No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit and won the World Series. In an MLB universe where four-game winning streaks are difficult but hardly impossible, there's something suffocating about these late fall games that can make the feat feel too big to overcome.

But the Yankees had to try Tuesday night, even against a Dodgers team that looks more superhuman by the day. And it made sense that their first step was to rely on the players whose careers are based on being told the odds and then promptly ignoring them.

“There's a lot of guys down there that probably have the mentality of not being the biggest names,” Clay Holmes said after the Yankees' 11-4 victory over the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium – a victory that won in the World Series prevented. “It wasn't all fame and success for all of us down there, and I think at the same time there were a lot of people who overcame a lot of things… There were some low points for all of us. But we know that this is not the end of the story.”

At least not on Tuesday, when Tim Hill, Holmes, Mark Leiter Jr., Luke Weaver and Tim Mayza combined to pitch five scoreless innings against a tireless Dodgers lineup that can beat you through pitches and blasts – a relentless, unavoidable barrage that special designed to destroy the stamina and soul of the thrower.

But these tools? They have calluses, literally and figuratively.

The first arm was Hill, who was drafted by baseball's worst team this June before being acquired by the Yankees. His mission? Defending a two-run lead with a man on and no outs in the fifth…against Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Hill did allow the inherited runner to score, but only when the Dodgers appeared to force a double play in the bottom of the inning (Freeman beat him by a hair).

The rest of the game followed this pattern: There was Holmes, picked up from a Pirates scrap heap, transformed into one of the best relievers in baseball, and then sputtered his way out of that role this season. He reached the final in the fifth round and pitched a perfect sixth with two strikeouts.

Next it was time for Leiter, who wasn't even on the ALCS roster until Ian Hamilton was injured. Just like in Game 4 against the Guardians, Leiter didn't shy away in the big moment and beat Ohtani in the seventh game. By the way, he had started warming up in the second inning.

“That’s a tough question – it really is,” Leiter said of the long (long) warm-up. “But I think everyone is ready to face any situation.”

Weaver was called upon to end the seventh inning and he made quick work of Betts, striking him out, then came right back in the eighth inning to retire the team in order, the last two with strikeouts. After returning to the dugout, Weaver told Aaron Boone that he could finish the game: That would have made 2 1/3 innings for a man who has thrown three pitches in the last five days. Weaver was also a reclamation project this season – the starter who wasn't going anywhere became the closer to fear.

“I wanted to put it all on the line,” Weaver said. “I want to live with myself and put my head on the pillow that I gave it my all.”

But with an 11-4 lead, Boone instead turned to Mayza, who was cut by the Blue Jays in June after 12 years with the organization. He retreated one by one.

After that, they were no longer led into the press conference room with the stars of the game. Holmes dressed quickly. Leiter had his arm wrapped so completely that he looked like half of the Incredible Hulk. Weaver was answering some questions backstage in the clubhouse – he's always there for a funny quote – and Mayza didn't appear to be there.

They had done their job, thankless as it can often be. And they had provided a point of reference. Oh, sure. The Yankees won a game on Tuesday thanks to big hits from Anthony Volpe and Gleyber Torres. But to achieve the improbable, they must take inspiration from the lesser-known names who have carved out unlikely careers despite the odds.

“It's just about going out there and doing your job and continuing to enjoy the fact that you're getting a chance to play in the World Series and not taking it lightly that we have a job to do,” said Ladder. “I think everyone’s journey in this game has led to this point and some are different than others.”

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams. She started as an intern at Newsday in 2007.