Heading into Game 4 of the World Series, the New York Yankees seemed deader than disco.

Historically speaking, the series ended during Game 3.

Of the previous 24 World Series in which a team took a 3-0 lead, 21 ended in a sweepand the other three ended in the fifth game.

Forget to complete the return. No one had even really threatened to do so.

And nothing about the Yankees’ mood in the previous two games suggested they would be one of those teams to force a Game 5.

Even though every match came down to the wire, nothing could happen as they continued to recover from Freddie Freeman’s grand slam in the opener.

The Dodgers turned duck sniffs into runs; the Yankees had strikeouts at the plate when they weren’t too busy striking out in the first place.

Freeman continued to collect, driving in as many runs in the Series (seven) as the Yankees had scored as a team through three games.

This trend continued in earnest early in Game 4. For the second night in a row, Freeman delivered a two-run dinger before the Yankees even saw a pitch. An inning later, a baserunning error allowed New York to leave a run on the board.

Lather, rinse, repeat…swipe?

In the blink of an eye, quick as a fox, something changed.

In a moment that looked *a little* like former Red Sox speedster, current Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stealing that base in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, Anthony Volpe broke the barrage with a grand slam with two outs in the third inning, turning the Dodgers’ bullpen game into a closely watched batting practice en route to an 11-4 victory.

A single game that will change nothing in the grand scheme?

Or the first big step on an improbable journey towards something historic?

Bringing the series back to Los Angeles

The next step begins with Gerrit Cole, literally and figuratively.

New York had no answer to Los Angeles’ $325 million ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, but the Yankees could make it a Series again if their $324 million ace did his job during the fifth game.

Although they ultimately wasted his efforts, Cole was on point in the first game, allowing just one run in six innings of work. Maybe it wasn’t ancient Gerrit Cole with just four strikeouts, but he fought and shut down a loaded Los Angeles lineup far better than any other Yankees starter has managed thus far.

Cole has now made four postseason starts with a 2.82 ERA, after closing the regular season with a 2.25 ERA over his last 10 outings.

An additional gem in Game 5 wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Maybe they’ll let him empty the tank in this one too, after he (and Derek Jeter) were frustrated by Aaron Boone’s decision to relieve him after just 88 pitches.

The offense is raised from the dead

And now the Yankees bats are awake, which is a scary proposition for the Dodgers.

Judge isn’t there yet, but he’s at least starting to move, getting on base three times via a hit by pitch, a walk and the aforementioned RBI single.

He didn’t strike out in Game 4, having whiffed 14 of his previous 25 ABs.

However, getting what they did from the bottom of the lineup Tuesday night was huge. Volpe and Wells had been a combined 2-for-22 with 11 strikeouts in the first three games before exploding for four extra-base hits.

They can also reproduce this. The July/August version of Wells all but ran away with the AL Rookie of the Year voting. Volpe hit .382 with a 1.041 OPS in his first 15 games this season, before posting marks of .373 and 1.078, respectively, in his first 14 games after the All-Star Break.

These are normally tertiary figures in the Yankees’ story in 2024, but when either gets into rhythm, watch out.

Even if hitters #7 and 8 don’t continue to collect, perhaps just seeing that can happen will take some of the weight of the world off Judge’s shoulders, leading to the type of tear over the last three matches and an AB. of the series that Freeman had for the first three games and an AB.

God knows it can happen quickly with the surefire 2024 MVP, and Roberts’ decision to let Brent Honeywell Jr. pitch to him in the eighth inning may have been a big mistake.

Remember that 16-game home run streak at the end of the regular season, which was followed by seven home runs in 35 at-bats?

Or the tater tots he crushed in back-to-back games against the Guardians a few weeks ago?

Despite all the criticism leveled at the home run king so far in October, he could “All Rise” to World Series MVP with a strong final chapter in a historic comeback.

The Dodgers are still vulnerable

And, my friends, let’s not forget our minimal confidence in the Dodgers’ starting rotation heading into this World Series. Yamamoto’s postseason ERA was north of 5:00 p.m. Walker Buehler was seated at 6 p.m. Jack Flaherty was above 7:00.

All of those Dodgers in 6 or Dodgers in 7 picks were rooted in the assumption that their high-octane offense would simply outplay the Yankees.

Instead, these Dodgers bats have been – aside from Freeman, of course – pretty… bad?

Shohei Ohtani is clearly not right with this left shoulder injury. Max Muncy wasn’t able to buy a hit in the World Series after that incredible stretch based on the NLCS. And despite scoring at least four runs in every game this series, the Dodgers have yet to score five in regulation and have one run against the Yankees bullpen in the last three games. .

If this trend continues, will this number of bases be enough to bury the Yankees?

Or, if this continues as Flaherty lights up in Game 5 and the Yankees pursue Yamamoto early in Game 6, will that bury the Dodgers?

Look, it would be fitting if Flaherty went to Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night and shoved seven scoreless innings down his throat after hesitating to trade for him due to concerns about his medical record.

However, if his outing in Game 5 of the World Series is anything like his outing in Game 5 of the NLCS (3 IP, 8 ER) and the Yankees become the first team in World Series history to force a Game 6 after having led 3-0, Suddenly, everything becomes possible in Los Angeles.

This is still unlikely to happen. DraftKings has the Yankees at +600 to win the series even after Game 4.

But before this series even begins, I warned you all These strange things always seem to happen at the Fall Classic in presidential election years.

Even if they ultimately fail to win, New York coming back from a 3-0 deficit to force what could be the greatest Game 7 of all time would certainly qualify.

It would surely be a comeback worthy of its own documentary one day…