Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was there in 2004 as a player with the Red Sox, down 0-3 in the ALCS against the Yankees and they overcame what was impossible. They won the next four and moved on to the World Series. The Yankees will always be known for being in the history books with that collapse.
That Boston team would win the World Series, a longtime since their last one. Now the Yankees are in that 0-3 hole, this time with Roberts on the other side. The Yankees 4-2 loss in Game 3 Monday evening in the Bronx puts them in a task that will be difficult to overcome.
The Yankees said it takes one win, a game at a time. But to do that rookie Luis Gil will need to do it Tuesday night, the Yankees have to score runs (7 in three games) and they need their captain Aaron Judge to come out of his postseason doldrums and be Mr. October.
Roberts said it requires focus. He said the Yankees, though different players this time, are familiar with what happened 20-years ago. But the Dodgers are on the verge of a four-game sweep of this World Series and looking for their second title in five years.
Look at the box scores of these first three games and the Yankees have been in every game with the Dodgers. The difference, though, a Dodgers team that has outplayed the Yankees in every facet of the game.
The Yankees’ seven runs scored are one aspect of this deficit. The Dodgers home run ball is another and their starting pitching has come around at the right time. All bad timing for a Yankees team that resembled a World Series champion in most of September and in this October run with a division series win over the Royals, and an ALCS victory against the Guardians.
The consensus is that the Yankees have not shown up in this World Series though they won’t tell you that. They have probably not overcome that gut wrenching first game loss in Game 1, Freddie Freeman with the historic walk-off grand slam home run in the 10th inning.
A sellout crowd over 49,000 gave the Yankees some encouragement hosting their first World Series game in 15 years, but Freeman got hold of a 93 MPH cutter from Clarke Schmidt that went for a two-run homer in the first inning. The Yankees again had to play comeback ball as Freeman hit his third home run in the series.
And now the task is difficult. The Yankees aren’t the 2024 Red Sox and the percentages are against them as they face a Dodgers bullpen game Tuesday night that gives them a chance to stave off elimination and the sweep.
A potent lineup that has not resembled a team was third in baseball in getting runners home. A Yankees team that was expected to hit and score in bunches has not. Their agenda now is they play for one win and try to take it from there with Game 4 Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Yes, this is painful and of course the Dodgers pitching has been better than expected, Walker Buehler had exceptional fastball command with five innings of no runs, two hits, two walks, and five strikeouts.
But it is going to be difficult to overcome this deficit. They had to win that first game in Los Angeles, their ace Gerrit Cole was getting there and ran out of gas, according to what his manager said.
The Yankees know what they confront, so does manager Aaron Boone, a series that has not gone to their expectations. Shohei Ohtani with a bad shoulder has not had an impact for the Dodgers and Judge continued his postseason struggles, the presumed AL MVP is not Mr. October (.140, 6-for-43, double, two homers, and six RBI).
Judge with another 0-3 game said, “I’m not doing my job, it’s coming down to one game. We have to string some good at-bats together.”
But it’s not all about Judge. It’s a Yankees team now that needs to look at one more game, and as Judge said, take it from there. They have confidence and ability but a deficit now that could be too tough to overcome.
“All it takes is one swing, one at-bat, one play, everything changes for us,” Judge said.
“We’re trying to get a game tomorrow and try and get the lead,” Boone said. “Hopefully we can go be this amazing story and shock the world but we got to grab one first. Either way we have to focus on the next play and try and get a win.”
But the Dodgers have been grabbing the early lead and the Yankees have been playing from behind. Ninth inning runs including an Alex Verdugo two-run home run with two-outs is not going to do it.
“I don’t care how it happens; I just want to get one more win,” Freeman said. He has homered in his last five World Series games that go back to when he was with the Braves in 2021.
Only an epic collapse will prevent the Dodgers from celebrating in the Bronx the next two nights or a Game 6 in Los Angeles.
Chances of this series going seven games, what most thought from the beginning are minimal. The Yankees deep down know the task is one win and take it from there.
“I don’t see us just laying down tomorrow,” said Anthony Rizzo. “I expect us to show up and be ready to go. And just win one game.”
And that’s the only thing the Yankees can do. But the odds certainly are against them in their quest for a 28th World Series title and replicating what those Red Sox accomplished.
Rich Mancuso X (Twitter) @Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
About the Author
Rich Mancuso
Rich Mancuso is a regular contributor at NY Sports Day, covering countless New York Mets, Yankees, and MLB teams along with some of the greatest boxing matches over the years. He is an award winning sports journalist and previously worked for The Associated Press, New York Daily News, Gannett, and BoxingInsider.com, in a career that spans almost 40 years.