NEW YORK— The Dodgers’ lack of pitching hasn’t hurt them much this postseason.

But on Tuesday evening in the third inning, manager Dave Roberts found himself without many appealing options in the dugout.

Not only did the Dodgers play their fourth bullpen game of the postseason in Game 4 of the World Series, attempting to complete a sweep of the New York Yankees to seal the franchise’s eighth championship, but they it with more restrictions than normal.

Winning the first three games of this series forced Roberts to rely heavily on his bullpen, especially his two highest-leverage relievers, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen. Therefore, the team had to find other ways to put together the early zeros in Tuesday’s game. And when trouble arose in the third, Roberts had no choice but to ride him out.

Another leverage reliever, Daniel Hudson, had loaded the bases as the Dodgers protected a one-run lead. With only rookie Landon Knack warming up in the bullpen, Hudson stayed on the mound and threw a first-pitch slider to Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe.

With one swing, the momentum of this one-sided confrontation took a sudden turn.

Volpe hit a grand slam to left, the Yankees had their first lead since the 10th inning of Game 1, and in a game that took a blow late, New York was able to win and keep this series alive with an 11-4 victory for force Game 5 back in the Bronx on Wednesday night.

When the Dodgers entered this postseason with only three healthy starting pitchers, they knew nights like Tuesday were coming. Where the bullpen would have to go nine innings. Where the decision of whether or not to use top relief weapons would not be very clear.

Of the three previous times the Dodgers had played a bullpen game, it worked twice. First, to avoid elimination in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. Then again to capture the pennant in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series.

In between, however, the Dodgers lost Game 2 of the NLCS, in a loss very similar to Tuesday’s.

Just like that game, the Dodgers’ bullpen came into Tuesday night heavily loaded. Treinen had thrown 55 stressful pitches in Games 1 and 2. Kopech had thrown in each of the first three games of the Fall Classic.

That’s why Roberts issued what felt — at least to many Dodger fans — like a warning at his pregame press conference: Rookies Ben Casparius (who gave up one run in two innings as the opener) and Landon Knack (who gave up one run in four innings of relief in the middle of the match) should provide some length. And while the rest of the bullpen would be available, “I better make sure it’s in the right spot,” Roberts said.

“Because every man (we use),” he added, “will pay a price in the future.”

For a while, it looked like the Dodgers might be able to thread that incredibly narrow needle.

They jumped in front on a two-run homer by Freddie Freeman in the first inning. It was his fourth long ball in the series, coming on a downslide that just cleared the short wall in right field. It was also his sixth straight Fall Classic game (going back to his time with the Atlanta Braves in 2021) that went deep, a new World Series record.

Casparius also kept his end of the bargain, giving up a lone run on a grounder by Alex Verdugo in the second inning, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

Hudson was the only trusted bullpen option that Roberts wanted to take advantage of early, forcing him to move to the top of the Yankees lineup in the third inning. The inning started well, with 37-year-old veteran Juan Soto striking out. But when things spiraled, Knack was just the pitcher who started throwing into the bullpen.

With one out, Hudson threw slumping Yankees star Aaron Judge (who didn’t have a hit on Tuesday, but reached base three times on a walk, an error and a hit-by-pitch). After Jazz Chisholm hit a long single off the wall and stole second base, the Yankees loaded the bases after walking Giancarlo Stanton.

Two batters later, Volpe delivered a series-shifting swing.

Volpe was a boyhood Yankees fan who made a fool of himself earlier in the game after failing to score from second on an Austin Wells double that Kiké Hernández followed to the center wall. Volpe didn’t wait long to earn his redemption. Hudson started him off with a slider on the front door. Volpe was all over it and launched a line drive to left for a grand slam that took the lead.

For the first time this week, Yankee Stadium erupted with faith.

The Dodgers erased the 5-2 deficit in the fifth inning by scoring twice. Will Smith hit a leadoff blast the other way. Freeman defeated a potential double play – while still running on his sprained right ankle – to cross the line one more time.

However, that was as close as the Dodgers could get.

Wells was unloaded after an insurance explosion on the second deck in the sixth. The Yankees put the score out of reach with a five-run rally in the eighth against Brent Honeywell Jr., the last three of which scored on Gleyber Torres’ game-icing blast.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, failed to compete against the top of the Yankees’ crop of relievers — ensuring that, unlike Monday night, nearly all of the 49,354 in attendance at Yankee Stadium stayed until the end (with the exception of two fans who ejected in the first inning for attempting to snatch the ball from Mookie Betts’ glove on a fly ball near the barrier in foul territory).

Of course, history is still on the Dodgers’ side.

Only one team in MLB history has erased a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs. No team in World Series history has even forced a Game 6 after a three-game hole.

But the Yankees will have their ace, Gerrit Cole, on the mound for Game 5 against Jack Flaherty. For the first time this week, they also arrive at the ballpark buoyed by a sudden burst of momentum.

In other words, the Dodgers are now officially playing with fire.

And – in what was essentially the third game in October where they continued with their pitching decisions, hoping to keep their top relievers fresh – they can only hope they didn’t just give the Yankees a lit game.