Before the Dodgers’ hit parade on Saturday, a literal parade of Dodgers fans marched outside of Yankee Stadium.
Hundreds of revelers dressed in white and blue walked in unison and chanted “let’s go Dodgers” in an unusual scene for a visiting fan base in the Bronx.
They remained boisterous inside the stadium, breaking out that same chant as the Dodgers pulled away late in their 11-3 victory over the Yankees.
“It was pretty clear,” Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo, who made his MLB debut with Los Angeles in 2017, said of the Dodgers fans’ presence.
“They were loud. We know. Obviously, we know, but I think at the end of the day, we had chances to take over the stadium again,” Verdugo continued. “If we get that big hit, get those big runs across, we give our fans something to cheer about, and the noise is a little bit different, more on our side. Really, it is what it is.”
Outside of Yankee Stadium
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The vocal Dodgers fans added to the playoff-like atmosphere in a much-hyped three-game series that many billed as a potential World Series preview.
Saturday’s sold-out crowd of 48,374 was the largest of the season at Yankee Stadium to that point. Yankees fans were also loud — particularly when Aaron Judge hit the first of his two home runs to tie the game, 2-2, in the third inning — but the Los Angeles faithful was well-represented.
Some traveled with the Dodgers fan group Pantone 294, which organized a “New York Takeover” for Saturday’s game with the plan to scatter 2,000 tickets into groups of 50 throughout the grandstands.
The prominence of Dodgers fans surprised Los Angeles’ Teoscar Hernández, who gave them plenty to cheer about with two home runs — including an eighth-inning grand slam — and a career-high-tying six RBI on Saturday.
“Never expect it here in New York,” said Hernández, who frequently faced the Yankees as a member of the AL East-rival Blue Jays from 2017-22. “That’s incredible.”
Hernández also struck a go-ahead two-run double in the 11th inning of the Dodgers’ series-opening 2-1 win on Friday.
This weekend marks the Dodgers’ first trip to Yankee Stadium since 2016. That visit eight years ago elicited a similar roar from Dodgers fans, who at the time welcomed their team with “roll call” chants similar to how the Yankees’ Bleacher Creatures greet their players at the start of every game.
The latest matchup features five former MVPs, with Judge and Giancarlo Stanton suiting up for the Yankees and Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman representing the Dodgers.
Yankee Stadium commemorated the occasion by selling merchandise that recognizes both teams, including a split hat that features Judge’s No. 99 and Ohtani’s No. 17.
“They haven’t been here in a long time,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Saturday’s loss. “We experience that wherever we travel. You knew this was going to be a big series. You certainly notice the Dodgers fans here, too.”