NEW YORK — There’s nothing like Yankees baseball in the Bronx in October.
It’s the playoffs.
It gets cold at night.
The Yankee Stadium crowds are loud and rowdy.
Opponents are verbully abused.
The Yankees loved the atmosphere earlier this month during their four home games in the Division Series and ALCS, thre of them victories.
This week, the Yankees are playing their first home World Series games in 15 years and already they’re in a crisis.
Out in Los Angeles last weekend, the Yankees lost to the Dodgers 6-3 in 10 innings on Friday night and 4-2 on Saturday night.
On Monday night, the Yankees will either play their way back into the World Series or go down 0-3 in the best of seven.
With all of that on the Yankees’ plate this week, first baseman Anthony Rizzo has a message for ticket holders.
“I think we need our fans more than ever right now,” he said. “For sure. They back us. They pump us up. They put pressure on other teams. The Bronx is a special place.
“When that stadium is rocking, we feel it and we get rolling. We’re going to need every ounce of their energy coming into Monday.”
The Yankees are expecting their fans to come through for them.
“It’ll be a great atmosphere,” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said. “They’ll bring the noise. They understand what’s at stake right now so anything that gets us rolling,”
More than probably anything, they need to get their best player rolling. After a 58-homer, 144-RBI regular season, Aaron Judge hit .150 in his first 10 playoff games this year with two homers, six RBI and 19 strikeouts in 36 at-bats.
Maybe Yankees fans can help Judge pick it up.
“I’m excited to get back to New York to get in front of our fans,” Judge said. “It’s a seven-game series for a reason. We’ve got a good group in there to battle the storm and get where we want.”
The Yankees need to beat the Dodgers four times in five games to get what they want, World Series title No. 28.
Their first goal is to win one game to get back in the series, then another to assure they return to Los Angeles next weekend for a sixth game and seventh if necessary.
“We have to defend our home,” second baseman Gleyber Torres said. “I know our fans are going to support us and I think it’s the best motivation we can get.”
The Yankees want that and more this week. They want to feed off noise that is louder than it’s been in years because this is the World Series and they’re hoping the uproar pressures the Dodgers into mistakes.
“I think the fans are going to bring their energy,” right fielder Juan Soto said. “When they bring the energy, they get the team going. It’s not easy to play in front of 40,000 fans against you. I think they’re a huge part of this.”
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Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.
