Wednesday evening, playing in front of their fans, the New York Yankees gave a chance to travel to Los Angeles and extend the World Series to at least six games. They spoiled the game in a fateful fifth frame in which Aaron Judge dropped a routine ball, Gerrit Cole failed to cover first base in a close play and Anthony Volpe threw his throw to third base.

The Yankees were winning 5-0 when the debacle began. LA ended up winning 7-6, and five of their points were unearned and came in that frame. They could have headed into the sixth quarter with a 5-0 lead, but things don’t always go that smoothly.

It was shocking and heartbreaking to watch the Yankees defense give up a five-run lead and all of the team’s momentum, if that’s something you believe in.

The Yankees are coming off one of the ugliest collapses in football history.

The numbers indicate that the Yankees debacle was one of the ugliest and most improbable not only in the World Series, but in MLB history.

“The Yankees are the only team in MLB to: blow a 5+ run lead, allow 5+ unearned runs, commit 3+ errors, commit catcher’s interference, and commit hesitation… all in the same game, regular season or playoffs (earned runs became an official statistic in both leagues in 1913). OPTA statistics published on X.

Catcher’s interference and hesitation came late in the game, and the former was crucial in the Dodgers’ eighth-inning rally that allowed the tie and the winning runs via sac flies.

If you’re a Yankees fan, Wednesday’s loss was as heartbreaking as it gets. It’s painful to think that the series could potentially be 3-2 heading into Los Angeles, but New York simply forgot how to play competitive baseball in the fifth inning and deflated the incredible vibes after the first four.