Dodgers' comeback stuns the Yankees

"We just took advantage of every mistake they made in that inning," Teoscar Hernandez said. "We put some good at-bats together. We put the ball in play."

Stanton's sixth-inning sacrifice fly off Brusdar Graterol put the Yankees ahead 6-5, but the Dodgers rallied one last time in the eighth.

Kike Hernandez singled off Tommy Kahnle leading off. Edman followed with an infield hit and Smith walked on four pitches. Lux's sacrifice fly off Luke Weaver tied the score. Ohtani reached on catcher's interference and Betts followed with another sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers their first lead.

In 2012, the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman from Tampa Bay to head their baseball operations two years later. He boosted the front office with a multitude of analytics and performance science staff, and ownership supplied the cash.

Los Angeles went on an unprecedented $1.25 billion spending spree last offseason on deals with Ohtani, pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and James Paxton, and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.

Faced with injuries, the Dodgers acquired Flaherty, Edman and reliever Michael Kopech ahead of the trade deadline, and all became important cogs in the title run.

There could still be more spending from LA — and more bad news for the Yankees. The newly minted champions are sure to be in the mix during Soto's off-season contract negotiations, and the former Padre is not ruling out a move back west.

"I'm really happy with the city, with the team, how these guys do, but at the end of the day, we will see," Soto said. "I'll be open to listen to every single team."

Agencies via Xinhua