Yankees Dominate LA to Force World Series Game 5

As Anthony Volpe stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third, bases loaded, two outs and down 2-1, the weight of baseball’s premier franchise was on his shoulders. He could’ve whiffed, sending the game into the fourth with the Los Angeles Dodgers still in control. Instead, with the swing of a bat, he changed the New York Yankees’ World Series fortunes – at least temporarily.

A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT FOR ANTHONY VOLPE!

GRAND SLAM. @YANKEES LEAD! #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/X754vjoPGe

— MLB (@MLB) October 30, 2024

Now, we might have a series.

After the Dodgers jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the World Series, clearly looking like the better team, the Yankees staved off elimination on Tuesday night with an 11-4 stand at Yankee Stadium.

What happened in Game 4? And what should we expect for Game 5 on Wednesday night?

Stayin’ Alive

There was a party in the Bronx, thanks to the Yankees hitters finally putting up points in the series. It can be traced back to the Volpe hit, which resuscitated the team and the fans. It wasn’t a hot start to the game for the Pinstripes, as their Freddie Freeman nightmare continued in the first inning.

What nightmare? Well, Freeman is on a – quite literally – historic run right now. Just ask the MLB.

SIX STRAIGHT WORLD SERIES GAMES WITH A HOME RUN

HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE pic.twitter.com/IPOCt2pjDI

— MLB (@MLB) October 30, 2024

He just keeps sending them home. The most iconic of his home runs this series came courtesy of Game 1, where he hit a walk-off game-winner grand slam.

It wasn’t enough for the Dodgers, though, as the stars simply aligned for New York. In fact, it was the team’s first win this postseason by more than three runs.

Momentum is powerful, and it looks like the Yankees grabbed it for the moment.

Now, they look to channel the spirit of their archrival’s most successful underdog – the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the first and only team to come back from a 3-0 deficit. The only difference is the Red Sox didn’t do it in the World Series. What an opportunity to one-up them that would be for the Yankees.

For now, though, the team is keeping the same mentality they had at the start of the series. Aaron Judge talked about what the approach looks like.

Not Their Greatest

The Dodgers lost the game, but perhaps it was calculated? It was a bullpen game for LA, as they look to have their best arms ready for Game 5.

Still, that’s a dangerous game that manager Dave Roberts would be playing. Giving your opponent life is never what you want, so the Dodgers better be ready to go out on Wednesday night and play the best game of their lives.

Headlining that struggle was Shohei Ohtani, who couldn’t get much of anything going with one hit in four at-bats. His shoulder injury seems to be nagging him. In Game 3, he was protecting it while moving.

https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1851057245506674940

That’s not good, and even with Freeman’s heroics, someone else will need to step up to seal the deal. If you ask Mookie Betts, however, the team still feels good.

Game 5

Perhaps the best piece of news for the Yankees – Gerrit Cole is back for Game 5. Cole put together a great performance in Game 1, allowing one run and four hits in his six innings pitched. New York will need him to put on his superman cape to get this series back to Los Angeles.

For the Dodgers, it’ll be Jack Flaherty starting at pitcher.

With both teams getting their guy back on the mound, Game 5 should be an interesting one. Will the Dodgers be holding the trophy in the Big Apple? Or will the Yankees get to fly out to LA for Game 6?