Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman celebrates his walk-off grand slam house run towards the New York Yankees through the tenth inning in Recreation 1 of the baseball World Sequence, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photograph/Ashley Landis)
LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman hit the primary game-ending grand slam in World Sequence historical past with two outs within the tenth inning to provide the Los Angeles Dodgers a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees in a dramatic opener Friday evening.
Hobbled by a badly sprained ankle, Freeman homered on the primary pitch he noticed — an inside fastball from Nestor Cortes — and raised his bat excessive earlier than starting his trot because the sellout crowd of 52,394 roared.
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“I can not consider what simply occurred,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned. “That’s what makes the Fall Basic a traditional, proper, as a result of the celebrities come out and superstars make large performs, get large hits, within the greatest of moments. … I’m speechless proper now.”
READ: Dodgers, Yankees prepared for starriest World Sequence in a long time
IT’S GONE
IT’S GONE
IT’S GONE
IT’S GONE
FREDDIE FREEMAN #WALKOFF GRAND SLAM pic.twitter.com/LlVU1ZGyGx— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2024
It was paying homage to Kirk Gibson’s game-ending homer that lifted Los Angeles over the Oakland Athletics in Recreation 1 of the 1988 World Sequence at Dodger Stadium — probably the most well-known swings in baseball lore.
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Gibson, sidelined by leg accidents, got here off the bench and linked towards Corridor of Fame nearer Dennis Eckersley.
Freeman, who missed three video games through the Nationwide League playoffs due to the harm to his proper ankle, didn’t have an extra-base hit this postseason till legging out a triple earlier on Friday.
“Truly felt fairly good,” Freeman mentioned. “The final six days we handled it very well. I’ve been feeling fairly good. Proper once I ran out to provide high-fives to my teammates, I felt fairly good, as a result of that was the primary time I ran all week. So, ankle’s good.”
After the house run, Freeman ran over to his father.
“I used to be simply screaming in his face. I’m sorry, dad,” Freeman mentioned, laughing. “He’s been there since I used to be a little bit boy, throwing batting follow to me day-after-day. So this can be a second, it’s my dad’s second.”
On this much-hyped, star-studded World Sequence between two of baseball’s most storied and profitable franchises, Recreation 1 actually delivered. It was the third straight Sequence opener to go further innings.
READ: Yankees, Dodgers renew epic rivalry in World Sequence
“We are able to’t sit right here and mope,” Yankees slugger Aaron Choose mentioned. “Be taught from it, the place we are able to enhance, and attempt to win the following one.”
Within the high of the tenth, Anthony Volpe grounded right into a fielder’s option to shortstop, scoring Jazz Chisholm Jr. from third after he stole two bases, to provide the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
The speedy Chisholm singled off Blake Treinen after which stole second. Following an intentional stroll to Anthony Rizzo, Chisholm swiped third base uncontested as Treinen was sluggish to the plate with Max Muncy taking part in deep at third.
Tommy Edman made a diving cease to his left on Volpe’s grounder, however couldn’t get it out of his glove at first. He tossed to second to get Rizzo out as Chisholm got here flying house with the go-ahead run.
However the Dodgers weren’t performed.
Gavin Lux walked towards Jake Cousins with one out within the backside of the tenth and went to second on Edman’s infield single to second. Defensive alternative Oswaldo Cabrera knocked down the ball together with his glove but it surely leaked into the outfield.
That introduced up star slugger Shohei Ohtani, a left-handed hitter. Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone went to his bullpen once more for Cortes, a lefty starter who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 18 due to an elbow harm.
READ: Yankees have minted new vibe heading into World Sequence
After lacking the AL playoffs, Cortes was added to the World Sequence roster Friday.
Left fielder Alex Verdugo made a working catch in foul territory to retire Ohtani. Verdugo’s momentum despatched him tumbling over the low retaining wall, advancing each runners one base as a result of by rule it grew to become a useless ball when Verdugo wound up within the stands.
With first base open, New York deliberately walked Mookie Betts to load the bases and arrange lefty-on-lefty matchup of Cortes towards Freeman.
“I used to be on time for the heater,” Freeman mentioned.
His drive into the right-field pavilion despatched Dodgers followers right into a frenzy. It was the third walk-off homer in World Sequence historical past for a group that was trailing, following Gibson’s shot and Joe Carter’s drive for the Toronto Blue Jays that gained the 1993 World Sequence towards Philadelphia.
“That’s stuff, you’re 5 years outdated within the yard proper there,” Freeman mentioned. “That’s a dream come true, but it surely’s just one. We’ve bought three extra.”
It’s the twelfth time the Yankees and Dodgers are assembly within the World Sequence, essentially the most frequent matchup in main league annals, however their earlier October conflict was 43 years in the past.
Whereas the Dodgers are searching for their eighth title and second in 5 years, the Yankees are within the Fall Basic for the primary time since successful No. 27 in 2009.
READ: Dodgers end off Mets, advance to World Sequence vs Yankees
The primary Sequence with a pair of 50-home run hitters in Choose (58) and Ohtani (54) opened quietly as Gerrit Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Younger Award winner, and Jack Flaherty dueled by means of 4 scoreless innings. Choose struck out swinging in his first three at-bats earlier than singling off Brusdar Graterol with two outs within the seventh.
Ohtani was 0 for 3 earlier than ripping a double off the right-field wall within the eighth. He raced to 3rd on the play when second baseman Gleyber Torres mishandled Juan Soto’s throw, which grew to become expensive when Ohtani scored on a sacrifice fly by Betts that tied it 2-all.
With two outs within the ninth, Torres despatched a protracted drive to left-center. A fan carrying a Dodgers jersey reached over the wall and caught the ball. Umpires dominated fan interference and gave Torres a double, a name confirmed on video replay. The fan instantly left the realm.
Blake Treinen got here in and deliberately walked Soto to get to Choose. He popped as much as finish the inning in a 1-for-5 efficiency that included three strikeouts.
The Dodgers broke by means of for a 1-0 lead within the fifth when Kiké Hernández tripled previous Soto in proper discipline and scored on Will Smith’s sacrifice fly.
The Yankees answered proper again within the sixth. Soto singled main off earlier than Choose struck out swinging for the third time. Giancarlo Stanton adopted with a 412-foot shot to left off Flaherty for his seventeenth profession postseason homer. Stanton grew up within the close by San Fernando Valley, not removed from Flaherty’s hometown of Burbank.
Stanton, the American League Championship Sequence MVP, linked on a knuckle-curve that hung barely on the backside of the strike zone. His sixth homer in 11 video games this postseason got here off his bat at 116.6 mph.
After final weekend’s pennant-clinching win at Cleveland, Stanton mentioned, “This ain’t the trophy I need. I need the following one.”
The Yankees then loaded the bases. Chisholm singled off Anthony Banda and stole second. After Rizzo struck out, Volpe was deliberately walked. Austin Wells reached on an infield single that Edman smothered with a dive to save lots of a run earlier than Verdugo struck out swinging towards his former group.
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UP NEXT
Recreation 2 is Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, with Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón pitching towards $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Rodón is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA in three begins this postseason, with 22 strikeouts over 14 1/3 innings. Yamamoto is 1-0 in three postseason begins with a 5.11 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.
