NEW YORK – The champagne was on ice. The Commissioner’s Trophy was lurking, somewhere, in the bowels of Yankee Stadium. And Game 4 of the World Series – and a sweep of the New York Yankees – was there for the taking.
Yet for the Los Angeles Dodgers, trusting the process that guided them to a National League pennant and built a 3-0 lead over New York in this Fall Classic remained paramount.
So, when reliever Daniel Hudson, nursing a one-run lead in the third inning, lost his command and sprayed the ball all over the strike zone, manager Dave Roberts let him ride it out – even as it resulted in a go-ahead grand slam from Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe.
When the Dodgers clawed back to within one run in the fifth inning, the Dodgers’ high-leverage relievers remained holstered – and long man Landon Knack gave up a home run an inning later to Austin Wells.
And then, trailing by just two runs heading into the bottom of the eighth, the last man on the pitching roster, right-hander Brent Honeywell, was tasked with keeping it close – and instead ended up wearing it all, giving up five runs to put the game out of reach.
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When it was over, and a tight World Series game turned into an 11-4 Yankees romp to the delight of 49,354 fans at Yankee Stadium, the Dodgers dusted off the well-worn assurances that they’re still very much in command.
Yet with that 3-1 lead – and three more chances to win the eighth World Series championship in franchise history – came a proud defense of how they got here.
With injuries to rotation’s worth of starting pitchers – most notably veterans Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw – the Dodgers have had to resort to bullpen games in each of their playoff rounds, to varying success.
It saved their season in Game 4 of the NL Division Series, when eight pitchers combined on an 8-0 blanking of the San Diego Padres, setting them up for a Game 5 advance. It set them back in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, when Knack gave up a grand slam and five runs in two innings of a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.
And then it vaulted them to the pennant, when seven arms lifted them to a 10-5 Game 6 throttling of the Mets.
Yet World Series Game 4 would be a different animal than them all. With the Dodgers holding a 3-0 Series lead, there’d be no closer Blake Treinen, no fire-balling set-up man Michael Kopech, no Ryan Brasier or deathly lefties Alex Vesia or Anthony Banda – not unless the Dodgers held a lead and could nail down the championship.
They came close several times on Tuesday. Yet once Hudson, handed a 2-1 lead on the unstoppable Freddie Freeman’s fourth home run in as many games, gave up that slam to Volpe, Roberts never saw fit to chase the win.
So be it, say the Dodgers.
“We’ve got all the faith in the world in Doc,” says catcher Will Smith, who hit a solo home run and guided the Dodgers’ four pitchers through this night. “This whole postseason, he’s been doing that, so sticking with him, he’s been doing great.
“We’re just trying to manage this whole series, keep everything fresh and ready to go. Be back tomorrow, everybody will be healthy.”
Indeed, the Dodgers needed almost all their key guys to secure a 4-2 victory in Monday’s Game 3. After Walker Buehler’s fine five innings of shutout ball, six relievers – Brusdar Graterol, Vesia, Hudson, Banda, Brasier and Kopech – combined to hold the Yankees scoreless until two outs in the ninth inning.
A night later, and Hudson was spraying the ball everywhere – hitting Aaron Judge with a pitch, walking Giancarlo Stanton, giving up a single to Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Even beyond Volpe, lefties Wells and Alex Verdugo lurked. In the Dodgers’ bullpen, Banda and Vesia did not stir.
“That was (Hudson’s) inning,” says Roberts. “I’m not going to use them in the third inning right there. No, I just wasn’t going to use them in the third inning, no.”
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Hudson’s command remained MIA as Volpe came to the plate. And Hudson left a slider out and over the heart of it to Volpe, who smoked it over left fielder Teoscar Hernandez and the left field wall.
“I just couldn’t stop the snowball from getting bigger,” says Hudson, who posted a 1.03 WHIP in 63 innings this season “Threw a really bad slider – it pops out of your hand and you get an instant ‘Oh, no,’ feeling in your stomach.
“I knew it was gonna be over Teo’s head. Just hoped it was low enough to stay in the ballpark. Unfortunately for us, it got out of here.”
Yet things did not get out of control. Knack held it down, giving up two hits in four innings, the only blemish Wells’ home run. Smith’s homer brought them to within 6-4.
One big inning, six more outs, and the Dodgers could be champions.
Tempting?
“It’s challenging,” says Roberts. “I think you’ve got to be certain that you can score some runs. Certainly any guy we use tonight would have not been able to pitch tomorrow. Landon actually threw the ball very well.
“And being down to going into that last half, it just doesn’t make sense to use one of your leverage guys.”
And so it fell to Honeywell, who provided key length in that failed Game 2 of the NLCS, pitching three scoreless innings, giving the Dodgers a chance to both remain competitive and not fry their bullpen.
That was not the case in World Series Game 4.
The Yankees torched Honeywell for four hits and five earned runs, most notably on Gleyber Torres’ three-run homer and Aaron Judge’s first run-scoring hit this series. A 6-4 game became an 11-4 rout.
“I feel great. I feel great,” Roberts insisted. “It’s about the guys that you have available. They’re all rested. So, where we’re at tomorrow, knowing there’s an off day (Thursday), we’re in a great spot with leverage relievers.”
It’s an open question whether they awakened the slumbering Yankees, who scored almost as many runs in Game 4’s eighth inning (five) than they did in the previous three games (seven). That will be Jack Flaherty’s problem Wednesday, as he aims to follow up his Game 1 gem against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
Oh, and a pen full of relievers, ready to roll. That’s more than the Yankees can say: Their bullpen had to cover five innings, with top relievers Luke Weaver and Clay Holmes each having to consume four outs and throw 21 and 13 pitches, respectively.
All as the Dodgers’ key guys cooled their heels, knowing the champagne would be just as sweet come Wednesday.
“We’re up 3-1 right now,” says right fielder Mookie Betts, “and we feel pretty good about it.”
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