NEW YORK — From the franchise that brought you, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over” – it ain’t.
With Anthony Volpe’s third-inning grand slam providing shock treatment, the New York Yankees lurched to life with an 11-4 victory over the Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
After being outhomered 5-2 in the first three games of the best-of-seven series, the Bronx Bombers (the major-league leaders in home runs during the regular season) hit three in Game 4.
The Yankees’ first win of the Series prevented the first World Series sweep since 2012 (San Francisco Giants over Detroit Tigers) and forced a Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. Game 1 starting pitchers Jack Flaherty and Gerrit Cole return to the mound.
The Dodgers tried to close out the Series with a bullpen game in Game 4. It was a collective flop and the Dodgers essentially spent the second half of the game in punt formation, saving their high-leverage relievers.
“I don’t think anyone expected those guys to lay down. We had some at-bats that I thought could have been better, but we knew it was a bullpen game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “As far as outcomes, to have six guys in your ’pen that are feeling good, rested, I feel good about that.”
Freddie Freeman dropped a cone of silence on Yankee Stadium with another first-inning home run, a two-run line drive into the comfortably-close right field seats. It was the fourth consecutive game in the series and his record-setting sixth consecutive World Series game with a home run (dating to Games 5 and 6 with Atlanta in 2021).
The Yankees got one of the runs back in the second inning as Ben Casparius navigated his first major-league start as a World Series opener. He walked three of the first seven batters he faced and gave up a double off the wall to Austin Wells with Volpe at second. Volpe danced around off second base as Mookie Betts pursued the drive and somehow didn’t score on the play. He did make it home on a ground out to cut the Dodgers’ lead in half.
Veteran Daniel Hudson got the third-inning assignment. He struck out Juan Soto to start the inning but lost his way after that.
He hit Aaron Judge with a pitch, gave up a single off the wall to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and walked Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases. After Anthony Rizzo popped out, Volpe came up with just one hit and seven strikeouts in his first 12 at-bats in this World Series. He got a first-pitch slider at the knees from Hudson and lined it into the left field seats for the sixth grand slam across MLB this postseason, a new record, that electrified the crowd.
“I was hustling. I didn’t know I got it,” Volpe said. “And then I blacked out.”
The Dodgers started chipping away at the Yankees’ first lead since the 10th inning of Game 1. Will Smith led off the fifth inning with a home run. Tommy Edman drew a walk and went to second when Shohei Ohtani dumped a single into center field.
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Mookie Betts bounced into a force out to put runners at the corners. Freeman hit another ground ball to second baseman Gleyber Torres, who flipped high to Volpe to start a double play. But Freeman had hustled down the line on his bad ankle and replays showed he beat the throw at first base, allowing a run to score.
It was Freeman’s franchise-record 10th RBI of this Series and made him only the seventh player in World Series history with 10 or more RBIs (the first in the National League). He is the first to do it in just four games at the start of a Series.
The Yankees tacked on with a solo home run by Wells off Landon Knack in the sixth inning then broke it open with a five-run eighth inning against Brent Honeywell Jr., including a three-run home run by Torres and – perhaps more ominously – an RBI single by Judge (now 2 for 15 in the World Series).
“Good night for us and we get another opportunity tomorrow,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
New York had scored just seven runs in the first three games, and the back end of their lineup did much of the damage in Game 4. The Yankees got their first seven RBIs from the bottom three hitters in their batting order, Volpe, Wells and Verdugo, who had entered 4 for 32 with three RBIs in the Series.
“We’re down three, and really just went out there and said screw it,” Wells said.
More to come on this story.