NEW YORK — The Yankees are still playing thanks to their bats, but if they’re going to threaten the Dodgers more seriously they’ll need their frontline starters to step up in a similar way.
Once again, there’s no time for delays and no room for error. The Yankees go into Wednesday’s matchup trailing the Dodgers 3-1 in the World Series but after Anthony Volpe’s grand slam led to an 11-run outburst Tuesday, they’ll turn to another lifelong Yankee fan in Game 5 when Gerrit Cole starts opposite Jack Flaherty.
“We're excited to get back out there,” Cole said Tuesday. “We're still in the World Series. We're in the Bronx. We've still got a shot at this thing.”
“Just keep in the zone, in the moment (and) focused.”
New York’s hitters accomplished that goal Tuesday, finally breaking out against a Dodgers bullpen game after combining for just seven runs in the first three games of the World Series. The contributions from the bottom of the order were especially notable, as Volpe hit a grand slam from the No. 7 spot and No. 8 hitter Austin Wells added a homer of his own.
At a time that Aaron Judge isn’t finding the barrel, continued quality at-bats from further down in the batting order will be necessary if the Yankees are going to send this series back to Los Angeles. Plus, the breakout offensive allowed Yankees manager Aaron Boone to turn to Tim Mayza for the final three outs instead of pushing Luke Weaver for another inning – a respite that could pay off later in the series.
As for Cole, he did his part in Game 1, pitching six innings of one-run baseball while striking out four and throwing 88 pitches. If not for Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam against Nestor Cortes, Cole’s outing might have been remembered differently.
“We've done a good job of flushing the bad stuff over the course of the year and been resilient and trying to stay even-keeled when things are really going well as well,” Cole said.
Flaherty, a Burbank, Calif. native who cheered for the Dodgers growing up, was nearly as effective as Cole in Game 1, allowing two earned runs over 5.1 innings while striking out six, but he did deal with some hamstring tightness as the start progressed. That impacted his preparation between starts, but doesn’t change his availability for a potentially decisive Game 5.
“It's caused a little extra work that I normally wouldn't have to do, but I'm feeling good,” he said. “At this point, it's not anything I'm worried about.”
Behind Flaherty, the Dodgers bullpen should be in reasonable shape, too. Daniel Hudson has now pitched in back-to-back games, and Ben Casparius, Landon Knack and Brent Honeywell each threw at least 43 pitches in Tuesday's loss. All but Hudson are likely down Wednesday.
Yet that still leaves most of the Dodgers' 'win' bullpen, a unit including Michael Kopech, Anthony Banda, Alex Vesia, Ryan Brasier, Brusdar Graterol and Blake Treinen. They've all been used heavily this month, but after an off day they'll be available to manager Dave Roberts as the Dodgers look to win their eighth World Series in franchise history and first since 2020.
“To have six guys in your pen that are feeling good, rested, I feel good about that,” Roberts said. “And being up 3-1.”
“They're all rested,” Roberts continued. “So we have guys that can do an up-down. Knowing there's an off day (Thursday), we're in a great spot with leverage receivers.”
On the other side, the Yankees might have to ask some of their top relievers to pitch three times in a row. Tim Hill, Clay Holmes, Mark Leiter Jr. and Weaver have all pitched in both New York games, setting up the possibility of three appearances in a row – something managers typically avoid in the regular season and even early in October.
With the season on the line, though, this is the time for Boone to push, ideally behind a strong start from Cole. Where that leads will determine whether the series goes back to Los Angeles.
“No predictions,” said Weaver, the team's closer. “Day by day, man. Day by day.”
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