NEW YORK — The Yankees finally broke through with their first win of the World Series in front of a rocking Bronx crowd and, in doing so, reminded everyone that they’re not going down without a fight. Whether it was the pressure of competing in an elimination game and playing with urgency, or seeing multiple relief arms and capitalizing on the Dodgers‘ bullpen game, the Yankees’ 11-4 win on Tuesday night was just what they needed to get their confidence back in the Fall Classic.
They are, after all, the best team in the American League for a reason.
Here are our four biggest takeaways from Game 4 in the Bronx.
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1. Volpe’s signature Yankees moment
It was sweet, sweet redemption for Anthony Volpe. One inning after he didn’t score from second base on an Austin Wells double, the opportunity to atone for his mistake was his to take when the Yankees, trailing 2-1, loaded the bases for him in the third. The Yankees were finding ways to get on base, but they still needed that big hit, and it appeared unlikely that they would actually capitalize after Anthony Rizzo popped out with the bases juiced for the second out. But it was also pretty clear that Daniel Hudson, who was the second man out of the bullpen in the Dodgers’ bullpen game, didn’t have it.
Volpe pounced on the first pitch Hudson offered him, an 89 mph slider that nicked the bottom of the zone before the Yankees shortstop barreled it to left field. Fans couldn’t believe it as the ball kept sailing over left fielder Teoscar Hernández’s head and into the seats. Only when it safely landed beyond the left-field wall did an anxious and restless home crowd of 49,354 finally erupt for the first time in this World Series.
Volpe’s grand slam gave the Yankees a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The first home run of his postseason career was just his second overall since Aug. 4. — Deesha Thosar
2. Freddie Freeman does it again
No, that wasn’t a replay. Freddie Freeman had no extra-base hits, just one run scored and one RBI in the first two rounds of the postseason. He was too hobbled from his ankle sprain to play in the Dodgers’ deciding Game 6 of the NLCS, and there were questions whether his valiant effort to be in the lineup — despite his obvious pain, and despite how much it seemed to be a galvanizing force for his teammates, who admired the daily efforts it took for him to get on the field — was doing more harm than good.
The Yankees haven’t seen that version of the All-Star first baseman. A week off transformed Freeman from a singles hitter into a slugging juggernaut. His teammates thought he had started to find his stroke again watching him take batting practice a couple of days before the start of the World Series, watching him line baseballs over shortstop the way he typically does when he’s swinging right.
The Yankees didn’t get that version of Freeman, either. Instead, they’ve seen the one who’s on a historic postseason home run pace. Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history in Game 1, added a solo shot in Game 2, quieted the opposing crowd at Yankee Stadium in the first inning of Game 3 with a two-run shot, then did so again in Game 4. In the process, Freeman — who also homered in the final two games of the Braves‘ 2021 title run — has set a major-league record by hitting a home run in six straight World Series games.
He has now homered in four straight games to start this World Series. At the time of his Game 4 blast, Freeman had knocked in more runs this series than the entire Yankees team. His 10 RBIs are the most by a Dodgers player in a World Series. This time, though, it wasn’t the dagger that it was in Game 3, as the Yankees’ lineup battled back. — Rowan Kavner
3. With a little help from Judge’s friends
It was hard to imagine the Yankees getting a single win in this World Series without one of two things happening: Either Aaron Judge wakes up, or the guys that he’s carried all year finally give him some of that support back. It was mostly the latter Tuesday, as the bottom of the Yankees order finally put together quality at-bats for the first time in this Series. Austin Wells, one of the Yankees’ best hitters in July and August and who played his way into the American League Rookie of the Year conversation, cranked a solo shot to right field in the sixth inning for a much-needed insurance run. That homer came after an excellent at-bat in the second inning, when he skied a double off the padding in center field.
No lead is safe with the Dodgers in the other dugout, as the Yankees learned the hard way in Game 1. That might explain New York’s five-run outburst in the eighth inning, with Volpe and Wells reaching safely again to set the table for a Gleyber Torres three-run home run. Amazingly, the Yankees scored their first 10 runs of this game without Juan Soto or Judge being prominently involved. — Thosar
4. Dodgers’ bullpen game goes south quickly
Tuesday was the fourth bullpen game of the postseason for the Dodgers. The first, in an elimination Game 4 in the NLDS, was a clinic, with eight different pitchers combining to hold the Padres scoreless in an 8-0 shutout that came in the midst of a record-tying 33 consecutive scoreless innings for the Dodgers’ pitching staff.
The last three haven’t gone so smoothly, including the first of the World Series on Tuesday in the Bronx. With four chances to win one game, manager Dave Roberts decided against deploying all of his best high-leverage pieces the way he needed to in that first do-or-die matchup in San Diego. It looked a little more like Game 2 of the NLCS, when, after the Mets tagged Landon Knack for five runs, the Dodgers essentially punted. Roberts didn’t want to tire his best arms out in a long series, and he didn’t want the Mets to get another look at those arms in a minus situation. The move ultimately paid off.
It was a similar situation Tuesday against the Yankees. While Roberts said everyone was available, it was clear he would need some length from rookies Ben Casparius and Knack and would decide who to use based on the game situation from there. “Every guy will be with a cost going forward,” Roberts said. Michael Kopech had pitched in each of the first three games. Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda, Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol had pitched in two apiece. None of them saw the field after Volpe’s grand slam off Daniel Hudson put the Yankees in the driver’s seat.
Roberts has pushed a lot of the right buttons so far this October, so we’ll see if saving his best guys for Game 5 and beyond was the right call again. — Rowan Kavner
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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