Forget what you heard: the New York Yankees aren’t dead. Not yet anyway.
With the World Series on the line and the Los Angeles Dodgers on their way to the sweep, home runs from Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Gleyber Torres put their champagne on ice, at least for another 24 hours.
In front of a raucous crowd of 49,354 in the Bronx, the Yankees are on the board with an 11-4 victory in Game 4, and the most unlikely comeback is alive and well. They couldn’t have gone from 3-0 down… right?
In this one-sided series it was the Freddie Freeman Show for so long. In many ways, that’s still true – and history was made by the Dodgers star – but Tuesday night was the Yankees’ night, and it all started with one almighty swing of Volpe’s bat.
It was the bottom of the second inning, and the entire Yankee Stadium was on its feet. Two outs, the bases loaded and the World Series rests on the shoulders of one young man.
Anthony Volpe’s grand slam put the Yankees on course for a victory in Game 4 of the World Series
New York avoided a sweep with a dramatic come-from-behind victory at Yankee Stadium
If he had struck out, it would have been typical of this struggling World Series Yankees roster, which until tonight had promised so much and delivered so little.
Instead, though, the 23-year-old shortstop produced the biggest moment of his young career, swinging hard and true for a Grand Slam first-pitch home run to left-center field.
From a 2-1 deficit, the Yankees went ahead 5-2, sending them on their way to an enthralling victory in their big do-or-die night in New York. The shame of the attack was avoided, allowing the Bronx bombers to dream of what might happen.
Until Volpe came on for his big moment in Game 4, Freeman was the only show in town, coming into this with five home runs in five straight World Series games.
Directly behind the Dodgers dugout, a Yankees fan in pinstripes held up a homemade sign. White background, black and red writing, the message simple: “Freddie, please stop.”
Austin Wells was among the Yankees stars who homered during Tuesday’s 11-4 win vs. Los Angeles
Aaron Judge celebrates with Volpe after his dramatic grand slam turned Game 4 on its head
Who knows if LA superstar Freeman saw it, but he certainly wasn’t going to comply.
All it took was 15 pitches – exactly the same as last night – before Freeman swung hard, sending a two-run home run into – yes, you guessed it – the exact same spot as last night.
In doing so, he became the first man in history to hit home runs in six consecutive World Series games, and the Yankees simply couldn’t stop him. No matter the pitcher, no matter the plan, Freeman went deep.
At that point, it seemed like it was all falling apart for the Yankees. Down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, down 2-0 in the do-or-die game. Aaron Boone stood in his familiar position on the edge of the dugout for perhaps the last time as he faced the prospect of being fired after seven seasons as manager.
Even in the stands, things started to get ugly, when two Yankees fans got into a ridiculous – and frankly dangerous – situation with Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts in the bottom of the first inning.
A Yankees fan begs Dodgers star Freddie Freeman not to inflict more pain
But Freeman hit another home run to give the Dodgers an early lead on Tuesday
Gleyber Torres made one mistake, and as Betts backpedaled to make the catch against the wall, he jumped and got into a fight with two fans.
Betts had the ball in his glove, but one of the fans gritted his teeth and tried to wrestle it out. The Dodgers star was stunned and the Yankees fans were kicked out of the stadium.
But out of nowhere, the Yankees found something deep in their reserves. After three and a bit games of being battered and bruised, Volpe decided enough was enough – and his teammates then stepped up to follow.
In the second inning, Anthony Rizzo and Volpe made a brilliant double play, and in the fourth, Rizzo dove into the net in foul territory to make a near-impossible catch off the bat of Teoscar Hernandez.
A Yankees fan tried to take the ball from Mookie Betts in dramatic scenes
However, the tide threatened to turn again in the fifth inning, when Luis Gil was hit for his second homerun of the evening. The young pitcher had held his own after Freeman’s early heroics, but was eliminated by Will Smith on an 0-2 pitch.
The 90 mph fastball was high above the strike zone and Smith took advantage, planting it in the second row, just above Soto’s head, just like his teammate four innings earlier.
From then on, the Yanks found themselves in a bullpen showdown with their rivals – both teams digging deep into their reserves with an array of relief pitchers to get them through the game.
The Dodgers were already in trouble and relied on their depth to get them through, but on Wednesday night it was New York’s options that came out on top.
The visitors struck out just once with Gil on the mound through the first five innings, but then Clay Holmes, Mark Leiter Jr. and the always impressive Luke Weaver forced seven Ks in three innings to keep the Yankees going.
On the other side of baseball, there was still plenty of work for the hitters to do.
In the bottom of the sixth, catcher Austin Wells – again favored over Jose Trevino – justified his selection by hitting a brilliant home run into the second deck to add another.
In the eighth, Volpe scored again to make it 7-4, then Yankee Stadium rose again as Gleyber Torres put the icing on the sweetest cake.
With Verdugo on first base and Wells on third base, the Yankees’ leadoff hitter sent a fly ball deep to right-center field. 10-4, and this match was – almost – over.
Seconds later, Soto doubled, then Aaron Judge did the same to bring him home.
It’s just the first step on the Yankees’ long road to redemption in this World Series, but a dominant performance in the Bronx shows what this team is capable of when they’re at their best.
It will take three more times to change the fate of their season, but as long as they keep swinging for the fences, they will believe they have a chance.