes. The last one was a position player who walked two batters. Fans streamed for the exits, and rightfully so. The game was over. The outs just needed to make it official.
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It would be fair to wonder why anyone stayed, as the clock rapidly approached 11 p.m. And it soon became clear that the vast majority still in their seats weren’t cheering for the home team. Los Angeles Dodgers fans, who have been a loud presence in the Bronx during this marquee weekend series, remained on hand to relish every second.
“The only time that I’ve seen that was when I was with the Blue Jays when we went to Seattle,” said Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández, who had six RBIs in the Dodgers’ 11-3 win on Saturday. “That was the only time. Never expected it here in New York, with the Dodgers. But that’s incredible, and we love them.”
Even pregame, a large swath of fans was captured in a clip aired on YES Network. They approached the stadium, chanting “Let’s Go Dodgers” with a police car seemingly staving off traffic for the oncoming sea of blue-clad humanity. Many of the fans were from a fan group called Pantone 294 (a reference to the Dodgers’ uniform color).
Lets go Dodgers! pic.twitter.com/YX9loYi1Kn
— Adam The Last StarFighter 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 🇪🇸 (@AStarfighter) June 8, 2024
The series is one of the most hyped in the first half of the season. Both major-market teams are in first place. All three games aired on national television over a beautiful early summer weekend in New York. Five former MVPs are featured between the two teams.
The Dodgers have taken the first two games of the series. The first was a 2-1, 11-inning nail-biter, then the laugher on Saturday.
“It was fun,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “You don’t take over Yankee Stadium too often.”
The road love is something that the Yankees are used to in their own right. Their fans are known for overtaking cities. This was a taste of their own medicine, albeit with a healthy portion of New York faithful still in attendance.
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“We experience that a lot whenever we travel,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone after the game. “You knew this was going to be a big series. So, yeah, you certainly notice the Dodgers fans here too.”
This is the first time that the Dodgers have played at Yankee Stadium in eight years, only elevating the hype surrounding the three-game set. The Yankees played in Los Angeles last year and took two of three.
There is still one more game to go, on Sunday night. The Dodgers will be going for the sweep. The pockets of Dodgers chants have been noticeable. But a clean sweep of the American League’s best team would certainly be a statement. And these SoCal fans would have even more reason to celebrate.
“I mean, it’s pretty clear, right,” said Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo. “They were loud. We know. Obviously, we know. At the end of the day, we had chances to take over the stadium again, right? If we get that big hit, get those big runs across, we give our fans something to cheer about and the noise is a little bit different.”
(Photo: Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)