Yankees' World Series Game 3 Player of the Game: Nobody

The fans at Yankee Stadium were waiting for the Yankees to strike again after a tough game in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, as a fan, we experienced something worse than the heartbreak of Game 1: boredom and lifelessness on Monday night. Even though we've awarded a Player of the Game for every win or loss this postseason, last night felt like such a loss that we're turning down Game 3 honors.

Starter Clarke Schmidt, perhaps dealing with some World Series nerves, had little control as only 37 of his 68 throws were strikes. His lack of control was highlighted by the cutter placed on the other side of the zone where Jose Trevino was lined up, which led to Freddie Freeman's two-run home run.

Schmidt didn't make it past the third inning, giving up three runs and walking four. The offense was perhaps worse, with five goals and nothing happening on the scoreboard until the game's possible final exit. Due to the lack of fight yesterday, it seemed as if there was no worthy player to be recognized as the team now trails 0-3.

As has been the case most times in this playoff run, the bullpen unit once again did its part and kept this game from becoming a laugh. Their night started early with Mark Leiter Jr. scoring the final out in the third inning with the bases loaded. Nestor Cortes redeemed himself after giving up the game-winning hit in Game 1* with a top-notch 1.2 innings of work on an economical 15 pitches.

*Yes, it would be fair to argue that he shouldn't have been stuck in that position, but the point is that day afterward had to feel better for him.

Cortes replaced leaders with runners on first and second and stopped Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts from scoring more runs in the fourth inning. Perhaps the best moment of the game for the Yankees last night was Cortes getting Ohtani to bite on a cutter outside the zone, making the score 3-2.

A parade of Jake Cousins, Tim Hill, Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver kept the offense — which had no interest in producing anything productive until two outs in the ninth inning — within striking distance. Similar to the loss in Game 2, they were the bright spot in an otherwise unfortunate performance, but we weren't about to put the player of the game in the “bullpen” at Cousins ​​again did Allow an insurance run for LA (while it was a flawless performance in Game 2).

Giancarlo Stanton led the way on offense, scoring two of the Yankees' five hits, including a double in the fourth that was the team's first hit of the night. However, it felt strange to nod to the player who was part of the game's most disappointing moment:

Sure, the blame for the bizarre departure should be placed on third base coach Luis Rojas. However, when we think back on this series, the image of Stanton as dead meat at home will remain in our minds.

The lineup remained quiet for the remainder of the game until Alex Verdugo drove in the team's two runs with a hit to right field as they reached their final outs, but in the end that was pretty much all they managed to avoid a shutout.

This was the first World Series game in the Bronx in 15 years, and it will likely be remembered by many Yankees fans – but not for the reasons you might hope. From the clunky Fat Joe hype-up routine to the finale, there was little to cheer for the Yankee fans in attendance yesterday. It was a remarkably flat evening in a must-win game. It's a challenge for even the most optimistic fans to find a silver lining in this defeat. That's why we're based on the most recent selection and attach great importance to actually awarding a player of the game.