How Yankees’ bottom order keeps World Series hopes alive as stars continue to struggle

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees will play at least one more game, and they can thank the bottom of their lineup. Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series (NY 11, LA 4), forcing a Game 5. The game was closer than the score indicated, as New York didn’t blow things up. until scoring five in the bottom of the eighth.

The Dodgers took a two-run lead in the first inning thanks to another home run by Freddie Freeman, his fourth in four games. The Yankees managed a run in the second half. In the third inning, they finally got the big swing they’ve been missing in just about every series when Anthony Volpe clubbed a grand slam, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 Yankees lead.

Dodgers right-hander Daniel Hudson made a mess this inning, loading the bases with a hit by pitch (Aaron Judge), a long single (Jazz Chisholm Jr.) and a walk (Giancarlo Stanton). Volpe capitalized and gave the Yankees what was arguably their biggest hit of their season. They were trying to avoid elimination and Volpe gave the Yankees their first lead since the tenth inning of Game 1.

“I think I almost passed out as soon as I saw him go over the fence,” Volpe said of the Grand Slam. “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. We had such good at-bats and had put such good swings on the ball that it just felt like it was a matter of time.

Three innings after Volpe’s grand slam, his close friend Austin Wells started an insurance run with a solo home run, his second of the postseason. The rookie catcher doubled in the second inning and also walked to help spark that five-run eighth inning. He entered Game 4 with an ugly .093/.152/.163 this postseason, then broke out Tuesday night.

“Having a moment like that, for him to have a moment like that is special, but to do it together, you can’t trade it for anything,” Volpe said of going deep with Wells in the same World Series game.

Despite all the (understandable) attention paid to Judge’s difficulties, He’s not the only Yankees struggling at the plate. Juan Soto and Stanton have been outstanding throughout the playoffs. Almost everyone has experienced difficulties. Before Game 4, Soto and Stanton were hitting .311/.406/.700 in October. All other Yankees combined for a .199/.308/.290 line.

To beat the Dodgers – even just to force a Game 5 – the Yankees needed someone else to step in and provide offense. Soto and Stanton can’t do it alone. Ideally, Judge would pitch in, but the bottom of the lineup needed to contribute as well. Then Volpe, the No. 7 hitter, hit a grand slam in the fourth game. Wells, the No. 5 hitter, had a big day. No. 9 hitter Alex Verdugo also drove in two runs.

Heading into the five-run eighth inning, New York’s 1-2-3-4 hitters were a combined 1-for-17 with four walks in Game 4. It was a quiet game for Gleyber Torres, Soto, Chisholm and Judge until this. indicate. It was the 7-8-9 hitters who led the way and gave the Yankees the kind of bottom-end production they haven’t had this postseason, especially in the power department.

“Our guys were ready to play,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday. “Obviously, a lot of big sticks. Volpe with a big shot. Bottom of the order – Volpe, Wells, Verdugo – all with really good sticks.”

Low-end production was a major storyline for the World Series and, really, neither team made it past three games. Spots in the Dodgers’ 7-8-9 lineup were 5-for-28 (.179) in Games 1-3, while New York’s were 3-for-34 (.088). Freeman carried the Dodgers for three games. He’s been a one-man wrecking crew for Los Angeles.

The Yankees, meanwhile, weren’t getting much from anyone. They still need Judge to get going — he reached base three times in Game 4, so maybe that’s the start of something — but they also needed more from their non-stars. In Game 4, Volpe and Wells stepped up and the 7-8-9 hitters drove in seven of the team’s 11 runs.

“It’s not really a friendship anymore. It’s a brotherhood,” Volpe said of his relationship with Wells. “We’ve been through it all together. The highest of highs and at one point the lowest of lows. He’s my first call, my last call.”

The Dodgers now have a 3-1 series lead, so the Yankees are in game mode, one inning, one pitch at a time. They have a big hill to climb. But to have any chance of making this series interesting, they need half of their line-up to wake up and contribute. This happened in Game 4. The bottom of the lineup was excellent and the Yankees survived to play another day.

“I feel like it only takes one big shot, and I feel like that was Volpe’s big shot there,” Wells said. “It allowed everyone to take a deep breath and have fun. I also think about the situation we were in, I think we just needed to say ‘who cares, don’t care. take care of it and have fun because some guys may never come back.” World Series again.”