Baseball

World Series: Dodgers Defeat Yankees in Opener on a Grand Slam in the 10th

Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history off Yankees reliever Nestor Cortes. Shohei Ohtani scored the tying run in the eighth.

by
Ed Odeven
October 26, 2024

Game 1 of the 2024 World Series ended with an epic moment. Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman crushed a Nestor Cortes fastball over the right-field fence.

The bases-loaded blast with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning propelled the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, October 25.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts captured the magnitude of the moment in the post-game news conference.

"It's arguably one of the ― might be the greatest baseball moment I've ever witnessed, and I've witnessed some great ones," Roberts told reporters.

In the bottom of the 10th, against Yankees reliever Jake Cousins, who just entered the game, the Dodgers' Will Smith flied out to right and Gavin Lux walked. National League Championship Series MVP Tommy Edman, the team's No 9 hitter, followed with an infield single.

That brought fan favorite Shohei Ohtani to the plate for the fifth time in the World Series opener. Cortes, the Yankees' sixth pitcher on the night, replaced Cousins before Ohtani's at-bat.

Swinging at a four-seam fastball on Cortes' first pitch to him, Ohtani hit a shallow fly ball. Left fielder Alex Verdugo made a spectacular catch in foul territory, sprinting and tumbling over the wall.

Loading the Bases to Pitch to Freeman

Now with two outs, the Dodgers had runners at second and third.

The Yankees decided to issue an intentional walk to right-handed hitter Mookie Betts to load the bases.

Conventional baseball wisdom states that for pitching matchups it's to the pitcher's advantage for a lefty to face a lefty or a righty to face a righty.

Freeman, a career .300 hitter who broke into the big leagues in 2010, welcomed the challenge of the lefty vs lefty showdown in the World Series.

For the Yankees, the move backfired as Freeman torched Cortes' 92.5 mph four-seam fastball, sending it flying like a rocket 409 feet over the right-field fence.

Freeman Reflects on World Series Heroics

After the game, Freeman spoke about his glorious moment during an interview with ESPN Radio's Buster Olney.

"Just try to be on time for the heater," were the words Freeman used to describe his high-pressure at-bat and his mental preparation for it.

It was a dream come true for Freeman.

"Those are the kind of things, when you're 5 years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing wiffle ball in the backyard, those are the scenarios you dream about — two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game," he told reporters. "For it to actually happen and get a home run and walk it off to give us a 1-0 lead, that’s as good as it gets right there."

Roberts relived the excitement and the drama of the decisive 10th inning after the on-field celebrations ended.

"As the inning started, you're just trying to think about getting Shohei to the plate," the longtime Dodgers skipper, who was born in Okinawa, told reporters. "Once they decided to walk Mookie, I just felt good with Freddie at the plate. And just that swing, you knew it was gone."

Roberts called it "pure elation."

He added, "Man, it was a great game before that, but the way it finished, I just couldn't be more excited for our guys."

Ohtani Makes World Series Debut

Half a world away, viewing parties throughout Japan watched the dramatic game from start to finish (it began at 9:11AM JST on Saturday). Dodgers leadoff hitter Ohtani, a source of overwhelming pride in his homeland, was the center of attention.

In the opening game, on the very first pitch, Ohtani smacked a hard-hit fly ball in front of the warning track in center field in the first inning. He then struck out swinging on a nifty knuckle curve against Yankees starter Gerrit Cole to end the third inning.

Cole and Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty were locked in a pitchers' duel. The Dodgers broke the scoreless stalemate in the fifth. Kike Hernandez tripled to right as Yankees right fielder Juan Soto misplayed the ball.

Will Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to right and Hernandez's head-first slide beat Soto's strong throw to the plate. Dodgers 1, Yankees 0.

Stanton Crushes a 2-Run Homer in the 6th

LA's lead didn't last for long, though. With one out in the top of the sixth, Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton bashed a two-run homer to left off Flaherty to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

Flaherty exited the game after the scoring play. He allowed five hits and two runs with a walk and six strikeouts. Flaherty fanned Yankees superstar Aaron Judge, who led the American League with 58 homers in the regular season, three times.

The Dodgers rallied with one out in the eighth. Facing Tommy Kahnle, Ohtani crushed a double off the right-field wall, and the two-time AL MVP moved to third on Soto's throwing error to second baseman Gleyber Torres.

Betts followed with a sac fly to center as Ohtani scored to make it 2-2.

Chisholm Sparks Yankees in the 10th

Again, the lead was short-lived. New York capitalized on Jazz Chisholm Jr's speed on the basepaths in the top of the 10th. Chisholm lashed a one-out single to right, then stole second and third and scored on a groundout.

The Yankees' lead vanished into the night as Freeman's mighty swing ended Game 1.

"That's a dream come true, but it's only one," Freeman declared after the game, according to The Associated Press. "We've got three more."

A Thrilling Experience for Ohtani

Ohtani also commented on the exhilaration of Freeman's homer for his team.

"We managed to get the best way to win a game [in] the opener, thanks to a great home run," Ohtani said, according to Kyodo News. "Both starters began the game wonderfully and it was a good win for us, pitchers included.

"We hope to keep this momentum and play a good game again tomorrow."

A Look Ahead to Game 2

Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA in the regular season) and Yankees southpaw Carlos Rodon (16-9, 3.96 ERA) were announced as the starters for Game 2 on Saturday, October 26.

After their disappointing loss, Judge said the Yankees will shift their focus to Game 2.

"You can't sit here and mope, you can't sit here and complain. You can't shoulda, coulda, woulda," Judge said, according to The Associated Press. "It's time to go to work. We lost this game. Learn from it. See where we can improve and go out there and win the next one."

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.