Game 1
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Dodgers - 000 010 010 4 - 6 7 1
Yankees Blow Game 1 Of World Series On Freddie Freeman's Walkoff Grand Slam
Mark W. Sanchez, Post
After a 15-year wait, the Yankees returned to the World Series with a classic.
And with the kind of emotional roller coaster and dizzying devastation that can only be delivered in October. . . .
[T]he Yankees squandered one-run leads in the eighth and 10th innings and let Game 1 slip through their fingers with one Freddie Freeman swing at a sold-out and shaking Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
The Yankees were stunned by a walk-off grand slam, Freeman pouncing on the first pitch he saw from Nestor Cortes, for a 6-3, gut-punch of a loss . . .
In the bottom of the 10th, Jake Cousins walked Gavin Lux before Tommy Edman singled. In came Cortes, fresh off a flexor strain, who did his job against Shohei Ohtani with Alex Verdugo's assistance. The left fielder crashed into the foul wall and tumbled over it for a remarkable grab. . . . Aaron Boone's decision to go with Cortes over Tim Hill did not work out when Freeman blasted Cortes' fastball into the Los Angeles night. . . .
This all-timer included . . . Juan Soto defensive deficiencies leading to the first Dodgers run . . . an Ohtani demolished double leading to the tying run; a Gleyber Torres deep drive that turned one fan into Jeffrey Maier, reaching out and gloving a ball that was ruled a double; and Aaron Judge getting his chance and letting it go, all before the 10th-inning uppercut. . . .
In such tight contests, small mistakes are magnified, and the Yankees made those small mistakes.
The Dodgers tied it in the eighth with some help from sloppy defense. Ohtani sent a double off Tommy Kahnle and off the right-field wall that Soto handled and threw to second. The ball deflected off Torres' glove and bounced into no-man's land, allowing Ohtani to take third. The extra 90 feet mattered when Luke Weaver entered and allowed a Mookie Betts sacrifice fly.
The Yankees came maybe a foot shy of retaking the lead in the top of the ninth when Torres smacked a deep fly ball to left-center. It had a chance and ended up in the glove of a fan — who had reached into the field of play for the souvenir. Torres was only awarded second base and stranded on third, Judge popping out with the bases loaded. . . .
The Dodgers' run against [Cole] came in the fifth, when Kiké Hernandez sent an extra-base hit into the right-field corner. Soto went for the catch rather than the carom, the ball just out of reach and Soto running past it. The overrun allowed Hernandez to wind up at third with a one-out triple. Will Smith lifted a fly ball down the right-field line that became a sac fly when Soto hurled a two-hop throw home that arrived too late, the game's first run scoring.
The last four runs would hurt the most.
Ted Holmlund, Post
Aaron Boone blew it.
That was the evaluation of Michael Kay and his YES Network compatriots regarding Boone's questionable decision to bring Nestor Cortes in during the bottom of the 10th inning in what became a Yankees' 6-3, 10-inning loss to the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series in Los Angeles.
With runners on first and second and one out, Boone decided to take out righty Jake Cousins and go with Nestor Cortes, who hadn't pitched in a game since Sept. 18 . . .
Cortes got Ohtani to fly out to left field, thanks to an incredible catch by Alex Verdugo, who fell out of play in left field but held on to the ball . . . Boone then intentionally walked Mookie Betts to load the bases so Cortes could face lefty slugger Freddie Freeman. Freeman sat on a first-pitch fastball and made Cortes and the Yankees pay, blasting the game-winning grand slam.
After the brutal loss, Michael Kay ripped Boone's decision and said he should have gone with lefty Tim Hill, who was warming up in the bullpen at the same time as Cortes.
Ohtani entered his at-bat going only 2-for-12 against Cortes . . . "I don't care what the numbers say about Nestor Cortes [against Ohtani]," Kay said. "He hadn't pitched since September 18. Those numbers against Ohtani were every five days [with Cortes as a starter]. Tim Hill has been lights out for the Yankees. That's the guy you bring in. I don't care about sim games. I don't care how he looked in the bullpen. That did not seem to be the move to make." . . .
Kay and [Jack] Curry also said Boone's decision to pull a dominant Gerrit Cole after just 88 pitches was the wrong move because it pushed everyone in the bullpen to come in sooner. . . .
Kay said the Yankees blew a big chance to take advantage of a strong start by their ace, who was pulled after giving up a single to the first batter in the seventh inning despite allowing just one run. "When you get a start like you did out of Gerrit Cole, you got to win that game," Kay said . . . "Probably should have gone longer . . . This one stings." . . .
John Flaherty said this was a "brutal" loss for the Yankees . . .
Derek Jeter Rips Aaron Boone For Costly Yankees Decision: 'I Don't Know What Reason'
Ryan Glasspiegel, Post
Boone pulled Gerrit Cole in the seventh inning, having given up just four hits and one run on 88 pitches, after the starter gave up a leadoff single to Teoscar Hernandez.
Speaking on Fox's World Series postgame show, Jeter shredded the decision.
"Look, I know we talk about this all the time and I don't want to be one of those guys who says, 'Back in the day when we played …' but we were talking about how when we played the Mets in 2000 Al Leiter pitched Game 6 and threw 140-something pitches," Jeter began.
"Gerrit Cole was dominating this game. He was dominating the game! And if you take him out after 88 pitches for I don't know what reason, it's a domino effect on not only this game tonight, [but] tomorrow's game and the rest of the series. I just think when you have someone who's dealing like Gerrit Cole was dealing tonight, you leave him out there as long as you can." . . .
The immediate "domino effect" that Jeter is referring to is that the Yankees ran out of pitchers.
From the seventh through the ninth innings, the Yankees burned Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver. The game went to extra innings and with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 10th, Boone brought in Jake Cousins.
With the Dodgers having first and second with one out, Boone then turned to Nestor Cortes for the high leverage situation to face the powerful trio of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. . . .
Boone told reporters that he "thought [Cole] got a little bit taxed" near the end of his performance. "The last probably 20, 30 pitches, I thought he kind of grinded a little bit,'' Boone said.
Pitching in the bottom of the 10th inning on over a month's rest in a World Series game is apparently not a recipe for success.
Nestor Cortes returned from his elbow injury in time for the World Series before it was completely healed, saying he would risk missing next season with a worsened the injury if it meant he'd have a ring.
The plan got off to a brutal start in Friday's 6-3, 10-inning loss in Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, as Cortes missed with a pitch to Freddie Freeman, whose grand slam gave the Dodgers the victory. . . .
Aaron Boone defended his decision to go with Cortes — who has pitched in relief before, but spends most of his time as a starter — to face Ohtani with one out in the 10th. . . . Cortes started well, getting Ohtani to pop out to left, helped by a terrific diving catch by Alex Verdugo. Boone decided to walk Betts intentionally to go left-on-left again with Freeman coming up. . . .
"It wasn't a perfect pitch, but it was a good enough pitch,'' Cortes said.
So far, so good, Nestor!
Jon Heyman, Post
Nestor Cortes is known for having a lot of guts. . . . But sometimes guts aren't enough.
Though it wasn't quite shocking Aaron Boone showed amazing faith in the gutsy, beloved Cortes, choosing him to pitch to Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman with the game on the line in the 10th inning, it was a gamble not worth taking.
Tim Hill was ready, and that should have been his spot. Hill has dominated this October, allowing just one run in 5.2 innings.
"You can't throw someone in there who A) hadn't pitched in five weeks, and B) is a starting pitcher without a high-velocity fastball," one scout said of Cortes . . .
"He hasn't pitched in over a month!" a second scout said incredulously. . . .
Though it wasn't quite shocking Aaron Boone showed amazing faith in the gutsy, beloved Cortes, choosing him to pitch to Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman with the game on the line.
Nobody in the Yankees clubhouse questioned the call to go with Cortes. Hill said, "Whatever Boonie decides, we all trust him."
Greg Joyce, Post
. . . an epic gut punch.
Nestor Cortes, who had not pitched since Sept. 18, was one out away from a save. Instead, on his second pitch of the night, he left a fastball in Freddie Freeman's bread basket and allowed the injured first baseman to enter Dodgers lore with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning for the 6-3 win Friday at Chavez Ravine.
For just one game, there's a heck of a lot to unpack. Here's a rundown:
— Aaron Boone might never have had to make a decision between Cortes and Tim Hill if his club had done a better job of not giving the Dodgers an extra 90 feet multiple times.
It happened too often during the season and now is magnified on the biggest stage, with the Yankees doing it twice before they arrived in the 10th inning.
In the fifth inning, Kiké Hernandez roped a fly ball to right field that Juan Soto had to run a long way for. Instead of pulling up and playing it for the double, Soto kept the gas on and still could not reach it, but could not stop himself quickly enough as the ball bounced past him, allowing Hernandez to reach on a triple.
Then in the eighth inning, Shohei Ohtani crushed a double off the right-field wall against Tommy Kahnle. Soto fielded it and fired a one-hop throw to second base that Gleyber Torres tried to backhand, only for the ball to ricochet off his glove toward the mound, allowing Ohtani to take third.
Both times, the Dodgers cashed in with a sacrifice fly. . . .
And at this time of year, when every game is tighter, the little things add up.
— Would Boone have had to decide between Cortes and Hill in the 10th if he had given Gerrit Cole a longer leash? . . .
— Maybe Boone doesn't have to decide between Cortes and Hill if Aaron Judge had made his mark.
The game seems to keep finding him in big moments this October, but after going 1-for-5 with three strikeouts on Friday, he is batting 6-for-36 with 16 strikeouts this postseason. . . .
— Kahnle has now thrown 56 consecutive changeups. He has to throw a fastball at some point … right? . . .
— Three of the Yankees' last four games have gone to extra innings. Gray hairs for everybody.
Hey Yankees, you are not in Kansas City anymore.
Or Cleveland.
The lightweight portion of the postseason program is gone and on the other side of the World Series field is a mirror image of the Yankees — just one that plays the game cleaner. One certain to make the Yankees pay for transgressions in a way that the less star-studded, less powerful Royals and Guardians could not.
The Yankees made mistakes in the field and on the bases and could not overcome it.. . .
[The loss was] a heartbreaker for the Yankees, who helped the Dodgers to this victory.
The Dodgers' first two runs came on gifts.
Juan Soto could not corral a ball twisting away from him in the fifth inning that if played properly is either caught and held to a double, but went for an Enrique Herndnez triple and Torres allowed a throw from Soto to kick away from him to permit Ohtani to add an extra base to his double on the eighth-inning error. Because they were on third, both were positioned to score on sacrifice flies.
In the top of the 10th, Chisholm singled, stole second, Anthony Rizzo was intentionally walked and Chisholm stole third. Anthony Volpe then hit a slow grounder that shortstop Tommy Edman bobbled as Chisholm scored the tie-breaking run. But for some reason Rizzo stopped before second base and allowed himself to be easily forced out. Would the Yankees have scored more if he just slid in safely – we will never know. . . .
Judge was 1-for-5 and struck out his first three at-bats. He came up with two out and two on in the ninth and a chance to break the tie after Soto was intentionally walked in front of him. But he popped out. And the Yankees simply cannot outdo their mistakes if Aaron Judge is going to continue to fail on a large scale in the postseason. . . .
Judge is 6-for-36 this postseason with 16 strikeouts. He is hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position. . . .
Aaron Judge Flops In Big Spot As October Woes Continue In WorldSeries
Dan Martin, Post
Aaron Judge had the perfect opportunity to change his playoff reputation.
It came after Juan Soto was walked intentionally with Gleyber Torres on second and two outs in the top of the ninth in Game 1 of the World Series.
But Dave Roberts brought in Blake Treinen and the Dodgers closer got Judge to pop up to short to end the threat . . .
It was the latest bit of disappointment for Judge . . . who hasn't been able to break through in the playoffs for much of his career.
And his first World Series game of his career looked a lot like his prior October performances.
He whiffed his first three times at bat against right-hander Jack Flaherty, twice with Soto on first base and the Yankee trying to build a rally. . . .
Judge credited the Dodgers with throwing him "curveballs, sliders and a couple heaters all over the place."
The rough night was nothing new this time of year for Judge, who entered the game just 5-for-31 with 13 strikeouts this postseason, with a pair of homers. . . .
When it comes to the playoffs, Judge has been at a loss for a while. In 37 postseason games since Judge went deep in three consecutive games in the 2018 playoffs . . . he entered Friday just 25-for-142 [.176] with 50 strikeouts and an ugly OPS of .634.
Yankees Need To Drop Aaron Judge In Batting Order — Before It's Too LateJon Heyman, Post
The great Aaron Judge needs to be moved down in the batting order. Not all the way down to the No. 8 hole, a la slumping Alex Rodriguez in 2006. But down to the cleanup spot, anyway. . . .
Judge just isn't himself again this October.
In Game 1, Judge finished one for five with three strikeouts, is batting .167 this October and suffered the indignity of popping out after the Dodgers intentionally walked Juan Soto to get to him during the Yankees' 6-3, extra-inning loss Friday night. . . .
Yankees Lose Game 1 World Series Lead After Gleyber Torres' Awful Error
Matt Ehalt, Post
Another Yankees defensive lapse burned them.
A Gleyber Torres error in the eighth inning led to the Yankees blowing their one-run lead, and the Dodgers evening the score at 2-2.
It marked the third defensive blunder by the Yankees and the second that led to a run, with Juan Soto playing a double into a triple, resulting in the game's first run in the fifth inning.
With the Yankees leading, 2-1, with one out and none on in the eighth, Shohei Ohtani almost homered off reliever Tommy Kahnle, but instead settled for a ball off the wall. Soto could not grab the ball cleanly and fired to second late, and Torres nonchalantly attempted to snag the ball on one hop without getting his body in front of it.
The ball skipped away from and moved Ohtani to an unoccupied third with one out. Mookie Betts followed with a sacrifice fly off Yankees closer Luke Weaver to tie the score . . .
Gleyber Torres' Crucial Miscue Spoils His Big Offensive Night
Zach Braziller, Post
Game 1 of the World Series provided the entire [Gleyber] Torres experience.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, Juan Soto's throw that Torres couldn't handle contributed to their heartbreaking 6-3 loss at Dodger Stadium in a major way.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, he couldn't come up with a Soto throw at second base, allowing Shohei Ohtani to reach third base on a double with one out.
The next batter, Mookie Betts, then tied the game with a sacrifice fly. . . . Soto was charged with an error on the throw. Torres said he never saw the ball after it caromed toward the mound. . . .
The following frame, Torres nearly went deep with two outs, his drive going over the left-center field wall when a Dodgers fan reached over. It was ruled fan interference on the field and upheld after a review. . . .
'Awful' Umpire Torched For Brutal Strike Zone In Yankees-Dodgers World Series Game 1
Dylan Svoboda, Post
It didn't take long for the ump show to take over in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.
Home plate umpire Carlos Torres didn't make it through the first inning of the Fall Classic before an egregious call behind the dish.
With two on and two outs in the top of the first inning, Jazz Chisholm showed bunt on the first pitch out of Jack Flaherty's hand, pulling the bat back before the pitch reached the batter's box. Despite being a few inches outside and a tad bit low, Torres called the offspeed pitch a strike, putting Chisholm down 0-1 in the count. Chisholm would ground out to second base on a ball in the same location a pitch later, ending the Yankees' threat.
And it didn't stop there.
An inning later, with Will Smith at the plate, Yankees starter Gerrit Cole threw a dart of a 98 mph fastball on the outside corner, well inside the strike zone on the Fox broadcast. Torres called the pitch a ball, puzzling both Cole and catcher Austin Wells.
But that wasn't all. On the very next pitch, Cole threw another fastball in essentially the same exact spot — this time, Torres called it a strike.
Torres made it three straight innings with a terrible ball-strike call, with Juan Soto hitting in the top of the third, giving the two-finger strike call on a pitch that appeared to be a full baseball outside. . . .
"This is [too] high level of a game for Carlos Torres to be working the plate, let alone working. He's an awful umpire, he's terrible to work with and hasn't earned anything," [ex-MLBer Eric] Hosmer wrote on the platform. "Can't keep missing these pitches. 0-1 versus 1-0 huge difference let alone with a guy like Juan Soto at the plate. It's [too] long of a road for these teams to get here, [too] much on the line and we can't have it."
