Alex Verdugo was the unsung hero of World Series Game 4

The Yankees have been waiting all month for that one big inning to break through.

They finally broke through in the eighth inning of Tuesday's 11-4 victory over the Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series.

Gleyber Torres provided the decisive blow with a three-run home run, but before him Alex Verdugo had the decisive blow: an 11-pitch battle with Brent Honeywell that Verdugo finally won with a ground ball that hit Anthony Volpe from third out for a hit insurance run.

Verdugo fell behind 2-0 before fouling off six pitches and taking two balls before hitting a ground ball to second base.

The infield played in, but Volpe made a strong jumper from third base that allowed him to score for a 7-4 lead.

“The biggest thing is fighting, getting up there and competing,” Verdugo said. “I was down 2-0 and we made a couple throws out of the zone, but I just tried to do everything I could to extend the offense and end it with a productive out. When you get guys to third with less than two outs, you have to find a way to get that run-in.”

The Yankees sent nine men to the plate in the inning and forced Honeywell to throw 50 pitches – a large portion of which went to Verdugo.

The five-run inning allowed Aaron Boone to use Tim Mayza to end the game instead of using Luke Weaver for the seven-out save he would have if the Yankees were leading by only two or three runs .

“I know (Verdugo) probably didn't put up the numbers he wanted in the regular season, but all year long he's talked about, 'Hey, just get me to the postseason and I'll do something special. ' '” said Aaron Judge. “We saw that all postseason. … He fouled some tough pitches and then put the ball in play and something good is going to happen.”

Boone toyed with the idea of ​​hitting a scrappy Judge leadoff, but didn't want to displace Torres, who was one of the Yankees' best hitters this postseason.

So Judge kept hitting on the third Tuesday while Boone “played with what got us here.”

Boone said he has not had discussions with the team about his contract status, which includes a team option for 2025.

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Before Tuesday's game, he had little interest in answering when he expected it.

“I have no idea,” Boone said. “I’m trying to win a game.”

Juan Soto extended his postseason streak on base to 24 games, which is the fifth longest in MLB history. Miguel Cabrera holds the record of 31 games.