Freddie Freeman ties World Series RBI record

NEW YORK — These Dodgers feast on free outs. Their offense is built to make you pay. Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile.

Give them three free outs in one of the most consequential innings of the entire baseball season? That’s a recipe for disaster.

The Dodgers staged a furious five-run rally in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, taking advantage of three defensive miscues committed by New York. In the process Freddie Freeman continued his monster World Series, tying Bobby Richardson (1960) for a Fall Classic record with 12 RBIs.

Ace Gerrit Cole entered the frame with a 5-0 lead, having not allowed a hit. Yankee Stadium was rocking. Ten batters and 38 pitches later, it had quieted significantly.

Dodgers center fielder Kiké Hernández opened the frame with a clean single. Then came the mistakes.

Center fielder Aaron Judge dropped a relatively routine line drive for an error. Shortstop Anthony Volpe made an errant throw to third base when he had a clear shot at a forceout. Cole did not cover first base on a grounder to Anthony Rizzo, allowing the first run of the inning to score.

That was enough. The floodgates opened.

Freeman followed with a two-out, two-strike, two-run single, tying Richardson’s record. Teoscar Hernández also knocked in a pair with a two-strike double of his own, tying the game at 5.

Cole would escape the inning by getting Kiké Hernández to bounce to short after the Dodgers had batted around. But the damage was done.