Much of the talk after the Yankees’ devastating game one loss was the decision by Aaron Boone to call on Nestor Cortes to face Shohei Ohtani and, eventually, Freddie Freeman.
Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in over a month due to a flexor strain, retired Ohtani on the first pitch, but after intentionally walking Mookie Betts, served up the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history to Freeman, who demolished a first-pitch fastball to give the Dodgers a lead in the World Series.
Boone was heavily criticized by many after opting to call on Cortes over fellow lefty Tim Hill, who had done the job on multiple occasions through the playoffs so far. But the Yanks would have already been in the locker room and celebrating a game one victory had it not been for two defensive miscues that ultimately doomed the series opener.
With no score in the bottom of the fifth, Enrique Hernandez laced a line drive down the right field line that ended up as a triple when Juan Soto committed to try and making the catch, which would have taken a sparkling full-extension diving catch while in a full sprint. The Gold Glove finalist missed the ball by plenty, then had to slow down to a stop before retreating back to the ball, turning a double into an easy triple. Williams Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to give LA the lead.
After Giancarlo Stanton gave the Yanks the lead with his latest dramatic playoff home run, the Yankees held that 2-1 edge in the bottom of the eighth, when Ohtani banged a line drive double off the right center field wall off of Tommy Kahnle. Soto fired in from the outfield to Gleyber Torres, who tried to backhand the shorthop and watched it glance off his glove and into the middle of the infield, allowing Ohtani to advance to third. Betts followed with a sac fly, tying the game with the second run being scored off of a sac fly, which both came after costly defensive miscues.
Boone’s decision to go to Cortes will be debated for a while. But, had Soto taken the sensible route in right field, and had Torres prioritized getting his body in front of the throw, the talk would have likely been about an impressive shutout win, Stanton’s October legend, and a dominant Gerrit Cole. Instead, it’s about a golden opportunity wasted.