2024-10-26 11:00:03
LOS ANGELES – Game 1 of the World Series had it all, including a 10th-inning plot twist and a dramatic ending to the first Yankees-Dodgers Fall Classic game in 43 years.
With the Yankees an out away from a win, Freddie Freeman’s no-doubt grand slam to right – off Nestor Cortes – gave the Yanks a 6-3 loss before a delirious sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole pitched into the seventh inning, and Giancarlo Stanton maintained his modern-day Mr. October status with his sixth homer in 10 games this postseason.
Stanton’s latest was a go-ahead, two-run homer that ended starter Jack Flaherty’s night in the sixth.
After the Dodgers tied it in the eighth, the Yanks went ahead in the 10th – with the help of two stolen bases by Jazz Chisholm Jr.
In the home 10th, a potential game-ending double play ball grounded toward newly-subbed in second baseman Oswaldo Cabrera rolled into right field, setting it up for Ohtani.
In came Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 18 (flexor strain), and he’d limited Ohtani to a .167 average (2-for-12) with zero extra-base hits.
Ohtani went after the first pitch and left fielder Alex Verdugo made a circus catch of a foul ball, bringing the Dodgers to their last out.
Setting up a lefty-lefty matchup, Yanks manager Aaron Boone ordered a walk to Mookie Betts, which gave Freeman a chance to win it – and he did.
Here’s our running analysis of the Yankees’ Game 1 loss:
Yanks ahead 3-2, 10th inning. Runner at first and second. One out.
And here comes Nestor Cortes to face Shohei Ohtani.
Cortes hasn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 18, and he’s limited Ohtani to a .167 average (2-for-12) with zero extra-base hits…
… and make it 2-for-13, after that incredible catch by Alex Verdugo in left.
Ohtani goes after the first pitch and Verdugo flips over the side wall to grab the second out.
On Anthony Volpe’s grounder to short, the Dodgers get the force at second but Jazz (two stolen bases) Chisholm scores from third and it’s 3-2, Yanks.Jake Cousins will enter to try to save Game 1 of the World Series for the Yanks, facing the bottom of the Dodger order.
It’s the fourth postseason steal for Jazz Chisholm, after a one-out single in the tenth.
Rizzo now passed to first base and here’s Volpe (0-for-3, 2 Ks, intentional walk)…and now it’s Jazz’s fifth steal, as he swipes third with ease. No throw…
…and the Yankees grab the lead.
Verdugo’s diving catch in left, with none on, ends the ninth.
More baseball. Stanton to lead off vs. Treinen. Three of the last four Yankee postseason games have now gone to extra frames.
Half expecting Kirk Gibson to walk out of the Dodger dugout and get an at-bat here. Tied 2-2, last of the ninth.
Treinen gets ahead 0-2 as Judge looks at two sweepers.
Judge then takes a sweeper for a ball, fouls another one off and pops a 94-mph fastball sky high on the infield, where Edman grabs it.
We go to the ninth tied. Dodgers will try to walk it off here with Teoscar, Muncy and Enrique Hernandez vs. Weaver.
This Game 1 has packed a lot of stuff into a 2-2 game. More drama.
With first base open, Dave Roberts orders a free pass to Juan Soto. Here comes Blake Treinen to pitch to Aaron Judge (1-for-4, 3 strikeouts) with first and second and two out.
Wow. Everyone standing here at Dodger Stadium.
They called it instantly on the field, as Gleyber Torres’ two-out drive in the ninth barely missed being a go-ahead solo homer.
Instead, it’s a double off Kopech, but they’ll still review it…and the call stands. But. That. Was. Close.
It’s now 2-2 in this highly entertaining World Series game, as Mookie Betts – down 1-2 in the count – drives a sac fly to center, where Judge makes a nice running grab moving toward the wall.
It’s an unearned run as Torres gets the error for not corralling Soto’s relay throw. Here comes Michael Kopech to pitch the ninth for L.A, facing 8-9-1 for the Yanks.
That was an even bigger first out in the eighth, as Ohtani nearly puts one through the right-center field wall – missing a game-tying homer by about a foot off Tommy Kahnle.
Ohtani alertly gets to third when Soto’s throw skips away from Gleyber, and here’s Luke Weaver with the tying run at third, one out and Mookie Betts up.
Bottom of the eighth, protecting a one-run lead, and Tommy Kahnle’s Job One is to keep Ohtani from batting this inning as the go-ahead run.
He does that, with Volpe’s help, breaking Tommy Edman’s bat on a groundout to short.
Looking ahead to the bottom of the eighth, Ohtani bats second. And Tommy Kahnle is still in, with a 2-1 lead.
Lurking in the Yankee bullpen is Luke Weaver. It’s been a very tense and fun World Series game, and we’ve got a lot more suspense around the corner.
And once more the Yanks find a way out of a jam, this time with Tommy Kahnle entering and retiring Gavin Lux on a grounder to Gleyber Torres – stranding the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.
It’s 2-1 Yanks entering the eighth. Here’s the lefty Alex Vesia, the third Dodger reliever tonight, to face 5-6-7 in the Yankee order.
It’s already time for briefly-a-Dodger Tommy Kahnle to relieve Clay Holmes here in the seventh, with two out, runners at second and third, and the Yanks still leading 2-1.
Holmes nailed Max Muncy with a pitch, but after a sac bunt by Enrique Hernandez, Holmes got Will Smith to pop up with the infield back conceding the tying run.
And that’s where we are now.
There’s some stirring in the Yankee ‘pen as Cole begins the Dodger seventh at 80 pitches, holding a 2-1 Yankee lead.
Cole went seven innings in the clinching ALDS Game 4 at Kansas City and was followed by Clay Holmes and Luke Weaver…
and now Cole’s night is done after yielding a leadoff single to Teoscar Hernandez. Here’s Holmes. The battle of the bullpens has been engaged.
Good stuff from Cole and the infield defense after that leadoff Edman double, preserving the Yanks 2-1 lead into the seventh.
Credit shortstop Anthony Volpe with a nice charging play and quick throw to nail the speedy Ohtani on a soft grounder that moved Edman to third with one out.
With the infield in, Mookie Betts’ hot shot was picked by Jazz Chisholm at third and Cole got Freddie Freeman to fly to the right field track.
And he’ll face 9-1-2 in the Dodger order.
While we’re here, Juan Soto – celebrating his 26th birthday today – singled to start the sixth and scored on that Stanton homer….
…and now Tommy Edman leads off with a double.
The Dodgers have three hits, none singles. Sitting next to Hall-of-Famer Jayson Stark, I inquired about how unusual it was to see a team open a World Series with triples as its first two hits.
Instantly, he provided the answer: The ’53 Yankees.
Before the game, Aaron Boone said he didn’t decide on whether to insert Giancarlo Stanton into the cleanup spot against a right-hander until after Thursday’s team workout.
“That’s one I wrestled with a lot,’’ said Boone, who had usually inserted a lefty hitter into the cleanup spot vs. righties, with Stanton batting fifth.
But that changed in the Yanks’ clinching ALCS Game 5 at Cleveland, when Stanton batted cleanup and smashed a game-tying two-run homer in the sixth.
“We’ll see how the series evolves,’’ Boone said, but for now Stanton looks locked into the No. 4 spot.
Giancarlo Stanton’s first World Series home run is a titanic, two-run shot, giving the Yanks a 2-1 lead here in the sixth – and that’s all for Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty.
That’s Stanton’s sixth homer of this postseason, and his 17th home run in 37 career postseason games. Statcast had the ball off the bat at 116.6-mph, estimated to have traveled 412 feet.
Seemed further than that. And it followed a third straight strikeout by Aaron Judge, still waiting for his big October moment.
It’s that increasingly rare postseason thing – a starting pitcher’s battle through five innings.
But the Dodgers just scored first, on a one-out Enrique Hernandez triple and a Will Smith sac fly to right, where Juan Soto made it close with a good throw home.
The place shook as Hernandez slid home just ahead of the tag, making it 1-0 LA. Jack Flaherty is at 74 pitches and Cole is at 66.
ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton (0-for-2) has some monster regular season stats in this ballpark (10 homers in 25 games) and he grew up in nearby Sherman Oaks attending Dodgers games – often sitting in the left field bleachers.
As a Marlin, Stanton once cleared the left field pavilion with a homer. As a Yankee, he homered in the 2022 All-Star Game here and was named the game’s MVP.
Judge noted how “excited’’ Stanton was to arrive here for his first World Series and try to “do something special.’’
Asked about that level of excitement, Judge said he knew it “the moment I saw his pass list,’’ with so many relatives and friends attending.
We’re scoreless through three, with Gerrit Cole ending with a swinging strikeout of Shohei Ohtani on a 2-2 curve.
Since the Freeman triple, Cole – a SoCal raised UCLA alumni – has retired seven straight with three Ks…
…and now he’s through four innings, having retired 10 straight in a scoreless game.
Dodgers’ starter Jack Flaherty has just completed another scoreless frame, in this scoreless third inning – aided by a DP grounder by Juan Soto.
At the trade deadline, Yankees GM Brian Cashman was heavily involved in trying to lure Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers. Instead, the Dodgers landed him in a two-player package that sent Trey Sweeney to Detroit.
Seven months earlier, the Yanks had shipped Sweeney (a former Yankee first round pick) to LA in a deal that netted lefty reliever Victor Gonzalez (eventually released by the Yanks) and second baseman Jorbit Vivas.
“I think Jack Flaherty is an exceptional starter,” Cashman said at the time, adding that he “certainly would have loved to have him as a choice for us, as well as anybody else that would potentially be an upgrade on our rotation.’’
There was some question about medical reports on Flaherty’s lower back, but “at the end of the day, I would have brought Jack Flaherty in if I could have matched up.’’
Gerrit Cole dodged out of that first inning, stranding Freddie Freeman after a two-out triple – even while running on that compromised ankle.
In left field with two out, Alex Verdugo, the ex-Dodger outfielder, misread the carom on Freeman’s slicing liner and wound up on third base but Cole got the always-dangerous Teoscar Hernandez to line out to short.
Before that, the great Shohei Ohtani led off by swinging at Cole’s first pitch and flying out to deep center. Mookie Betts next flied out to the left field track.
Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty should’ve been out of the first inning one batter sooner, but shortstop Tommy Edman booted Giancarlo Stanton’s grounder.
But Jazz Chisholm Jr. grounded out to end the inning, with Flaherty working around a Juan Soto walk. Chisholm Jr. is 3-for-27 (.111) in the playoffs since homering in Game 2 of the ALDS vs. Kansas City.
Gerrit Cole was fresh off pitching in a World Series when he joined the Yankees.
At one point during his 2019 introductory Bronx press conference, the club’s new ace spoke of the “need to win a world championship and ideally more than one’’ over the length of his nine-year contract.
Starting World Series Game 5 in 2019, Cole had pitched the Houston Astros within a win of a world championship, but Juan Soto’s Washington Nationals prevailed in seven games.
Tonight, Cole arrives at his first World Series with the Yankees, starting Game 1 at Dodger Stadium.
Five years in the making, this assignment against the Dodgers comes seven months after Cole’s elbow scare, diagnosed in spring training with nerve inflammation.
During his rehab, “I found myself feeling really blessed a lot of times to just take in a lot of the great players we have and see the game’’ in a new frame, Cole said.
In those days leading up to his June 19 return, Cole felt “as if you were taking your kid to a baseball game for the first time,’’ just absorbing “the competitiveness of the players.
“So, that was a perspective that was nice to have, and hopefully I learned some things from it.’’
Roster wise, the Yankees have taken versatile infielder Jon Berti off their roster due to a hip flexor injury suffered in ALCS Game 4.
Lefty Nestor Cortes was added, following his rehab from a left elbow strain, though the Yankees were taking 13 pitchers regardless, according to manager Aaron Boone.
Follow here for our updates and analysis throughout Game 1 of the 2024 World Series:
Date: Friday, Oct. 25
Time: 8:08 p.m.
TV: FOX
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