Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees: World Series Game 5 – live | World Series

Lineups!

I'm surprised the Yankees didn't put Stanton back where he belongs, right behind Judge. Tommy Edman moves up in the lineup for LA, which makes sense since he is the NLCS MVP.

Bronx Zoo update

By now you may know the Austin Capobianco and his friend who practically attacked Mookie Betts as he chased a foul ball near the right-field bleachers on Tuesday. Well, they're out of Game 5, which makes sense. In fact, ESPN reported that the perpetrators were told they would be arrested if they even tried to get into Yankee Stadium for Game 5. The amazing thing is that the duo was initially told they could actually come back and watch World Series baseball. At some point, someone from somewhere told the Yankees to lock these gentlemen out.

Oh, and it turns out that Capobianco was friends with Rob Gronkowski in college and spoke glowingly about his pal on Wednesday.

Only in America!

Hello!

Welcome to our live coverage of Game 5 of the 120th World Series! The Dodgers are in the Bronx and want to make sure they don't leave for Los Angeles without the trophy. To do that, they have to beat New York one last time at Yankee Stadium.

How did we get here? Well, in Game 4, the Yankees finally put some big runs on the board while recovering from the ground, defeating Los Angeles 11-4 in a close game until New York erupted with five runs in the eighth inning. Do the Yankees and their fans feel better now that they haven't been swept away by LA? Oh yes, definitely. Some of their hitters woke up: Anthony Volpe hit a dramatic grand slam and Austin Wells smashed a hit off the fence before launching a home run in the eighth inning. Even Aaron Judge showed some signs of emerging from his long-term slump.

The problem is that LA threw out the rest of their bullpen in a game designed to ensure their best relievers didn't have to pitch to ensure they were fit for Game 5. So even if the Yankees hit double figures on Tuesday, it wasn't against LA's top talent, and they probably won't see arms that vulnerable again for the rest of the series.

Now if the Yanks can put on some real Dodger pitching and win this Game 5, things will get serious in this series. It means a troubled Dodgers team is trudging west, not for a parade, but for a decisive Game 6.

Whether or not that happens is largely in the hands of their star player, Gerrit Cole, who was given a nine-year, $324 million contract in 2020 for this very moment. Cole needs to carry New York deep into this ballgame, and he needs to be well above average: He needs to dominate. This is the game that will define him in the future, and in a situation as big as this, with an arm that may not be the healthiest, I'm not sure I believe in a Cole having one this season suffered a setback. A Power Blitz from Judge would also be useful.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are looking forward to a big night for their starter Jack Flaherty. The former Tiger, acquired from LA at the trade deadline, was great in Game 1, hitting a pitch in the sixth inning before making a bad pitch to Giancarlo Stanton. Will we get the good Flaherty who dominated the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS and was strong against the Yankees on Friday, or will we see the hurler who was completely beaten by the Mets in Game 5 when the Dodgers were there? Exactly the same situation: you want to win and avoid traveling home to play more baseball.

There are many questions that need to be answered. And you may have questions, comments, thoughts or feelings that you would like to include in our live coverage. If so, feel free to tweet or email me and I will do my best to make you famous.

There will be more live coverage of the World Series – stay with us!

David will be here shortly. In the meantime, here's a look back at Tuesday night's Game 4, in which the Yankees avoided elimination.