Youth in Revolt - Yankees vs Dodgers (Game 4 Recap)
When facing an 0–3 series deficit, there is never much reason for hope or belief in anything other than your team’s playoff run coming to an abrupt end. Call me crazy, but I don’t draw much inspiration from the ‘04 Red Sox highlights, as they represent a series of events that is as unlikely as it is traumatic.
The overarching feeling of dread heading into Game 4 quickly turned into acceptance, as Freddie Freeman hit yet another 2-run homer before the dinner plates made their way to the sink. This was shaking out to be a carbon copy of games 2 and 3 — which some would say would serve as a fitting end to this World Series.
But there would be no end on this night. For the first time since Freeman ripped their hearts out in Game 1, you saw fight from the New York Yankees.
Were these greaseballs the catalyst for last night’s winning effort? Probably not. But any dork trying to burn these dudes at the stake for trying to preserve one of our 27 precious outs either a) doesn’t love their team b) has never seen their team play in a championship or c) just fucking sucks to be around.
Betts wasn’t hurt, they ruled Gleyber out (despite Mookie not completing the process of the catch), and it provided a one-sided series with a much needed memorable moment. Find me a sports fan who hasn’t had 3 too many drinks pregame - because that loser needs some cooler friends.
In terms of the actual baseball game, the story of the night is Anthony Volpe. We’ve been beaten over the head with the stories of the local kid who watched Jeter and dreamed of being a Yankee. But lets be honest — his career thus far has left much to be desired. After making a Gleyber-esque error on the bases the inning prior, Volpe stepped into the box with 2-outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 3rd — and finally provided fans with a signature moment.
When you end the night with 11 runs, its easy to forget the significance of Volpe’s grand salami. The Yanks were trailing 2–1 and on the verge of squandering a golden scoring opportunity after Rizzo popped out with the much-maligned bottom of the Yankee lineup due up. Seeing the youngest guy on the team have that “I refuse to lose” mentality we’ve desperately been seeking from the veterans was truly incredible.
That drive over the left field wall put the Yanks up 5–2 and not only provided the team with a spark, but forced Dave Roberts to move away from his high leverage relievers and seemingly concede Game 4 to the Yanks. Its obviously way too early to know whether or not that homer will hold any significance other than preserving the Yankees season another 24 hours, but god damnit was it great to see the future of this team grow up before our eyes and will this team to victory.
Although slightly overshadowed by Volpe’s legacy game, Austin Wells’ efforts should not be forgotten. While his double in the 2nd unfortunately didn’t serve as the initial spark for the offense, his upper deck nuke in the 6th served as the unofficial dagger when LA had cut the Yankee lead down to 1.
Wells has struggled more than any other Yankee this postseason. While Judge has shouldered most of the blame, people seem to forget that this offense was pure shit before Wells was inserted into the clean up spot over the summer. Its no coincidence that his offensive issues have had a negative ripple effect on the lineup in general.
It may very well be too little too late in terms of this series, but its hard not to be overwhelmingly happy for the kid who has clearly been going through it over the past few weeks. He’s hopefully another building block that will be asked to perform in these types of games for many years to come.
Luke Weaver would come in to embarrass the heart of the Dodger lineup, before the Yanks teed off on the single worst pitcher I’ve seen these playoffs to put the game completely out of reach.
I get that you’re obviously not going to blow your key arms in this situation, but if this 8th inning slugfest ends up restoring confidence in a broken lineup, I will forever thank Roberts for trotting out this Honeydick fellow.
Again, I want to emphasize that it is way too early for me to truly believe that the Yanks are going to pull off the impossible. But at the same time, its hard not to feel that tinge of hope and optimism after seeing the team get off the mat and show a bit of pride last night.
Sending this thing back to LA while also depriving these fucks of the opportunity to pop bottles in our building should be the current goal. Thinking about anything beyond that point is a meaningless exercise that I am choosing to avoid until it becomes much more of a potential reality (hopefully at around 11:30 PM tonight).
We’re going to need a herculean effort from Cole while also figuring out Flaherty, but tonight’s contest is yet another winnable game. Get it done and make these home fans proud to wear the pinstripes in the year’s final battle in the Bronx.
