Oct. 29 (UPI) — Anthony Volpe resurrected the previously lifeless New York Yankees, delivering euphoria to fans with a go-ahead grand slam and helping to deny the Los Angeles Dodgers of a World Series sweep Tuesday in New York.
The Yankees shortstop hit the 390-foot blast in the bottom of the third inning of the 11-4 victory at Yankee Stadium. The Game 4 win helped the Yankees to avoid becoming the first team swept in a World Series since 2012.
“I was just trying to get on time for a heater,” Volpe said on the Fox broadcast. “The key was to keep it simple.”
Volpe went 2 for 3 with four RBIs, three runs scored, a walk and two steals. Catcher Austin Wells and second baseman Gleyber Torres also homered for the Yankees. The Yankees bullpen allowed just one hit and no runs over the final five innings.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven game series will be Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. No MLB team has ever recovered from a 3-0 World Series deficit.
“It’s going to take a lot,” Wells said, when asked how the Yankees can climb out of their World Series hole.
The Yankees — who hit a combined .147 between Game 2 and Game 3 and totaled seven runs and struck out 27 times through the first three games of the World Series — hit .264 (9 for 34) with four strikeouts in Game 4.
First baseman Freddie Freeman pulled the fourth pitch he saw into the right field seats, adding to MLB lore while invigorating the Dodgers in the top of the first inning. He set an MLB record as the first player to go deep in six-consecutive World Series games with a 343-foot, two-run homer.
The Dodgers appeared poised to complete their series sweep, but Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo cut into the deficit with an RBI groundout in the top of the second.
Volpe, who scored on that play, returned to the plate with the bases loaded in the third. Dodgers relief pitcher Daniel Hudson tossed in an 89-mph slider for his only offering of that exchange.
Volpe swept at the low-and-inside pitch, pulling it just over the left field fence for his first homer of the postseason and giving the Yankees a 5-2 edge.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit a 364-foot solo homer to lead off the fifth. Freeman drove in his third run of the night with an RBI groundout later in the inning, trimming the deficit to one.
But the Yankees bullpen then tightened up, not allowing another Dodgers hit over the remaining 4 1/3 innings.
Wells pushed the Yankees lead back to two with a 384-foot solo shot to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Volpe scored another insurance run during a fielder’s choice in the eighth. Torres hit a 366-foot solo homer to right three pitches later.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge brought in the game’s final run with an RBI single two at-bats later.
Yankees starter Luis Gil allowed five hits and four runs over the first four innings. Tim Hill, Clay Holmes, Mark Leiter Jr., Luke Weaver and Tim Mayza then combined for the Yankees’ spectacular relief effort.
Freeman went 1 for 4 with three RBIs and a run scored in the loss. Shortstop Tommy Edman, who went 0 for 1 with two walks and scored a run, was the only Dodgers player to reach base more than once.
The Yankees (3-1) will host the Dodgers (1-3) in Game 5 at 8:08 p.m. EDT Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. Game 6, if necessary, will be Friday in Los Angeles.
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