Freddie Freeman was the hero for the Dodgers in the World Series opener against the New York Yankees on Friday evening. His walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning gave the Dodgers a 6-3 victory. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Game 1 of the World Series lived up to the hype of a Los Angeles Dodgers-New York Yankees Fall Classic, and Freddie Freeman was the hero.
The Dodgers first baseman hit a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning to end a dramatic game. The Yankees had taken the lead in the top of the tenth, 3-2, but Freeman came through with a monstrous 400-foot home run to give his team a 6-3 victory and a 1-0 lead in the World Series. .
It was the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
Freeman played the entire postseason limping after spraining his ankle in the final week of the regular season. He didn’t post a single extra-base hit in the NLDS and NLCS and sat out some games to rest the ankle, then hit a grand slam and a triple on Friday.
The play was very reminiscent of Kirk Gibson’s walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland A’s. In both cases, a first baseman hobbled by injury delivered a homer. Gibson’s still resonates in Dodgers history, and it will if the Dodgers can get it done in the next few games.
There was also a lot of drama before the grand slam. The Dodgers scored the first run, but the Yankees responded with a titanic homer from Giancarlo Stanton. Both starting pitchers, Gerrit Cole and Jack Flaherty, had good starts, but Flaherty was in line for the loss.
Shohei Ohtani led the tying rally in the eighth inning with a double, took third on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts. The Yankees nearly took the lead in the ninth inning, but a fly ball by Gleyber Torres, caught by a fan, was ultimately ruled a double.
Then in the top of the 10th inning, Jazz brought Chisholm Jr. the Yankees short-balled into the lead. He singled off top Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen, stole second and third and then scored on an RBI fielder’s choice by Anthony Volpe. It could have been a huge win for the Yankees, but it became history for the Dodgers.
Now the series moves to Game 2 on Saturday, with Los Angeles’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and New York’s Carlos Rodón set to start.
Here’s how it all went down at Yahoo Sports:
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Vin Scully’s call of Kirk Gibson’s 1988 WS G1 walk-off home run versus Joe Davis’s call of Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam:
HIGH FLY BALL IN RIGHT FIELD, SHE’S GONE!
She’s gone! GIBBY, MEET FREDDIE! GAME ONE OF THE WORLD SERIES!
Vegas now has a decent view on the Dodgers’ chances of winning the World Series. Losing a good start to Gerrit Cole will cause that, regardless of how it ended.
Regardless, Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 5:08 PM PT, with Carlos Rodón and Yoshinobu Yamamoto set to start.
So this game had a Jeffrey Maier and a Kirk Gibson. What more could you want from a Yankees-Dodgers World Series?
Freddie Freeman sprained his ankle in the penultimate series of the regular season for the Dodgers. He was clearly hampered in the NLDS and NLCS, missing games and not recording an extra base hit.
And then he comes back and hits a triple and a GRAND SLAM. Baseball.
FREDDIE FREEMAN WINS IT. He throws Cortes’ first pitch into the stands in right field, and the Dodgers win Game 1 6-3 in a classic.
Saturday it’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Carlos Rodón in Game 2.
Wow, Ohtani swings on the first pitch and sends it into foul territory, where Alex Verdugo brings down the second out with an acrobatic play. The Yankees opt to walk Mookie Betts and pit left-hander Nestor Cortes against Freddie Freeman, another player returning from injury. This is a drama.
Tommy Edman puts another runner on base with a single.
And now: Shohei Ohtani. Two up. One out. Bottom of the 10th. He will face Nestor Cortes, a starting pitcher who has been out for a month due to an elbow injury.
This is why everyone was hyping the 2024 World Series.
Gavin Lux walks against Jake Cousins, which is big. That means, barring a double play, the Dodgers will get Shohei Ohtani on the board.
Yankees 3, Dodgers 2
Anthony Volpe hits a grounder that Tommy Edman stops, but without any play to home. Jazz Chisholm’s legs now make the difference in overtime.
Chisholm steals third place from Will Smith without a throw. It will now be infield for the Dodgers.
Jazz Chisholm singles and then steals second. The Yankees have the go-ahead run in scoring position with one out. Anthony Volpe comes up after the Dodgers trail Anthony Rizzo 3-0 and elects to walk him intentionally.
We haven’t had extra innings of a World Series opener since…
Blake Treinen stays in and gets Giancarlo Stanton on a three-pitch strikeout. That will be a big challenge for the Dodgers for the rest of the series.
Luke Weaver throws a 1-2-3 9th inning
Enrique Hernandez flies out to left field for the final of the ninth inning. It looked like the pop-up would come in for a hit, but a charging Alex Verdugo made a diving catch to end the frame.
We’re going to the 10th inning!
Max Muncy pops out to 2nd base
Luke Weaver messed up Max Muncy’s timing with his substitution. Muncy got a throw right up the middle, but didn’t get much of it as Weaver took something off.
