LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have stormed up to 2-0 World Series lead after winning the first two games at home. The Yankees‘ the offense was almost shut down Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, which also featured an injury scare for Shohei Ohtani after he was caught stealing second base in the seventh inning.

Here are our top four takeaways from the Dodgers’ 4-2 win Saturday.

1. Aaron Judge’s disappearing act

It is extremely difficult to believe that the Yankees will force this World Series to go far, let alone win, without the MVP version of Judge. For the second day in a row, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher completely neutralized Judge’s bat. Game 1 starts Jack Flaherty and Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out Judge five times in six at-bats, not allowing him to reach base. Yamamoto looked especially confident against the player who recorded the highest OPS (1.159) in baseball this season.

Judge is now 1 for 9 with six strikeouts in the Fall Classic. He is 6-for-40 this postseason with 19 strikeouts for just two home runs and six RBIs. In the span of a few weeks, he’s gone from being the best hitter in the universe to waving at offspeed pitches like he’s an automatic out.

The Yankees have had a hard time publicly admitting that Judge is missing pitchers in the postseason that he would normally get to. Whether it’s the long layoff before the playoffs began or the hiatus between the ALCS and the World Series, it seems entirely plausible that the lack of everyday at-bats and games has messed with the umpire’s timing. That might be why he finally broke out in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Guardians with a game-tying two-run home run off star Emmanuel Clase. If Judge just needs time to warm up, he could have a huge week ahead of him when the series heads to the Bronx on Monday. With a championship on the line, the Yankees can only hope that’s the case. — Deesha Thosar

2. Time to give Tommy Edman his flowers

As it turns out, Edman’s MVP performance in the Dodgers’ NLCS against the Mets was no fluke. Los Angeles’ Swiss Army Knife has picked up right where he left off, going 4-for-8 with two runs scored and an RBI in the World Series so far. His latest trick was a solo shot to left field off Carlos Rodón in the second inning to put the Dodgers on the board.

Edman hadn’t even played this season when Andrew Friedman traded for him this summer. The Dodgers needed an infielder at the time, knowing they didn’t want to play Mookie Betts at shortstop longer, while counting on it Gavin Lux and Kiké Hernandez are not ordinary players. There was a real risk of making him the lone position player at the deadline. No one really knew how Edman would play after his offseason wrist surgery, which included a setback in spring training. While his performance in August and September was serviceable, Edman has been huge for the Dodgers in October.

Not only does he show up at the plate, but the former Gold Glover has seamlessly transitioned between shortstop and center field from game to game. While his name doesn’t often come up on a team full of superstars, he’s been a huge coup for the Dodgers — and he could be a huge factor in them winning it all. – Thos

3. The Carlos Rodón rollercoaster continues

Given Southpaws’ postseason turmoil, Yankees had knowing there was a good chance Rodón would unravel like he did Saturday. Aaron Boone and the Yankees’ decision-makers are as responsible for this poor outing as the left-hander himself is. Rodón took the mound for Game 2 after giving up seven earned runs over his previous three playoff starts (14.1 innings) in October. He spiraled against the Royals in the ALDS, then course-corrected in his first outing of the ALCS, only to struggle again in the clincher against Cleveland.

On Saturday, he surrendered home runs to Edman, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández in the third inning and was pulled in the fourth.

(FAMILY: Full coverage of the World Series)

The up-and-down nature of Rodón’s postseason spelled trouble the moment New York lost Game 1 against Los Angeles. More than anything else, the Yankees needed a reliable starter who would give them the best chance to return to the Bronx with a division title. That made right-hander Clarke Schmidt the superior option for Game 2, not only because he’s been more consistent on the road than Rodón, who pitches better at home, but also because the Dodgers hit lefties so well. Why take that chance when the Yankees had to get even?

Beyond the team’s fault, Rodón not being able to deliver on the sport’s biggest stage is a huge blow to the Yankees. Nights like Saturday are exactly why they signed him to a six-year, $162 million deal before the 2023 season. Staying healthy all year, eating up innings and delivering quality starts in half of his 32 outings when ace Gerrit Cole missed the first two-plus months of the season with an elbow injury was invaluable. His instability since then made him a questionable choice to start Saturday in the first place, and it now has the Yankees in a potentially insurmountable 0-2 hole. – Thos

4. A potentially costly loss in victory

A 2-0 lead in the series didn’t come without a potentially significant cost, as an already injured Dodgers roster may have taken its biggest hit.

Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder when he was caught stealing in the seventh inning. Roberts was encouraged by the initial strength and range of motion tests and said he “expects him to be in the lineup,” but he won’t know more until the scans are complete.

“Obviously it’s concerning when you get one of your players going down,” Roberts said. “But after kind of the range of motion, the strength test, I feel a lot better about it.”

Dodgers players after the game didn’t seem to know the severity of the injury. Ohtani left the stadium immediately after the game and was not available to provide an update. Based on initial testing, however, Roberts believes Ohtani will be available to play when the series moves to New York.

“I expect him to be there,” Roberts said.

Ohtani had been caught stealing just four times while recording 59 stolen bases in the regular season, but he has been caught stealing on both of his attempts this postseason. — Rowan Kavner

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He has previously covered the LA Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU graduate, Rowan was born in California, raised in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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