Anthony Volpe hit the biggest hit of his young career and the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4 Tuesday night to avoid elimination in Game 4 of the World Series.
Just 23 years old, Volpe hit a grand slam in the third inning to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead. Despite an attempt by the Dodgers to come back, the New Yorkers held on to force a fifth clash.
“I was running. I didn’t know if it was a home run, Volpe said. Then I don’t remember anything. »
The Dodgers still lead 3-1 and they will once again have the opportunity to finish things off at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.
Volpe hit his first career playoff home run and added a double in the eighth inning. He produced four runs in addition to drawing a walk.
” Extraordinary. Volpe did everything tonight,” noted teammate Gleyber Torres.
Austin Wells put two balls to safety and drove in a run, Alex Verdugo pushed two of his teammates to the plate while Torres hit a three-run homer for the Yankees.
“It was a good evening for us. We have another opportunity on Wednesday,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Starter Luis Gil didn’t get off to the expected start for the home team and struggled in the fifth inning. He allowed four runs, five hits and two walks in four innings on the mound for New York.
The Yankees’ relief team, however, did the job for five innings, limiting the Dodgers to just one hit. Clay Holmes (3-1) inherited the victory for his work during an inning and a third.
Ace Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the Yankees on Wednesday. He will face Jack Flaherty.
“Gerrit is the best pitcher in the league. We believe a lot in him, insisted Torres. We have to hit like tonight so as not to put all the pressure on his shoulders. »
Freddie Freeman gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in the first inning and finished the game with three RBIs. Will Smith added a solo slap, but it was insufficient to eliminate the “Bronx Bombers”.
It was a back-to-back bullpen game for the Dodgers and trouble came quickly. Daniel Hudson (0-1) awarded the grand slam to Volpe and he suffered the defeat.
“Nobody expected them to collapse,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the Yankees. We had a few plate appearances that could have been better, but we knew it was a bullpen game. To have six relievers who feel good and who are rested, I’m comfortable with that. »
The resilience of the Yankees
The Dodgers went just three batters before opening the scoring, which they have done first in every World Series game thus far.
Mookie Betts set the tone by hitting a double after a strikeout and he didn’t stay long on the bases. On his fourth pitch, Freeman hit a home run to right to put his team ahead.
It was a sixth consecutive World Series game with at least one home run for Freeman, which is a Major League Baseball record. Freeman also became the first player in history to hit a long ball in each of the first four games of the World Series.
The Yankees tried to respond in the bottom of the first inning, putting two runners in scoring position after two outs. Giancarlo Stanton, however, was grounded out to extinguish the threat.
The New Yorkers recovered in the second round. Volpe drew a walk and stole the second base. Volpe’s bad run on Wells’ resounding double slowed him down at third base, but he still reduced the gap to 2-1 following Verdugo’s sacrifice.
The Yankee Stadium crowd came alive in the third inning. Aaron Judge was hit and went to third base following a single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. The cushions were all occupied after a walk to Stanton, setting the table for Volpe. The latter catapulted the first shot of his presence against Daniel Hudson over the left field fence to make the score 5-2.
The Dodgers found their senses in the fifth inning and scored two runs to tighten the game.
As the leadoff batter, Smith pounced on Gil’s fastball to hit his third home run of the series. After a walk to Tommy Edman and a single from Shohei Ohtani, options from Betts and Freeman produced the visitors’ fourth run.
The Yankees regained a little cushion in the sixth inning. Wells sent a Landon Knack fastball deep into the right field bleachers to give his team a 6-4 lead.
The floodgates opened in the eighth inning, during which the Yankees put the game out of reach. Torres also gave the final blow with his three-point circuit in the right.
This is the 12th World Series matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers, but the first since 1981.
The Dodgers are looking to capture their eighth World Series title and second in five years. The Yankees are aiming for a 28th, but they haven’t won the major honors since 2009.
With the Associated Press
