Jazz Chisholm Jr.: Yankees Can 'Shock the World,' Make Historic World Series Comeback

After the New York Yankees stayed alive in the 2024 World Series with an 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 on Tuesday night, third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. expressed confidence that the Yanks have what it takes to come all the way back.

Although no team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in the World Series, Chisholm noted that the Yankees have belief they can make it happen, telling reporters:

"I still think we can shock the world. I think the one thing about us is we love history and we love to make history, so for us we're out here trying to make history right now. We know it's never been done, a 3-0 comeback, but we feel like we're the team that can do it."

By virtue of Tuesday's win, the Yankees forced a Game 5 on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, which will see New York start ace Gerrit Cole against Jack Flaherty.

After ranking first in Major League Baseball in home runs and third in scoring during the regular season, the Bronx Bombers were listless offensively over the first three games of the World Series, scoring a total of seven runs.

They exploded for 11 runs in Game 4, though, on the strength of three homers and six extra-base hits overall.

After falling behind 2-0 on Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman's fourth home run of the World Series, shortstop Anthony Volpe struck the big blow for the Yankees in the third inning, hitting a grand slam that provided them a lead they would never relinquish.

The history of teams going down 3-0 in a seven-game series during the MLB playoffs is well known, as only one team has ever completed such a comeback.

Coincidentally, the Yankees were on the wrong side of it in 2004 when the Boston Red Sox went from 3-0 down to beating their rivals 4-3 in the American League Championship Series.

The Red Sox parlayed that historic comeback into their first World Series win since 1918, breaking the 86-year Curse of the Bambino.

While the Yankees aren't trying to break a supposed curse, it has been 15 years since their last World Series championship, which is a lengthy drought for a franchise with 27 all-time titles.

In fact, it is the Yankees' longest World Series drought since going 18 years between titles from 1978 to 1996.

The Yankees already cleared one significant hurdle, as they were the first team since 1970 to go down 3-0 in the World Series and win Game 4. The previous nine teams in that situation were swept, per StatMuse.

Of course, the Yankees looked to have the pitching advantage on paper on Tuesday with Luis Gil going up against a conglomeration of Dodgers bullpen pitchers, but the matchup should favor New York again in Game 5.

New York is throwing its ace in six-time All-Star and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, while the Dodgers are countering with Flaherty, who was a trade deadline acquisition.

The Dodgers came out on top with the same matchup in Game 1, but it took a walk-off grand slam from Freddie Freeman off Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes, who had not pitched in a month.

Cole figures to give Yankees manager Aaron Boone as much length as he needs in a must-win situation, and if New York prevails in Game 5, the series will head back to L.A. with some of the pressure shifting toward the Dodgers.