By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK – Instead of capturing a 28th title, the New York Yankees are on the verge of appearing in the World Series for the fourth time.

Aaron Judge looked stumped again, his pitching starting to falter for the second straight game, and the Yankees They fell 4-2 to the Dodgers on Monday night, leaving them 3-0 behind in the series..

In the quiet Yankees clubhouse, players insisted they could spark an improbable comeback. No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in the World Series.

“All it takes is one,” the judge said. “All it takes is one hit, one strike, one play, everything changes for us.”

The umpire is 1-for-12 (.083) with no RBIs and seven hits in the Series and is hitting .140 with 20 hits this postseason.

“It’s absolutely shocking,” Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes said. “Obviously you’re talking about one of the best players in the world right now.”

Judge hit a .196 average with 15 homers, 31 RBIs and 86 strikeouts in his postseason career.

“I’m no good for the team,” he said, “so I’ve got to pitch, walk when I can, drive the baseball if I can find something to hit.”

New York had nine hits in the last two games, only three of which were for extra bases, and struck out 11 times on Monday; All four were visible.

The bottom four batters are a combined 6-for-43 with three RBIs; these include Alex Verdugo’s two-run homer with two outs in the ninth off Michael Kopech. Yankees’ hitters are 4 for 20 with runners in scoring position.

“It stinks,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said of the Yankees’ situation. “Of course it won’t be easy.”

Even New York’s bats are easy to catch. When Anthony Volpe struck out Daniel Hudson in the seventh inning, his lumber flew over the Dodgers’ dugout. The ball hit the net protecting fans in the front seats, and Dodgers field coordinator Bob Geren grabbed the lumber off the rebound.

“We kind of play in the background a little bit,” Verdugo said.

In the Yankees’ first home game since 2009, their best chance to rally from an early deficit was a double by Giancarlo Stanton in the fourth with the Dodgers leading 3-0. Volpe hit a two-out single and Stanton was driven home by third base coach Luis Rojas. Teoscar Hernández hit a perfect single and slugger Stanton was tagged out by catcher Will Smith.

“In this case, two out, you have to roll the dice,” Stanton said.

New York looks like the team that went 10-23 from mid-June to the end of July, not the team that started 50-22 and rebounded to win the American League East and its 41st pennant. In a Series with relatively little offense, the Yankees were outscored 14-7, .213 to .186, and 5-3.

The only team in major league history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series was the Boston Red Sox against the Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts Helped spark the Red Sox’s spectacular comeback with a key stolen base.

“Hopefully we can join this amazing story and shock the world,” said New York manager Aaron Boone. “But right now it’s about trying to get a lead, grab a play, force another and then go from there. But we need to get one first.”