The New York Yankees have their backs against the wall in New York Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers look to complete a World Series sweep — the first since 2012 — to capture a second title under manager Dave Roberts. It’s been a dismal series for the Yankees’ biggest bat, with Aaron Judge batting just .083 over the first three games of this series, going 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts. He’s not the only Yankee struggling — the Bronx Bombers are batting just .186 as a team in the series, though both Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto are swinging the bat well.
If you’re a Dodgers fan, Game 4 of the Freddie Freeman Show could be a crowning Los Angeles achievement for the former Atlanta star who is just the third player to hit home runs in the first three games of a World Series, joining Hank Bauer (1958, Yankees) and Barry Bonds (2002, Giants). Freeman has actually homered in his last five World Series games, dating back to his 2021 World Series win with the Braves.
Luis Gil (1-0, 4.50 ERA, 4.0 IP, 3 K, 3 BB in 2024 postseason) gets the start for the Yankees with the season on the line, and the Dodgers will send Ben Casparius (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 4 K, 2 BB), with first pitch set for 8:08 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium on Fox.
Time: 8:08 p.m. ET
Location: Yankee Stadium | New York
TV Channel: Fox
Streaming: Fox Sports App, Fubo
Live6 updates
Wed, October 30, 2024 at 12:53 AM GMT+1
Three homers in three World Series games (plus two more in his previous two World Series games) will do that.
The Dodgers lost Game 3 of the NLDS to the division rival San Diego Padres to fall behind 2-1. Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty had both allowed at least four runs in their losses. Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was mocking Dodgers fans. Dave Roberts inspired more mockery by respondng angrily to Manny Machado tossing a ball at him.
Since then, they have gone 9-2 while outscoring the Padres, Mets and Yankees 70-29. Their lineup has been a torture chamber, their bullpen has stepped up and the trio of Buehler, Flaherty and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have all looked good this series. So much has been made about the Dodgers’ talent, but it took a near 180 to get them to this point.
In short, not good if you’re a Yankees fan.
A total of 24 teams have taken a 3-0 lead in the World Series. 21 of those teams ended the series in Game 4, while the other three won the title in Game 5. The Yankees would make history just by sending this series back to Los Angeles.
In the broader history of 3-0 leads, teams with that advantage have won the 7-game series 39 out of 40 times. You probably already know the exception: the 2004 Boston Red Sox’s comeback against the Yankees, which hinged on a steal by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. So it would be quite the reversal of fortune if the Yankees pull this off.
Only one other team has even tied a series after being down 3-0: the 2020 Houston Astros’ near-win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS. The Rays went on to win Game 7.
The team on the verge of winning a World Series is starting Ben Casparius, a 25-year-old rookie who made three total appearances in the regular season. He will be the opener in a bullpen game for the Dodgers against Yankees rookie Luis Gil.
This is the Dodgers’ fourth bullpen game of the postseason, and they won two of their first three. That’s despite having Landon Knack, another rookie who was solid in 12 regular-season starts. The Dodgers are doing this because they would rather lean on their bullpen than start a starting pitcher they don’t trust.
The Dodgers only have three of those starting pitchers because of a cavalcade of injuries to their rotation that could either indicate significant structural issues in their organization or some sort of “Homer at the Bat” style curse. Here are some starting pitchers who were unavailable this postseason due to injuries: Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, River Ryan, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin.
The Yankees are making an odd little adjustment with their backs against the wall. Their lineup today has switched usual cleanup hitter Giancarlo Stanton with No. 5 hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr., with Game 3 No. 6 hitter Anthony Volpe and No. 7 hitter Anthony Rizzo also switching. Both are swaps of lefty and righty hitters
Stanton has been amazing this postseason and and had the Yankees’ biggest hit of this series in Game 1 with his two-run homer. Aaron Judge, who is 6-for-43 with 20 strikeouts this postseason, is still hitting third behind Juan Soto.
Ben Casparius and Luis Gil will be the starting pitchers.