Can the Yankees take Game 5?

The 2024 New York Yankees have been a rollercoaster. They started as the best team in baseball, slumped for almost two months, finished strong, and eventually made their first Fall Classic since 2009. Now, they have to generate the spirit required to beat the best team in baseball three times in a row.

The Yankees came into the postseason as clear favorites to win the American League, and made relatively light work of the two AL Central foes they came across. With a lack of runs on the AL side of the bracket, the Yankees hoped to bring their pitching dominance over opponents to the World Series. 

The Dodgers have been plagued by pitching injuries this year. They have lost key starters Dustin May, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone, and of course Shohei Ohtani between the last year’s postseason and this series. They have relied on Bheuler and Yamamoto throughout the season, although they have both been inconsistent. The critical turning point seemed to be trading for Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline, but even that hasn’t stopped the runs from leaking through. Despite outsourcing the Mets by a whopping 20 runs, they still let 26 Mets runners cross the plate. 

The Yankees have had luck with pitching injuries this year, with Cole, Rodon, Gil, and Schmit playing for the majority of the year. Cole has been dominant in the postseason so far, allowing 7 runs in over 18 innings with only one homerun against in four starts. His start in Game 1 of the series almost secured the Yankees the opener, with the only run against him courtesy of a couple of Juan Soto fielding mishaps. Rodon had a rocky start in Game 2 and was quickly pulled, but has been a solid option for the Yankees all year. Schmidt had a similar start in Game 3 to Rodon’s start, but has also been consistent for the Yankees. Gil, despite a huge slump beginning in early June, has been an AL Rookie of the Year candidate and kept the Yankees in a win-or-go-home Game 4. 

Tonight, the Yankees will try to keep their season alive once again with another Cole vs Flaherty duel. If the Yankees can keep the Dodgers, especially Freeman, from getting extra-base hits, they may be able to swing things back to Los Angeles and force a Game 6. Yesterday, the Yankees’ youngest players shined as spirit and hope returned to their lineup. They will need another massive offensive showing to keep pace with a lineup often referred to as “Murderers Row 2.0,” led by Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman. With the expectation of runs off of a weak Dodgers pitching staff finally fulfilled with a Game 4 massacre, can the Yankees continue to score?

With general manager Cashman’s, manager Boone’s, and countless Yankees players’ jobs hanging in the balance, can the Yankees entertain the rowdy home crowd and try to use the hurt from 2004 to fuel the drive? They surely hope so.