NEW YORK — With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning Tuesday night, the Yankees were on the brink of squandering yet another scoring opportunity — something they’ve done often in recent days but not something they could afford here, trailing 2-1 in Game 4 of the World Series, a must-win game in front of a sold out but increasingly frustrated crowd at Yankee Stadium.
Then Anthony Volpe stepped in, liked the first pitch he saw, and hit a grand slam.
“I pretty much blacked out,” Volpe said.
The stadium erupted. Finally, some relief.
At that point in the evening, the Dodgers were in the early stages of a bullpen game with Daniel Hudson on the mound. He’d been serving the Yankees slider after slider, and Volpe, the 23-year-old who’s been a Yankees fan his whole life, delivered the biggest swing of his career.
While he rounded the bases, others marvelled at his poise under pressure.
“I think he handles it great,” said manager Aaron Boone. “He loves being a Yankee, loves it. Just as importantly, though, loves the guys he gets to go do it with every day. The bond in that room is real.”
The grand slam gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead that they’d eventually convert into an 11-4 win, giving them their first win in the World Series since 2009 and overcoming yet another Freddie Freeman home run to close the deficit in this year’s Fall Classic to 3-1.
As Tim Mayza recorded the game’s final few outs, the crowd of 49,354 chanted Volpe’s name, a moment he says actually surpassed the home run for the coolest moment of his life. The significance of the moment was not lost on his teammates.
“Growing up a Yankees fan, now being the shortstop, (to) hit a grand slam in the World Series in a must-win game, I mean, it doesn't get any better than that,” said catcher Austin Wells, who added a home run of his own.
But while the champagne and commemorative hats may have stayed out of sight this time, the challenge in front of the Yankees remains immense.
“Just winning one sets it up,” said first baseman Anthony Rizzo. “We've got Gerrit Cole lurking (Wednesday). We've got a pissed off Rodon for Game 6 if we can get out there. And Game 7 is always a crapshoot.”
As Rizzo acknowledged, though, the Yankees are still in a perilous spot because of how much better the Dodgers played for the first three games.
“(Each day) could be our last drive to the ballpark,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “Could be the last time this team's ever together.”
Volpe’s swing made sure that wasn’t the case, and there were more contributions from the bottom of the Yankees’ batting order all night. Volpe later added a single, Wells homered and walked from the No. 8 spot and No. 9 hitter Alex Verdugo singled and drove in a run with a tenacious eighth inning at-bat that went down as a fielder’s choice.
Adding meaning to those contributions, Volpe and Wells came up through the Yankees’ minor-league system together and formed a close bond along the way.
“It's not really a friendship anymore,” Volpe said. “It's a brotherhood. We've been through it all together. The highest of highs and at some points the lowest of lows.”
"We both had the same goals," explained Wells, wearing eye black and a t-shirt reading 'Fully Operational Death Star.' "Our goal was to help win a World Series. It's pretty cool to be here."
Their swings were necessary at a time that the top of the Yankees’ batting order continues to find its way. Gleyber Torres hit a three-run homer to open the game up in the eighth, and Juan Soto and Aaron Judge followed that up with back-to-back hits for another run, but Judge hasn’t been himself in the World Series with only two hits (no homers) compared to seven strikeouts.
"He's a great player," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "We're making some good pitches ... I have so much respect for Aaron. There's probably a little bit of maybe trying too hard right now."
Still, Yankees players point to Judge’s consistency behind the scenes and in other areas of the game. To Judge’s credit, he continues to play a strong centre field and he reached via error Tuesday largely because he hustled down the line.
"He's never let us down," said Rizzo. "He's been such a joy to play with, and hopefully his biggest hits of his career are coming up."
Meanwhile, Freeman continued his remarkable World Series with a two-run home run in the first inning. The line drive shot gives him homers in each game of the Fall Classic – a remarkable feat considering he’s had to recover from a badly sprained ankle on the fly.
Now, Cole will be asked to stave off elimination once more when he pitches opposite Jack Flaherty in Game 5. Winning three more games in a row? That’s a lot to ask against a dominant Dodgers team, and the beer and champagne will be on ice once again on Wednesday. But winning once with the reigning Cy Young winner pitching at home certainly seems possible, and that’s the next challenge facing the Yankees.
“We've been through so much the whole year,” Volpe said. “We're not going to go down easy.”
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.