NEW YORK – Two patterns are emerging in the 2024 World Series, and they have combined to put the Dodgers on the brink of a championship.

One: Freddie Freeman, the 35-year-old first baseman whose badly sprained right ankle left him hobbling from base to base earlier this month, continues to homer in every World Series game. It’s the kind of performance that will be remembered decades later.

And two, the Yankees just aren’t hitting. It starts with Aaron Judge, of course — he went hitless in three at-bats with a walk Monday — but the rest of New York’s lineup didn’t fare much better, combining for just five hits despite a late home run by Alex Verdugo.

The result was a 4-2 Dodgers win, putting Los Angeles one win away from a second championship in the past five years. As for the Yankees, they were completely outplayed in their first home World Series game since 2009 and now need to win four straight or see their season end in what they would describe as a failure.

It was Freeman’s third home run of the World Series that paced the Dodgers – a two-run shot beyond the short right-field porch in the top of the first inning. It was another game-changing swing from Freeman, who already has a walk-off grand slam and a solo home run to his name in the series.

Still, Freeman’s homer had a major impact because Shohei Ohtani had reached base two batters earlier. Normally that’s hardly significant, but Ohtani partially dislocated his shoulder in Game 2, leading to questions about his availability.

Step one was putting Ohtani’s shoulder in place late Saturday night. Shortly afterwards, an MRI revealed no structural damage, and it was around that time that Ohtani informed his teammates that he would be playing.

“He texted the whole team while we were on the way to the airport and said he was doing well,” Max Muncy explains. “We said, OK, he’s got us.”

By Sunday evening, Ohtani had joined his teammates in New York, where he was soon hitting baseballs off a tee at 100 miles per hour and looking like his usual self. Looking at those swings, manager Dave Roberts knew his best hitter was ready.

“That was joy,” Roberts recalled.

Still, Ohtani was clearly uncomfortable Monday night. When he took the field for player introductions, he appeared to be wearing a sling and made sure to high-five his teammates with his right hand. While he struggled with his swings throughout the game – he went hitless after the walk in the first inning – he appeared to be in some pain, or “discomfort,” to use Roberts’ term.

Whatever you call it, the mere threat of Ohtani’s power changes the game for opposing pitchers and managers.

“No matter what limitations a pitcher thinks he has or doesn’t have, not many guys are willing to take that opportunity,” Roberts said. “We’re just very grateful to have him in the lineup.”

In Los Angeles, the Dodgers won because of strong starting pitching and that trend continued on Monday thanks to Walker Buehler. The right-hander threw five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five.

The Dodgers’ bullpen was equally effective on a night when the Yankees barely threatened until the Verdugo homer. So far, Freeman has single-handedly homered as many times as the Yankees, who have combined for just seven runs in three games. New York got a few hard-earned walks from Gleyber Torres and a few hard-hit balls from Giancarlo Stanton, but little else. For a team built for stomping, that’s not enough.

On Tuesday, the champagne will be on the ice and the championship T-shirts will be printed and ready, as the Dodgers go with a bullpen game for the first of four potential chances to qualify.

Meanwhile, with no room for error, the Yankees will turn to Luis Gil. They’re the last team standing in the American League for a reason, and if anyone can come back against the Dodgers, it might be them. But they need power to keep their season alive. It has to start now, last all week and probably be about Judge.