World Series: Yankees Stay Alive with Game 4 Win, Back to Gerrit Cole for Game 5

The New York Yankees’ bats finally came alive on Tuesday, and they stayed alive in the World Series with an 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The task ahead of New York is still daunting – three more elimination games remain, and no one that has gone down 3-0 in the World Series has come back to win it. Only four times has one of these series made it to a Game 6.

Still not much noise from Aaron Judge, but Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam in the third inning that put the Yankees on top, where they would remain the rest of the game. A five-run outburst in the eighth inning put the game away, and importantly for the Yankees, it allowed them to give closer Luke Weaver the ninth inning off, which makes him available in Game 5.

The trio of sluggers — Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton — went a combined 3-for-11 with one RBI. But along with the Volpe home run, New York got long balls from Gleyber Torres and Austin Wells to complete the rout.

There was an ugly moment in the first inning where Mookie Betts went near the right field seats to catch a foul ball, and two Yankees fans grabbed his glove and right arm and tried to pry the ball away from him. They were ejected immediately (with an MLB lifetime ban likely coming), and when Betts was asked about the incident after the game, he said it didn’t matter. “It’s irrelevant. We lost.”

The Dodgers did lose the battle, but they have three more cracks at winning the war, beginning Wednesday night back at Yankee Stadium. Win or lose, this will be the final baseball game in New York in 2024.

Yankees Need Big Night from Gerrit Cole

New York is favored to win Game 5, paying -148 on the moneyline. The Dodgers are paying +124 as the underdog.

A big reason for that is the same pitching matchup from Game 1, which is Gerrit Cole for the Yankees and Jack Flaherty for the Dodgers. Cole is the ace, and if the Yankees are going to make one final trip back to Southern California for a Game 6 and possibly a Game 7, he needs to be at his best.

“We’re in a tough position. But there’s a lot of baseball left to be played and anything can happen,” Cole said. “Hey, we’re still in the World Series. We’re still in the Bronx. We’ve still got a shot at this thing.”

“It’s always good when you have Gerrit on the mound,” said Judge. “He’s the complete package as a pitcher.”

Cole took a no-decision in Game 1, pitching six innings of one-run ball, striking out four. His over/under on strikeouts in Game 5 is 5.5. He’s paying +180 to get the win on Wednesday night.

Jack Flaherty Goes for Dodgers

Back in July and shortly before the trade deadline, the Yankees were in talks with the Detroit Tigers about a trade for Jack Flaherty. But New York was a little afraid of his medical report, and because of that, the two sides couldn’t come together on the appropriate compensation.

New York was out, the Dodgers jumped in, and now Flaherty has the chance to reward their risk-taking in the most dramatic way possible – a World Series-clinching win.

Flaherty was very good in Game 1, pitching 5.1 innings, giving up two runs and striking out six Yankees. Three of those strikeouts were swinging strikeouts of Aaron Judge. Other than the two-run homer allowed to Stanton in the sixth inning, he was close to perfect.

The over/under on strikeouts for Flaherty in Game 5 is 5.5. He’s paying +245 to come away from the game with the victory.

World Series MVP Odds

Four games have been played, and Freddie Freeman has hit a home run in each one of them. He has a grand slam and 10 RBI in the World Series so far, which is the most in Dodgers history for a single World Series. Not surprisingly, he has become the overwhelming favorite to win the World Series MVP award at -900.

Volpe, who hit the other grand slam in the series, is at +1700 to win the MVP award. Soto is at +2200, and Stanton is +2800.

Simply put, the odds tell us that if L.A. wins the World Series, Freeman wins the award. If New York mounts the comeback, it could be one of several players.

© Copyright 2024 - VegasLuck.com