Anthony Volpe’s grand slam helps NY Yankees avoid World Series sweep by LA Dodgers
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees fields a ground ball during the ninth inning of Game Four of the 2024 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium on Oct 29.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
NEW YORK – Anthony Volpe smashed a grand slam as the New York Yankees avoided being swept in the World Series on Oct 29 with an 11-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Volpe’s third-inning blast gave the Yankees a 5-2 edge, their first lead since Game 1, and later homers by Gleyber Torres and Austin Wells sparked New York’s rout.
“I pretty much blacked out as soon as I saw it go over the fence,” Volpe, 23, said. “Everyone had confidence that someone was going to get the big hit... when the guys have confidence in you, I feel like you could do anything.”
The Yankees pulled within 3-1 in the best-of seven Major League Baseball championship showdown, with Game 5 on Oct 30 (Oct 31, Singapore time) at Yankee Stadium.
“We showed what we’re capable of doing as a team,” Torres said. “We’ll just try to continue that. Go tomorrow like there’s no tomorrow.”
No team have ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win the World Series, but the Yankees became the first team in 54 years to force a fifth game when down 3-0.
“It’s going to take a lot,” Wells added. “No one has done what we’re trying to accomplish.”
New York denied the Dodgers an eighth World Series title and first since 2020 while keeping alive hopes of the Yankees winning their first crown since 2009 and 28th overall.
Wells, 25, also became the youngest Yankees catcher to hit a home run in the World Series after entering the game batting four-for-43 in the play-offs.
It was a record-shattering night for Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman, who smashed a two-run homer in the first inning to become the first player with homers in the first four games of a World Series.
Freeman, who blasted a walk-off grand slam to win Game 1, also moved past George Springer to set a record with homers in six consecutive World Series contests, counting the last two games from his 2021 title run with the Atlanta Braves.
While the action took place in New York, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is a treasure in his hometown in Japan, where fans gathered thousands of miles from Yankee Stadium to watch their hero.
Oshu, a sleepy city of 110,000 in northern Japan known for its apples and beef, will need to wait at least one more day for its favourite son to lift the trophy.
“He’s like someone who lives above the clouds, so it’s a huge source of pride that he comes from Oshu,” 44-year-old Norihisa Sato told AFP at a public viewing event at city hall. AFP, REUTERS
