Just when it seemed like Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees were right back in this World Series, they almost gave away the trophy.

An epic collapse of defensive errors, starting with Judge's embarrassing mistake in center field, helped the Los Angeles Dodgers rally in a five-run fifth inning that tied the score at five.

Young shortstop Anthony Volpe and top pitcher Gerrit Cole also made costly mistakes. New York's bullpen blew a one-run lead in the eighth, and the Dodgers cruised to a 7-6 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night, securing their eighth championship and second in five years.

“This is as bad as it gets,” Cole said. “It’s the worst feeling you can have.”

Finally back in their first World Series since 2009, the Yankees didn't last long.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone praises starting pitcher Gerrit Cole for his performance in Game 5 of the World Series.

It was the latest fall failure for baseball's most successful franchise – one that once owned October.

No longer. At least not recently. And in the Yankees universe, 15 years is a long time between titles.

“We didn’t get the job done,” Judge said. “We made some mistakes along the way that hurt us.”

It's an uncertain offseason on deck as New York looks to retain free-agent slugger Juan Soto, who is expected to have several eager suitors and a massive contract.

“I’m really happy with the city, with the team and with how these guys performed, but at the end of the day we’ll see,” Soto said. “We will look at every situation and every offer we receive and then make a decision.

“I feel like every team has an equal opportunity,” he added. “I don’t want to say anyone has an advantage because at the end of the day we’re going to look at what they have and how much they want me.”

Judge wants Soto back in the Big Apple.

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“I think everyone in this room wants him back,” the captain said. “You can look at the stats and see what he did on the field. I think that was the type of leader he is in this clubhouse. He just does a lot of the little things that people don't notice that really make him one of the best players, if not the best player in the game. … I would definitely like to see him in pinstripes for a long time.”

After losing the first three games to LA, the Yankees won 11-4 behind Volpe in Game 4 to avoid a sweep. In doing so, they sought to become the first of 25 teams to fall 3-0 in the World Series to force a Game 6, which would have been played back at Dodger Stadium.

And they got off to a great start, too, with back-to-back home runs by Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the first inning. Giancarlo Stanton took a big lead in the third and the Bronx Bombers had a 5-0 lead.

“With your ace up there and a five-run lead, you feel pretty confident. But you know, this is baseball, man,” left fielder Alex Verdugo said. “They played better baseball in that World Series.”

Cole made it through four hitless innings and, with the help of a remarkable catch by Judge, managed to draw a leadoff walk in the fourth when he crashed hard into the fence in left-center.

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“I’m heartbroken,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The ending is cruel.”

Kiké Hernández opened the fifth with a single, then Judge dropped Tommy Edman's easy fly to center for his first error of the year, putting runners on first and second with no one out. It appeared Judge took his eyes off the ball and tried to catch it with only his gloved hand.

“You can’t give a team that good extra outs,” Judge said. “It starts with me being on the line and coming in, I misunderstood that. So if that doesn’t happen, then I think we have a different story tonight.”

Will Smith followed with a grounder to right from Volpe that sent him clean into the hole trying to reach the lead runner at third base. But the 2023 Gold Glove winner made a hasty throw that bounced off Chisholm's glove, leading to another error and loading the bases.

After a visit to the mound, Cole buckled down and struck out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani as the sellout crowd of 49,263 cheered at Yankee Stadium.

And it looked like Cole had gotten out of trouble when Mookie Betts landed a slow squibber to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. But because the ball was spinning so much, Rizzo waited for it. Cole initially broke out to cover first base, but then stopped. And when Rizzo picked up the ball, the pitcher wasn't nearby.

Cole was the first to point to the ball, but Rizzo no longer had a chance to beat the fast Betts into the bag. He was credited with an infield single that cut New York's lead to 5-1.

“I took a bad angle on the ball,” Cole said. “I wasn't sure from the start how hard he hit. … When the ball got past me, I wasn’t able to cover first.”

World Series MVP Freddie Freeman followed with a two-run single and tied a Fall Classic record with 12 RBIs, and Teoscar Hernández tied the score with a two-run double over Judge's head in left-center.

“We didn’t take care of the ball well enough that inning,” Boone said in an understatement.

After the five-run lead disappeared in a flash, the end seemed almost inevitable.

Stanton gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but reliever Tommy Kahnle loaded the bases in the eighth with two singles and a four-pitch walk with no out.

A catcher's interference call against Austin Wells also hurt, as Lux and Betts came through on sac flies from Luke Weaver, giving the Dodgers a 7-6 lead that right-handers Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler refused to relinquish.

Afterwards, in the clubhouse, Cole summed up the collapse in two words.

“It’s brutal,” he said.