The Yankees nevertheless won Tuesday night with him as a cheerleader.

So now he must do the modern ace thing. He is fully rested. The way the Yankees imagined putting the building blocks toward a baseball miracle was winning Game 4 when the Dodgers were throwing a bullpen game and then turning to their ace to lug them cross country once more. The bottom of the Yankee order, in particular, and the length of their bullpen — co-stars, basically — were the fulcrum of an 11-4 season-saving victory Tuesday night.