Planning to watch (or travel to) the World Series in NYC? How to join an excited crowd.

The Yankees need to get their act together if they want to live up to their own billing as the titans of Major League Baseball.

Monday night is their chance when the World Series comes to the Bronx for the Yankees' highly anticipated third game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And if you want to watch the Yankees fight for their first win in the best-of-seven series, there are plenty of ways to watch without forgoing half the month's rent on stadium seats.

Make no mistake: you'll probably face some crowds.

On the opening night of the series on Friday, the area around Yankee Stadium in the Bronx was packed with fans who couldn't justify flying to Los Angeles – let alone buying tickets for the opening games. An hour before the game began, fans sat side by side in the century-old Yankee Tavern.

Bouncers at Billy's Sports Bar on River Avenue let anyone willing to pay $20 skip the line that stretched around the corner and meant hours-long waits.

Josh Riley, 22, of Westchester waited outside Billy's. “I'm nervous. I kind of have a sinking feeling in my stomach, I’m not going to lie,” he said. He predicted the Yankees would win in six games – a best-case scenario for New York after the Yankees' first two losses.

Marshall Davey, 43, sat at the bar at the Yankee Tavern on 161st Street Friday night. He said he traveled around the world from Australia to capture the moment.

“Every time the Yankees make the postseason, I fly to New York to do it,” Davey said. “Here you are in the middle of it all. Baseball lives and breathes here.”

Here are some options if you're looking for a place to join other New Yorkers in watching Game 3 and beyond:

The Oculus

For those near Lower Manhattan, the big game will be broadcast for free on a big screen in the North Oculus Plaza, where viewers will also have access to food and drink at the nearby Oculus Beer Garden and other shops and restaurants. One downside: There won't actually be any seating in the space, but the open space's ledges and stairs make it easy to set up.

Sports bars (general)

New York sports bars have always been a helpful alternative to cramped apartment living spaces, and this time will be no different. Fan-favorite watering holes like the Irish American Pub and Restaurant, Carragher's Bar and Boot Room and Patrizia's Taverna host watch parties.

Bronx sports bars (special)

For those who want to be closer to the action, any bar near Yankee Stadium promises a full house. If the scene at Billy's for Game 2 on Friday was any indication, Monday night should be a wild time.

Jackson Hawkins, 22, of Westchester, was also online outside of Billy on Friday night. He said he had waited 15 long years for the Yankees to return to the World Series, ever since their 2009 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

“We were seven years old in 2009,” Hawkins said. “We don’t really remember it. This (World Series) is the biggest sporting event for us.

Rozz Jama, 26, said she wasn't a baseball fan but still traveled from Brooklyn to the Bronx to watch the game with her friends on Friday: “I'm just here for the vibe.”

Yankee Stadium

Anyone with tickets to the stadium is lucky to have them (and may have already spent a pretty penny on them). The gates will open three hours before the game to give people enough time to get in. But what about getting there?

To carry throngs of fans to the Bronx, the MTA will expand service on the 4 and D trains and add additional Metro-North service to and from the Yankees-E. 153rd Street Station.

The MTA will also deploy more staff on the platforms and mezzanines of the 161st Street-Yankee Stadium station to help with crowd control.

Several bus routes also stop near Yankee Stadium, including Bx1, Bx2, Bx6, Bx13, and BxM4. For more details on schedules and fares, visit the MTA TrainTime app and the MTA website.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. Game 4 is also Tuesday night in the Bronx, followed by Game 5 at home on Wednesday if necessary. The Yankees need at least a win on Monday or Tuesday night to extend the series to Wednesday or beyond.

Games six and seven would be played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.