Down 3-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, if franchise history is indeed an indicator, the outlook does not look promising for the New York Yankees on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
This marks the fourth time in Yankees history that the team has faced a 3-0 hole in the World Series. In the previous occasions (1922 against the New York Giants, 1963 against the Dodgers and 1976 against the Cincinnati Reds), the Yankees were swept in every series.
Digging a little deeper doesn’t help alleviate the worry of Yankees fans, either. Including all of the franchise’s postseason appearances, this is the sixth time the Yankees have trailed 3-0 in a best-of-seven series. New York has been swept each of the previous five times.
Taking a wider view, the numbers don’t favor a miraculous New York comeback, either. This is the 24th time in MLB history that a club has taken a 3-0 lead in the World Series, with all previous 24 teams winning the World Series.
While New York’s lineup certainly is capable of carrying the Yankees to a Game 4 victory, it will have to figure out Los Angeles’s pitching if New York is to stay alive this postseason. Among those under the most pressure to come through at the plate is Aaron Judge, the presumptive American League Most Valuable Player, who has once again hit a postseason wall.Â
This year, Judge is just 6-for-43 with 20 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances. It continues a disturbing October trend for Judge in his career, who is now slashing just .196/.302/.430 in 252 plate appearances spread across 52 games.
As a whole this postseason, New York is slashing .224/.330/.383. Those numbers drop even more when looking at just the World Series, with the Bronx Bombers doing very little bombing while slashing just .186/.284/.294.
If New York keeps those kinds of lackluster numbers going in Game 4 on Tuesday night, it will be hard to prevent history from repeating itself inside Yankee Stadium.