NEW YORK – After all the preparation, it's only been the Dodgers so far.

Freddie Freeman hit a home run for the third straight game and Walker Buehler hit another World Series gem as Los Angeles defeated the struggling New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Fall Classic.

With superstar Shohei Ohtani able to play despite a partially dislocated left shoulder, the Dodgers came within one win of an upset victory in this much-hyped matchup between traditional powers.

“Another win. That’s all I care about right now,” Freeman said.

Teoscar Hernández threw out a runner at home plate with a pinpoint peg from left field. Mookie Betts and Kiké Hernández each delivered an RBI single, and the Dodgers chased Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt in the third inning.

Buehler and six relievers combined for a five-hitter for Los Angeles, on the verge of its second championship in five years and the eighth in franchise history.

“Walker Buehler, he’s done this his whole career in big games and big moments,” Freeman said. “Stands up when you need him.”

Freeman's two-run shot off three batters gave him a home run in five consecutive World Series games through 2021 with Atlanta, tying a major league record set by George Springer with Houston.

Looking much healthier after a right ankle sprain hampered him early in the postseason, Freeman hit the first game-winning grand slam in World Series history, winning a dramatic opener in Los Angeles.

It's been a one-sided battle ever since.

Game 4 is Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. With just three healthy starters, the Dodgers are scheduled to play their fourth bullpen game this postseason. Rookie right-hander Luis Gil is heading to New York.

The only team in big league history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series was the Boston Red Sox against the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.

“Hopefully we can tell this amazing story and shock the world,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “But at the moment it's about getting a lead, winning a game and forcing another and then go from there. But we have to grab one first.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts helped spark this stunning Red Sox comeback with a crucial stolen base.

“Don’t talk about it. Wrong guy. Way too early,” he said. “I don’t want to give away any secrets, but on the other hand I just think we need to stay focused and urgent.”

In the 11 previous World Series meetings between these old October rivals, the 1963 Dodgers were the only winner behind Hall of Fame pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

This was the only other time the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead in a World Series.

New York hasn't been defeated by the Cincinnati Reds in a Fall Classic since 1976. But on all five occasions they fell 3-0 in a best-of-seven postseason series, with the Yankees losing Game 4.

Los Angeles has won seven straight World Series games against the Yankees since winning the title in 1981.

This was the first series game at Yankee Stadium since New York won its 27th title against Philadelphia in 2009. But a return home didn't help stymie Aaron Judge and the hitless Bronx Bombers, who scored four runs and nine hits in the last two games.

New York didn't score until Alex Verdugo hit a two-run home run off Michael Kopech with two outs in the ninth inning. Kopech then ended the game with a grounder from Gleyber Torres.

Buehler allowed two hits in five innings. His only win this year during an injury-hit season came against Cincinnati on May 18.

The two-time All-Star improved to 4-4 in 18 career postseason starts, including a 2-0 record with a 0.50 ERA in three World Series appearances. He has one run and seven hits with 22 strikeouts over 18 innings in those appearances – Game 3 against Boston (2018), Tampa Bay (2020) and the Yankees.

“It's strange. For me, the playoffs, the big games, were always the only thing that really mattered to me,” Buehler said. “I was pretty terrible all year. I think once you get to the playoffs, the adrenaline, the fear that I had about my elbow or trying to throw a certain pitch or whatever goes away, because now it's all gone. I think it helped me.”

After the Yankees struggled to hold the plate in two losses in Los Angeles, Boone decided against making any major changes to the lineup.

New York players held a brief meeting in the afternoon, and a recording of late Yankees announcer Bob Sheppard introduced five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter as he threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Bronx-born rapper Fat Joe energized the sellout crowd of 49,368 with a pregame infield performance.

But it was the Dodgers who got off to a fast start.

Schmidt accompanied Ohtani on four fields at the start of the game. One out later, Freeman sent a 1-2 cutter 355 feet into the lower deck in right field for his 13th postseason career home run.

He joined Yankees outfielder Hank Bauer (1958) and Giants slugger Barry Bonds (2002) as the only players to go far in the first three games of a World Series.

“When you come into a road park, you want to try to strike early and calm the crowd down, and we did that in the first inning,” Freeman said.

Ohtani finished 0-for-3 with that walk and was grazed on the foot by a pitch. After several swings, he grimaced and clutched his collar with his left hand, even as he took the lead from first base, to protect his bad shoulder.

But he got through the game well.

“The pain subsided, so I felt pretty good about it,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I was told to wear a device to keep my shoulder warm. So during the ceremony (before the game) and throughout the game, I wore this as recommended by the coaches. The reason I held on while running was to make sure that if I slipped, I wouldn’t use the same shoulder arm.”

No. 9 batter Tommy Edman drew another four-pitch walk from Schmidt in the third and scored on Betts' bloop single. Kiké Hernández added an RBI single in the sixth.

Schmidt scored four runs over 2 2/3 innings in his third postseason start. He lost his fifth straight decision, which came on a May 16 victory in Minnesota.

New York hit a runner at home plate when Edman attempted a safety squeeze in the fourth, but the Dodgers played sensational defense to squelch any momentum from the Yankees.

Betts made a jumping grab in right field after Giancarlo Stanton hit a double with one out in the fourth. Teoscar Hernández then fired up all of his teammates with a perfect 94 mph throw to the plate after Anthony Volpe's single, knocking down Stanton to preserve a 3-0 lead.

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Gil (15-7, 3.50 ERA) made one postseason start, allowing two runs over four innings to earn a no-decision in Game 4 of the ALCS in Cleveland.

He won seven straight starts before a no-decision against the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium on June 9, when he gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 6-4 New York win.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb