World Series and Dodgers history of leading 2-0 in a best-of-7 series

LOS ANGELES — Though the bulk of Sunday will be spent waiting on news of the availability of Shohei Ohtani and his left shoulder injury, the Dodgers head into New York in a position of strength in the World Series, up two games to none in the World Series.

It’s the first time the Dodgers led a series 2-0 since the 2020 NLDS.

Historically, being up 2-0 in the World Series has proven fruitful, with 45 of the first 56 teams (80.4 percent) that won the first two games also winning the championship.

If we limit things to only best-of-7 series, and wins in the first two games at home, the numbers are similar, courtesy of Jayson Stark at The Athletic:

That’s 82 percent of teams winning a best-of-7 after winning the first two at home, and 82.1 percent in that situation in the World Series.

Even though it had been 43 years since the Yankees and Dodgers met in the Fall Classic, they have an October history richer than any pair of teams in major league history, as this is their 12th World Series matchups. In each of the previous two such meetings, one team won the first two games at home, only to lose the series:

• 1978: Dodgers won two games in Los Angeles, Yankees won the next four
• 1981: Yankees won two games in New York, Dodgers won the next four

The Dodgers also won the first two games of the 1956 World Series at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, only to see the Yankees claim the title in Game 7. After moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers won the first two games of the 1963 World Series at Yankee Stadium and then completed the sweep at home.

The only other time the Dodgers led a World Series 2-0 was in 1988, when the Dodgers erased a last-inning lead with a walk-off home run by an injured star, then rode a strong pitching performance to also win Game 2. They won that series on the road by winning two of three games in Oakland.

In the best-of-7 National League Championship Series, the Dodgers in 1985 won the first two games at Dodger Stadium but lost the next four to the Cardinals. In 2017, they won the first two games at home against the Cubs, and won the series in five games.

Walker Buehler will start Game 3 on Monday night in New York, as the Dodgers try for their third-ever 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 series. They did so previously in the aforementioned 1963 World Series sweep as well as the 2017 NLCS, as Kiké Hernández hit three home runs in the third game at Wrigley Field.

The Dodgers will run a bullpen game in Game 4, with Jack Flaherty presumably available for a potential Game 5 on four days rest if his hamstring feels good. Whether Ohtani is able to play after the subluxation of his left shoulder remains to be seen.

In other words, there is a lot left to do, but the Dodgers do hold an unmistakable advantage at the moment.

Teoscar Hernández, whose two-run home run in Game 2 widened the Dodgers’ lead, said the Dodgers are confident whether or not Ohtani plays.

“We were battling throughout the year with a lot of injuries. First was the starting pitchers, then Mookie, and then Freddie. And hopefully not Ohtani in this case,” Hernández said Saturday night. “It’s not going to be a good feeling, but if he can’t go on Monday, we just have to keep doing the thing we’ve been doing for the past couple weeks.”