Yankees Stave Off Elimination With Game 4 Win Over Dodgers, MLB Dream World Series Continues
The last thing that Major League Baseball wanted to see was a sweep in a World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.
On paper, it's the perfect matchup for the league. Unfortunately, on the field, it wasn't much of a contest through three games, as Los Angeles raced out to a 3-0 lead and put itself on the verge of a sweep.
Luckily for MLB, it doesn't have to wake up from the dream just yet. The Yankees put together their best offensive performance of the World Series to force a Game 5 with an 11-4 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday night.
But, after just three hitters, Yankees fans had to be thinking, "Oh, no, here we go again."
Just like in Game 3, Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the top of the first to give his team a 2-0 lead.
Freeman became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run in six-straight World Series games played, dating back to his time with the Atlanta Braves and the 2021 World Series win over the Astros.
But, unlike in Game 3, the Yankees responded in a big way. They cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the second and then got the clutch hit that had evaded them through the first three games of the Fall Classic.
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New York loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with one out, but Anthony Rizzo hit an infield pop-up that ended in the second out of the inning.
However, Anthony Volpe didn't allow the opportunity to go to waste, cranking a grand slam to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead and completely changing the complexion of the game.
Volpe's one swing accounted for four runs, the same number of runs the Yankees scored combined in games two and three.
The New York Yankees won Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, but still trail 3-1 in the series.
(John Jones/Imagn Images)
But if the Yankees thought the Dodgers would quietly go away and take their 3-1 lead into Wednesday without a fight, they were wrong.
Will Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth to bring Los Angeles within two.
Later in the inning, the Yankees failed to turn an inning-ending double play and Freddie Freeman collected his third RBI of the game (10th of the series) to make it a 5-4 contest after replay review ruled that Freeman beat the throw from second base.
But after stranding two runners in the bottom of the fifth, the Yankees struck again in the sixth inning with a no-doubt solo home run from catcher Austin Wells, who had entered the game 1-10 in the series.
The Dodgers threatened in the seventh inning, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone wasn't messing around.
He sent his closer, Luke Weaver, to the mound to face Mookie Betts with two outs and a runner on second.
The Dodgers couldn't do anything against Weaver in the eighth inning, who set the Los Angeles hitters down in order.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees slammed the door closed.
After scoring just seven runs in the first 29 innings of the World Series, New York exploded for 11 runs over the final seven innings of Game 4.
The series now continues in New York for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
If the Yankees manage to win again, the World Series shifts back to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Friday.
You know Major League Baseball is rooting for that to happen.