For a World Series that was supposed to feature an epic battle between sluggers Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, guys like Mark Leiter Jr., Luke Weaver, Alex Vesia and Anthony Banda sure got a lot of face time.

Aaron Judge is sinking ever deeper into a gruesome postseason slump, and the New York Yankees’ championship chances are fading right along with him.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6 1/3 innings, Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight night and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit three early longballs off Carlos Rodón to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 2-0 lead in the World Series.

Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer in his postseason debut, Teoscar Hernández’s two-run single gave Los Angeles its first lead in a playoff game in two years, and the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-5 in their NL Division Series opener.

Teoscar Hernández broke up a scoreless game with a two-run double in the 11th inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Yankees 2-1 to stop New York’s season-best eight-game winning streak in a matchup viewed as a possible World Series preview.

Shohei Ohtani went 4 for 4 with two home runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon to sweep the three-game series.

After winning 111 games in the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared on their way to fulfilling manager Dave Roberts' spring prediction of another World Series victory.

Manny Machado homered early and added an RBI double off Clayton Kershaw, and Jurickson Profar singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 to even their NL Division Series at a game apiece.

Veteran closer Craig Kimbrel has been left off the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster for their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres.

Cody Bellinger hit two homers, Tyler Anderson allowed two hits over seven innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a statement-making sweep of the revamped San Diego Padres with a 4-0 victory.

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 8-3 for their seventh consecutive victory.

Julio Urias won his eighth consecutive decision and Miguel Vargas drove in two runs in his major league debut as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 3-0.

James Outman homered on the first swing of his first big-league at-bat and finished with three hits and three RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 7-3 and closed out July with 21 victories.

Luis Garcia hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the last-place Washington Nationals rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 for their second straight win against the NL West leaders.

Tony Gonsolin pitched seven strong innings for his 11th victory in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 5-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Tyler Anderson of the Los Angeles Dodgers lost his no-hit bid in the ninth inning, giving up a one-out triple to Shohei Ohtani in a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Clayton Kershaw dominated over seven innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the struggling Chicago Cubs 7-0 in the opener of a split doubleheader.

Max Fried looked right at home, opening with five perfect innings while pitching the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Freddie Freeman and the Braves get another chance to earn a trip to the World Series when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Saturday night.

Chris Taylor hit three homers and drove in six runs to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta 11-2, cutting the Braves' lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series.

Austin Riley homered and drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series.

Trea Turner hit a grand slam and solo home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers extended the NL West race for at least another day, rallying past the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 after starter Clayton Kershaw got hurt.

Julio Urías pitched seven shutout innings for his major league-leading 17th victory, Max Muncy slugged a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 3-0 to snap a two-game skid.

Corey Seager hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves in a matchup of playoff contenders.

Julio Urías earned his major league-best 15th victory, and the Los Angeles Dodgers slugged four homers in a 5-3 victory over the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.

Buster Posey scored the tiebreaking run on a throwing error by first baseman Cody Bellinger in the eighth inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1.

Trent Grisham drew a go-ahead, bases-loaded walk with one out in the eighth and the San Diego Padres hit three solo homers off Trevor Bauer and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 for their first three-game sweep of the NL West rivals in eight seasons.

Mookie Betts hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 at Dodger Stadium before the largest crowd to attend a baseball game in the United States since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Will Smith hit a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, Albert Pujols slugged a two-run shot, his first for the Dodgers, and Los Angeles defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2.

Mookie Betts drove in a season-high four runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers blew most of a 13-run lead before holding on for a 14-11 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Corey Seager’s two-run single in the sixth inning provided the go-ahead runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers overcame another two-homer night by Fernando Tatis Jr. to defeat the San Diego Padres 5-4.

The San Diego Padres opened the second series of the season between Southern California’s big baseball rivals with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Justin Turner homered in the sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their World Series championship ring ceremony day with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.

Clayton Kershaw struck out eight in seven smooth innings to send the Athletics to their worst start in more than a century, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat winless Oakland 5-1 for their fifth straight victory.

Trevor Bauer is coming home to pitch for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner announced his decision on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in a two-minute video posted to his Twitter account. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster, File)LOS ANGELES – Trevor Bauer is coming home to pitch for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner announced his decision on Friday in a two-minute video posted to his Twitter account. He gives the club a third Cy Young winner, joining three-time winner Clayton Kershaw and 2012 winner Price.

With a 175-76 regular-season record, five ERA titles and an MVP, Kershaw ranks alongside Dodgers greats Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser. Kershaw also set a career postseason record with 207 strikeouts, two more than Justin Verlander’s previous mark. Glasnow allowed four runs and six hits in five innings, leaving him 0-2 with a 9.64 ERA in the Series. He tied a Series record with two wild pitches in the inning and set the mark with three in the game. He became the record ninth Dodgers player to homer in the postseason, one more than the 1989 Oakland Athletics of Bash Brothers fame.

Pinch-hitter Joc Pederson delivered a two-run single with two outs in the top of the seventh that put Los Angeles ahead 6-5. At least one run has scored in seven straight half innings, a first in World Series history. With one out and runners on first and second, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Blake Treinen and put in Pedro Báez. Tampa Bay pulled within one on Renfroe’s leadoff homer in the fifth, but Los Angeles answered right away. ___8:20 p.m.Corey Seager matched a major league record with his eighth home run of the postseason, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays after three innings.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)ARLINGTON, Texas – Walker Buehler pitched in the World Series like the Los Angeles Dodgers' aces of old. Buehler struck out 10 over six innings in a pulsating performance, and Los Angeles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 on Friday night for a 2-1 World Series lead. He became just the second player to drive in runs with both a homer and a sacrifice bunt in the same Series game. Steely-eyed like Hershiser, who won MVP honors of the 1988 Series, Buehler has supplanted Kershaw as the Dodgers’ ace. He has allowed one run in 13 Series innings that include seven scoreless in Game 3 against Boston two years ago.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)ARLINGTON, Texas – More was not merrier for Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers. By the end of the Dodgers’ 6-4 defeat Wednesday night, which evened the Series at one game apiece, it appeared the Dodgers are down to essentially a two-man rotation of Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw. Alex Wood (six outs) and Jake McGee (three) finished with shutout relief, but the damage yielded by the earlier parade of pitchers was too much to overcome. Gonsolin has a 9.82 postseason ERA, allowing eight runs in 7 1/3 innings, and May a 5.00 ERA, giving up five runs in nine innings. It remains to be seen whether this merry-go-round will be a fun ride for Roberts and the Dodgers.

A look at what's happening around the majors Wednesday:___BULLPEN SAVEDThe Dodgers were so good in Game 1 of the World Series, they helped themselves for Game 2. Top relievers Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol should all be fresh for a bullpen game against Tampa Bay after they weren't needed in an 8-3 win Tuesday. Jansen has more blown saves (three) than conversions (two) in two previous World Series and also struggled this fall, but he seemed to have himself righted by the end of the NLCS. Manager Kevin Cash — uncharacteristically slow to pull starter Tyler Glasnow in Game 1 — also has fresh arms in the bullpen. After separating his troubled right shoulder while bumping forearms celebrating his go-ahead homer in NLCS Game 7, the Dodgers slugger touched feet with teammates after going deep in the World Series opener Tuesday.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)ARLINGTON, Texas – One Will Smith outdid another Will Smith to keep the season alive for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The four homers are already a record for a shortstop in any postseason series. Minter struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced as the first pitcher in MLB history whose first start came in a postseason game. The last was Steve Yeager in Game 5 of the 1981 World Series of Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees. The other was Roy Campanella, who did it twice: in Game 3 of the 1953 World Series and Game 3 of the 1955 World Series.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)ARLINGTON, Texas – Atlanta Braves fans were still doing tomahawk-chop chants as they filed out of the stadium, real people who replaced the cardboard cutouts players got so accustomed to this season. One game, but a big boost for the Braves in their first National League Championship Series since 2001. “It was awesome — fun to play in front of fans again,” Braves slugger Freddie Freeman said. Riley became the youngest player with a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning of a postseason game or later since Braves star Chipper Jones in 1995. Dodgers: Kershaw, the ace lefty from nearby Dallas, has 19 strikeouts in his two starts this postseason — both wins.

The Los Angeles Dodgers work out in Globe Life Field before the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct 11, 2020. They will be allowed into Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, when the Dodgers and Braves meet in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series. Morton again faces his former team when he starts Game 2 of the AL Championship Series at Petco Park. Then in the World Series, McCullers started Game 7 and Morton wound up with the win. OPENING UPWalker Bueher, troublesome finger blister and all, starts the opener for the Dodgers when they play Atlanta in the NL Championship Series at Arlington, Texas.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)ARLINGTON, Texas – Those Baby Braves that faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs two years ago have grown up a little bit, and have even won a couple of postseason series. “We’re really, really strong. There will still be no fans for the AL Championship Series games in San Diego. That allotment sold out for Game 1 and three other NLCS games so far, as well as all every World Series game. SHORT HOPSBraves third base coach Ron Washington was manager of the Texas Rangers from 2007-14, including their only World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Dylan Floro works against the Colorado Rockies during the sixth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Denver. While Clevinger was among the 15 pitchers on the Padres roster released Tuesday, fellow starter Dinelson Lamet was again left off because of injury. The Dodgers added a pitcher to their roster for the NLDS, where they will have 14 pitchers and 14 position players after carrying only 13 pitchers for the first round series against Milwaukee. Right-handed reliever Dylan Floro (3-0, 2.59 ERA) was the pitcher added for the longer NLDS. The Padres last week became the first team to use eight or more pitchers in three consecutive playoff games.