New York’s Anthony Volpe and Aaron JudgeRobert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Heading into Game 4 of the World Series, the New York Yankees seemed deader than disco.
Historically speaking, the series ended in Game 3.
Of the 24 previous World Series in which one team jumped out to a 3-0 lead, 21 ended in sweepsand the other three ended in Game 5.
Forget about actually completing the comeback. No one had even really threatened to pull it off.
And there was nothing about the Yankees’ vibe in the previous two games that suggested they would be one of those teams to force a fifth game.
Though every game came down to the wire, nothing could go right as they continued to reel from Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1.
The Dodgers turned duck snorts into runs; the Yankees ran into outs at the plate when they weren’t too busy striking out in the first place.
Freeman continued to rake, driving in as many runs in the series (seven) as the Yankees had scored as a team through three games.
That trend continued in earnest early in Game 4. For the second consecutive night, Freeman delivered a two-run dinger before the Yankees even saw a pitch. One inning later, a baserunning blunder resulted in the Yankees leaving a run on the board.
Lather, rinse, repeat…sweep?
In the blink of an eye—quick as a fox—something changed.
In a moment that felt *kind of* similar to former Red Sox speedster, current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stealing that base in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, Anthony Volpe broke the dam with a two-out grand slam in the third inning, turning the Dodgers’ bullpen game into a heavily-watched batting practice en route to an 11-4 victory.
Just one game that won’t change anything in the grand scheme?
Or the first big step on an unlikely journey to something historic?
Getting the Series Back to LA
The next step starts with Gerrit Cole, both literally and figuratively.
New York had no answer for Los Angeles’ $325 million ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in Game 2, but the Yankees could make this a series again if their $324 million ace does his thing in Game 5.
Though they ultimately squandered his effort, Cole was on point in Game 1, allowing just one run in six innings of work. Maybe it wasn’t vintage Gerrit Cole with just four strikeouts, but he battled and he shut down a loaded LA lineup a whole heck of a lot better than any other Yankees starter has managed thus far.
Cole has now made four starts this postseason with a 2.82 ERA, after closing out the regular season with a 2.25 ERA over his final 10 outings.
One more gem in Game 5 wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
And now the Yankees bats are awake, which is a scary proposition for the Dodgers.
Austin WellsSarah Stier/Getty Images
Judge isn’t all the way there yet, but he’s at least beginning to stir, getting on base three times via a hit-by-pitch, walk and RBI single.
He didn’t strike out in Game 4, after whiffing in 14 of his previous 25 ABs.
Getting what they did from the bottom of the lineup Tuesday night was massive, though. Volpe and Wells had been a combined 2-for-22 with 11 strikeouts in the first three games before exploding for four extra-base hits.
They can replicate that, too. The July/August version of Wells practically ran away with the AL Rookie of the Year vote. Volpe hit .382 with a 1.041 OPS through his first 15 games this season, before putting up marks of .373 and 1.078, respectively, in his first 14 games after the All-Star Break.
They’re normally tertiary characters in the Yankees’ 2024 story, but when either one gets into a groove, watch out.
Even if the No. 7 and 8 hitters don’t continue to rake, maybe just seeing that it can happen will take some of the weight of the world off Judge’s shoulders, leading to the type of tear through the final three games and one AB of the series that Freeman had for the first three games and one AB.
Goodness knows it can happen quickly with the surefire 2024 MVP Judge, and Roberts’ decision to let Brent Honeywell Jr. pitch to him in the eighth inning may have been a big mistake.
Remember that 16-game homerless streak late in the regular season, which was followed by seven home runs in the span of 35 at-bats?
Or the taters he mashed in back-to-back games against the Guardians a couple weeks ago?
For all the criticism heaped upon the home run king thus far this October, he could ‘All Rise’ to a World Series MVP with a strong final chapter in a historic comeback.
Dodgers Are Still Vulnerable
And, friends, let’s not forget our minimal faith in the Dodgers’ starting rotation heading into this World Series. Yamamoto’s postseason ERA was north of 5.00. Walker Buehler was sitting at 6.00. Jack Flaherty was above 7.00.
Jack FlahertyDaniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
All of those picks of Dodgers in 6 or Dodgers in 7 were rooted in the assumption that their high-octane offense would simply outscore the Yankees.
Instead, those Dodgers bats have been—aside from Freeman, of course—kind of…bad?
Shohei Ohtani is clearly not right with that left shoulder injury. Max Muncy hasn’t been able to buy a hit in the World Series after that incredible on-base streak in the NLCS. And though they have scored at least four runs in every game of this series, the Dodgers have yet to score five in regulation and have mustered just one run against the Yankees bullpen over the past three games.
If it continues, is that amount of scoring going to be enough to bury the Yankees?
Or if it continues while Flaherty gets lit up in Game 5 and the Yanks chase Yamamoto early in Game 6, is it going to bury the Dodgers?
Listen, it would be fitting for Flaherty to waltz into Yankee Stadium Wednesday night and shove seven scoreless innings down their throats after they balked at trading for him over concerns about his medical records.
However, if his Game 5 outing of the World Series looks anything like his Game 5 outing of the NLCS (3 IP, 8 ER) and the Yankees become the first team in World Series history to force a Game 6 after trailing 3-0, suddenly anything becomes possible.
It’s still quite unlikely to happen. DraftKings has the Yankees at +600 to win the series even after Game 4.
Before this series even began, though, I warn y’all that weird stuff always seems to happen in the Fall Classic in presidential election years.
Even if they ultimately fall short of winning it, New York’s rallying from a 3-0 deficit to force what could be the greatest Game 7 of all time would certainly qualify.
