“Obviously, we’re in a tough position,” Cole had said prior to the 11-4 victory at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, “but there’s a lot of baseball left to be played and anything can happen. We’re excited to get back out there. Hey, we’re still in the World Series. Hey, we’re in the Bronx. We’ve still got a shot at this thing.”

Cole was right.

The Yankees avoided becoming the first team to get swept in the World Series since the 2012 Tigers and the first Yanks team to do so since 1976. They have forced a Game 5 on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium — a game that has proven a pickle for some past clubs that lost the first three games of a postseason series but, in this case, is a big, big deal for a team able to trot out a pitcher of Cole’s ilk.