(CNN) — The New York Yankees’ offense exploded Tuesday night after struggling through the first three games of the World Series, using three home runs to stave off elimination at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-4 in Game 4, spoiling a historic night for Los Angeles Dodgers’ first baseman Freddie Freeman. The Bronx Bombers’ 11 runs were more than the team had scored in the prior three contests combined.
Down 2-1 in the third inning, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, a New York native playing for his childhood team, hit a go-ahead grand slam off Daniel Hudson that made the score 5-2. It was a lead the Yankees wouldn’t give up.
After the game, Volpe was asked about the grand slam.
“I think I pretty much blacked out as soon as I saw it go over the fence. We just want to keep putting pressure on them and I think everyone had confidence in everyone in the lineup that someone was going to get the big hit,” Volpe said.
“We’ve been having such good at-bats and putting such good swings on the ball, that we just felt like it was only a matter of time.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he was happy for the fans following Volpe’s slam.
“I was just glad because it felt like the fans were so ready to erupt last night, and we just got behind and couldn’t punch things in. It’s like you finally got to see the top blow off Yankee Stadium in a World Series game,” Boone told reporters.
“When Anthony hits that ball, it was like fun to see Yankee Stadium erupt. It’s like they’ve been waiting for 48 hours to do that. Then just the way the game went on and on, it was just the energy, the noise, the excitement. It was Yankee Stadium World Series game.”
The Dodgers now lead the series three games to one. Los Angeles has another opportunity to clinch the franchise’s eighth championship on Wednesday when the two teams play Game 5 in New York.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team will be ready.
“I think that they beat us. Volpe took a good swing. They took advantage of a couple free passes. They tacked on later,” Roberts said afterwards. “I think we could have done some things to get in their pen a little bit earlier.
“Again, at the end of the day, we’re still in a pretty good spot, and we feel good. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
The contest started off promisingly for the visitors when Freeman continued his hot World Series run.
The first baseman set a World Series record after homering in his sixth consecutive Fall Classic game. Freeman hit a two-run homer off Yankees starter Luis Gil in the first inning to give the Dodgers an early 2-0 lead. He finished 1-4 with three RBI.
Freeman homered in Games 5 and 6 as a member of the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves against the Houston Astros. On Monday, he tied Astros outfielder George Springer as the only players to hit a homer in five straight games.
The 35-year-old is the first player to homer and have at least 10 RBIs in the first four games of a World Series.
The Dodgers would score two in the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-4, whittling down the lead provided by Volpe’s slam. But in the sixth, Yankees catcher Austin Wells connected on a solo homer to extend New York’s lead to 6-4.
In the bottom of the eighth, Volpe once again provided the heroics – this time with his speed. He turned a single into a double with his wheels before stealing third base. When left fielder Alex Verdugo hit a sharp ground ball to second base, Volpe sprinted for home and his head first slide beat the tag from catcher Will Smith to make the game 7-4.
One batter later, Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres put the exclamation mark on the game with a three-run home run, scoring Wells – who had walked – and Verdugo to make the score 10-4.
But New York wasn’t done yet. Right fielder Juan Soto continued his solid series with a double following Torres’ homer and center fielder Aaron Judge – who has struggled mightily this series – drove him in with a hard base hit to the left field.
The offensive breakout provides hope for Yankees’ fans in one of the most highly anticipated editions of the Fall Classic in recent years between two of the sport’s most legendary franchises.
Wednesday, New York’s top starting pitcher, Gerrit Cole, will take the mound while Jack Flaherty, who pitched a stellar game for the Dodgers in Game 1, is in line to toe the rubber again.
