The New York Yankees have awakened.
A little late.
The Yankees mauled and mashed and manhandled the Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, staving off a sweep with an 11-4 victory.
Not much to see here.
On a night when two Yankees fans literally tore a foul ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove, the Yankees were desperate.
On a night when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts used Ben Casparius to start and Landon Knack to cover four innings and Brent Honeywell to finish, the Dodgers were cautious.
“At the end of the day, we’re still in a pretty good spot, and we feel good,” Roberts said.
On a night when Anthony Volpe set the tone by running into a hanging slider by Daniel Hudson in the third inning and depositing it into the left-field bleachers for a grand slam, the Yankees were inspired.
On a night when Freddie Freeman’s wildly celebrated two-run homer in the first inning didn’t come close to holding up, the Dodgers were mostly meh.
“We were very high, we were excited, those guys unfortunately answered back,” Roberts said. “It was a good ballgame until it wasn’t.”
From the moment Aaron Judge sent the raucous crowd into a game-long tizzy when he angrily reacted to being hit in the hand by a third-inning Hudson pitch, the Yankees attacked.
From the moment it was obvious that their mound was going to be filled with the back of their bullpen, the Dodgers mostly watched and waited.
“We’ve got no choice right now, like just play pitch by pitch,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Compete, leave it all out there. And we did that really well today.”
Read more: Dodgers can’t complete sweep as Yankees get off the mat in Game 4 to keep season alive
This loss is no big Dodgers deal because they purposely didn’t leave it all out there. For the third time this postseason, comfortable with their lead and protecting their high-leverage relievers for later games, the Dodgers punted.
That’s right, the Dodgers punted.
It sounds crazy. It sounds risky. It sounds like the Dodgers are equating the fourth game of the World Series to a spring training tussle, but guess what? It works. Two punts helped them navigate to a four-games-to-two victory over the New York Mets in…