NEW YORK — On Tuesday afternoon, a couple of hours earlier than a season-saving 11-4 victory in Recreation 4 of the World Sequence, New York Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone sounded a prophetic notice about shortstop Anthony Volpe.
“I really feel like we’re going to lookup in a few years and see a very, actually robust offensive participant,” Boone mentioned. “It doesn’t at all times occur in a meteoric rise for some folks. However I really feel like he’s shifting the needle in a very great way.”
Boone serves as a font of optimism about his workforce. The phrases may need felt hole at 5 p.m. They took on a distinct hue in Tuesday’s third inning, when Volpe hit a grand slam, the most important hit of his profession and the clearest trace of a brighter future. Volpe gave the Yankees a lead on this collection for the primary time since Recreation 1. From there, the bullpen hung robust and held off the Dodgers lengthy sufficient to power Recreation 5 on Wednesday within the Bronx. The Yankees turned solely the fourth workforce in baseball historical past and the primary since 1970 to keep away from a sweep within the World Sequence when down, 3-0. No workforce dealing with a 3-0 deficit has ever pressured Recreation 6.
The competition on Wednesday shall be a rematch of starters from Recreation 1, when Yankees ace Gerrit Cole dueled with Dodgers midseason acquisition Jack Flaherty instantly traditional at Dodger Stadium. The opener took 10 innings to settle. From there, the Dodgers appeared on the verge of the sweep, earlier than Volpe took Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson deep. Throughout the remainder of the night, the group serenaded Volpe, a New Jersey boy who grew up rooting for the Yankees and idolizing Derek Jeter, thrilled that the season was not but over.
For the primary time within the Fall Traditional, the Yankees responded when wounded by the Dodgers. Volpe’s slam adopted yet one more first-inning dwelling run from Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. After the Dodgers trimmed the Yankees’ result in one, rookie catcher Austin Wells launched a solo shot to open the sixth inning and supply the bullpen extra room to breathe. Volpe and Wells executed a double steal within the eighth and each scored, the latter on a three-run homer by second baseman Gleyber Torres that eased the edginess. The Yankees pilloried Dodgers mop-up man Brent Honeywell for 5 runs within the eighth, together with an RBI single from slumping slugger Aaron Choose, who’s hitting .133 for the collection.
THE @YANKEES HAVE PUT UP 10 RUNS IN #WORLDSERIES GAME 4! pic.twitter.com/qfkORDE5NX
— MLB (@MLB) October 30, 2024
The Dodgers opened the evening in punt formation. Earlier than the sport, Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned the significance of size from two rookie pitchers, Ben Casparius and Landon Knack. Casparius was pitching in his seventh big-league sport, with 4 appearances this October. Knack made 12 begins throughout the common season however acquired walloped by the New York Mets within the Nationwide League Championship Sequence.
The rookies inherited a lead. For the second evening in a row, Freeman provided a two-run homer within the first inning. He lifted a slider from Yankees starter Luis Gil into the right-field porch in a replay of his Recreation 3 opening strike.
The Yankees overcame a mistake on the bases by Volpe to scratch collectively a run within the second. After Volpe walked and stole second, he hugged the bottom when Wells smoked a fastball off the center-field wall. Volpe may solely advance to 3rd base. He was nonetheless capable of rating when outfielder Alex Verdugo hit a tender grounder to the appropriate aspect, which minimize the deficit to 1.
For the third, Roberts changed Casparius with the veteran reliever Hudson. The Dodgers want to make use of Hudson in lower-leverage conditions. He quickly demonstrated why. Hudson drilled Choose with a 95 mph fastball. Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. smoked a single. Hudson walked designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on six pitches. After a innocent pop-up from first baseman Anthony Rizzo, Volpe stepped in with two outs and the bases loaded.
Unexpectedly, Volpe represented an organizational triumph for the Yankees and one thing of a disappointment. He was thought of one in every of baseball’s greatest prospects earlier than he debuted final season at 21. He received a Gold Glove within the discipline however failed to offer a lot pop along with his bat. In his second season, he was not way more prolific. His OPS sank a couple of factors, to .657.
Volpe had not homered since Sept. 21. He went 1-for-12 within the first three video games of this collection. He nonetheless got here up able to hit. When Hudson pumped a first-pitch slider, Volpe pulled the baseball simply past the left-field porch for less than the second grand slam of his profession.
The Dodgers wouldn’t let the Yankees off straightforward. Gil yielded a leadoff homer to catcher Will Smith within the fifth. He walked his remaining batter earlier than ceding the stage to funky southpaw Tim Hill. The Dodgers plated a second run within the inning after Shohei Ohtani singled and Freeman beat out a double-play ball.
Wells greeted Knack with malice within the sixth. Knack tried to pump a 94 mph fastball on the high of the strike zone. Wells whacked the ball into the second deck of proper discipline. Like Volpe, he was additionally within the midst of a droop, batting .093 for October and benched for Recreation 3. Again within the lineup, he provided two of the most important swings, bookends to Volpe’s signature blast.
(Photograph of Anthony Volpe: Sarah Stier / Getty Photographs)
