Could the awakening of Yankees sluggers — and the arrival of Gerrit Cole

NEW YORK – Before the deciding Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, Jazz Chisholm thought about wearing Timberlands on the field for batting practice. They were gifted to the team by outfielder Alex Verdugo, who “just wanted to do something cool for the guys.”

Three games into the World Series, a Yankees offense that had hit more home runs and received more free passes than any other team in baseball looked like a shell of itself. When Freddie Freeman gave another first-inning go-ahead run in Game 4, he had scored more runs than the entire New York lineup during the series.

The Yankees entered Tuesday night with a total of seven runs in three games and just four hits with runners in scoring position. They looked tight. Verdugo, whose ninth-inning home run the night before scored the only runs in Game 3, tried to lighten things up a bit. Well, he also “felt like Timberlands just felt like New York” and he “wanted to get the boys some tap shoes.”

“For me it was more about giving them that, giving them something to break it up,” Verdugo said.

Regardless of whether the gift helped at all or whether the Yankees' offense simply had fun watching a Dodgers bullpen game that showcased their lower-leverage arms, the group ultimately settled with an 11: 4 defeat.

A change in mindset was part of the equation.

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“In the situation we were in, I think we just had to say, 'Screw it,' move on and have fun because some guys may never get back to the World Series,” catcher Austin Wells said. “I enjoyed the game and think it allowed us to play a lot more relaxed tonight.”

Anthony Volpe's go-ahead grand slam, which finally gave Yankee Stadium a reason to erupt, didn't hurt either. Wells said he believes that goal allowed the rest of the team to take a deep breath.

It also forced Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to think long-term. He basically punted the rest of the way, just as he did in Game 2 of the NLCS when the Mets took the lead early in a bullpen game, so as not to overwhelm or allow the relievers he trusts most the opponents see a game that they would hardly accept anyway. It worked there.

The danger of Tuesday's decision is that it helped a group of scrappy Yankees hitters break out and gain confidence.

Wells, who had a 4-43 record entering the postseason and received a suspension in the previous game, followed up a home run three innings after Volpe's shot. Then there was a five-run barrage in the eighth when Gleyber Torres hit the Yankees' third home run of the night to tie the game.

A Yankees offense that had not scored more than three runs in a game during the Series erupted with nine hits and six free passes against a number of Dodgers relievers. The bottom of the lineup provided a spark, but eight of the nine players in the lineup reached base. Perhaps most encouraging for the Yankees was that Aaron Judge showed some promising signs, reaching base four times and scoring a run in his final at-bat of the game.

“Once he gets on base, I feel like everyone starts going,” Chisholm said.

The World Series had gone 11 straight years without a win. The Yankees awoke from their slumber and extended their winning streak to 12. The 11-run shot was the second-highest hit ever for a club facing elimination in the World Series.

The offensive approach that got them to the World Series finally showed itself and helped them keep their season alive.

“Knowing that this was the last guaranteed day of baseball of the season, I definitely didn’t want to take it for granted and I wanted to enjoy the moment,” Wells said. “I think if you put too much pressure at this point, you're just going to… end up failing and not enjoying the journey anymore.”

That journey will now continue on Thursday, when the Yankees must have a good chance of sending the series back to Los Angeles.

If they succeed, they will make history in the process. The Yankees become the 25th team to fall from a 3-0 deficit in the World Series. 21 of the previous 24 teams that faced this margin were defeated. The other three lost in Game 5.

But the other three didn't have Gerrit Cole on the mound.

“Every time G goes out there, we feel like we’re in a great place,” Chisholm said. “He’s like the best pitcher in the world. You see him out there, you see confidence.”

Cole allowed just one run and just four baserunners in six innings to start the series. He took the lead into a game that ended with a walk-off grand slam off the bat of Freeman, which has made its mark in every game of this series. Freeman followed those game-ending heroics with a solo home run in Game 2 and then quieted the Yankees crowd with a two-run pitch that drained the energy from the stadium in Game 3.

When Freeman did the exact same thing again in Game 4, setting a major league record with a home run in his sixth consecutive World Series game, it looked as if he had dealt the decisive blow to the Yankees' season.

However, this time they answered.

The 2004 Red Sox are the only MLB team to recover from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

But the Yankees, who have three more games to play for their lives, aren't thinking that far ahead. Anthony Rizzo, whose 2016 World Series champion Cubs emerged victorious from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series — where the Yankees now find themselves — is aware of the danger.

“It was all about getting to Game 6,” Rizzo said. “We knew Game 5 was going to be really tough.”

If the offense shown on Wednesday shows up again, especially with Cole on the mound, the Yankees have a real chance to extend the series. Even if they can't wear Timberlands to batting practice.

“We have to focus on winning another game,” Judge said. “We’ll take a look at the end and see what happens.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the LA Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. Rowan, an LSU graduate, was born in California, grew up in Texas and then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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