The Yankees Looked Cooked ... But Are They?
For the first three games of the 2024 World Series, the Dodgers clearly had the upper hand. But the Yanks now have a glimmer of hope thanks to Game 4.
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, the Yankees are the first team to score 10+ runs and strike out fewer than five times in a World Series game since the 2008 Phillies in Game 4 which the Phillies won, 10-2, over the Yankees’ rival Tampa Bay Rays. The last time the Yankees accomplished this was Game 6 of the 1960 World Series, which they won 10-9 . . . and let’s just say they’d rather not think about what happened in Game 7 of that particular Fall Classic.
. . . If you’re looking for more Yankees optimism heading into Game 5 on Wednesday, they’re also the first team in over 50 years to even force a World Series Game 5 after being down 3-0 in the series. The last time this happened was when the Reds forced a Game 5 in 1970 against the Orioles — who ended up winning Game 5.
Leading Off
Yankees Must Learn From Game 1 Mistakes To Extend World Series
By Bobby Santoro
It had been 43 years since the Yankees and Dodgers had met in the Fall Classic. In the week leading up to Game 1 of the series, the atmosphere around the Tri-State area was filled with electricity, with the Bombers making their first appearance in the World Series in 15 years. After going through the Royals and Guardians in the first two rounds, it was time for the actual test.
Game 1 in Los Angeles has been pegged as one of the most exciting games in recent memory after Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam powered the Dodgers to victory. The mistakes made in that first game looked to have all but ended the Yankees’ season.
This team fell hard after a tough loss that, in all honesty, shouldn't have happened if the right moves had been made. This is why even though the Yankees made it to the Fall Classic, the way they showed up (or I guess didn’t) in Games 2 and 3 is why this season is on the brink of ending in utter embarrassment and failure.
The biggest mistake in this series so far has been the Yankees’ complete failure to trust their reigning Cy Young ace, to the point of almost malpractice as a team. Gerrit Cole was cruising through the game and walked off the mound after the sixth inning, holding a 2-1 lead. The penultimate pitch of that sixth inning was a 98 mph fastball from the Yankees’ ace, which had everyone thinking he could pitch into the eighth inning and perhaps even finish the inning and have Luke Weaver shut the door.
Well, Cole did not pitch into the eighth and only faced one batter in the seventh inning! On the grandest stage in baseball, Aaron Boone took the ball from his ace and went to his bullpen when there was absolutely no need to do so. This set off a snowball of events, leading to the Dodgers tying the game up in the bottom of the eighth and sending things into extra innings.
The Yankees stole the lead back in the top of the 10th inning after some great baserunning by Jazz Chisholm Jr., which resulted in an RBI fielder’s choice groundout by Anthony Volpe. The Yankees had a chance to take the opening game if they could just handle the bottom of the Dodgers’ order in the 10th.
It wasn’t quite that simple. With runners on first and second and the Dodgers threatening, the Yankees brought in left-handed starter Nestor Cortes instead of fellow southpaw Tim Hill to face Ohtani. Nestor had been on the mend since the middle of September and came back knowing the risks to his health if he re-injured his arm and needed surgery.
Cortes was added to be used in the series, but for his first appearance to be in a high-leverage spot when the Yanks were trying to close out the first game on the road was another mind-boggling move by Boone. Cortes got Ohtani to pop out, with Alex Verdugo making a spectacular catch, putting the Yankees an out away from victory. The rest is history. Freeman’s walk-off knocked the Yankees down to their knees. which, through the first three games, they never recovered from.
Yankees Show Life
While I was writing this article and getting ready to finish it, the Yankees showed us signs of life! They did not go quietly into the night, and behind Volpe, Austin Wells and Gleyber Torres exploded for 11 runs for their first win of the series in Game 4!
The offense that had been dormant for the most part finally came to life, and even Aaron Judge joined in on the action with his first RBI of the World Series. The win now sets up Game 5 on Wednesday night, as the team turns to Cole to keep their season alive and move the series back to L.A.
One of the biggest jolts for the team in Game 4 was the bottom of the lineup, mainly Volpe, who belted a go-ahead grand slam in the third to give the Yankees their first lead since the 10th inning of Game 1.
The win for the Yankees marks just the fourth time in baseball history that a team down 3-0 forced a fifth game in the World Series. This was also the first time the Yankees have forced a Game 5 after being down 3-0 in any series in their history. There’s a long way to go, but we finally saw some life from a team that isn’t dead yet.
Bobby Santoro is a lifelong Yankees fan and has covered baseball at all levels. You can follow him on X/Twitter @bsantoro112.
Cleaning Up
. . . SABR is seeking nominations from IBWAA members for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards, which recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary.
What are the best baseball analytics articles you’ve read in 2024? Please send in nominations via email to analytics-awards@sabr.org no later than Dec. 31, 2024. Include author, title, date of publication and a URL link (if applicable). Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
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Holy Cow!