After the New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, fans criticized manager Aaron Boone for bringing in pitcher Nestor Cortes during a crucial moment in the game.
Cortes hadn’t played since mid-September due to a flexor strain but was unexpectedly called to close out the tenth inning. What followed was a disastrous performance: Cortes threw just two pitches—a fastball that Shohei Ohtani fouled off and another that Freddie Freeman hit for a walk-off grand slam, marking the first of its kind in World Series history.
In a post-game press conference, Boone defended his choice, stating he liked the matchup and noted that Cortes had been performing well leading up to the game. He felt it would be difficult to double up Ohtani with one out and expressed confidence in Cortes.
Boone had two pitchers warming up: Cortes, who hadn’t pitched in 37 days, and Tim Hill, who had allowed just one earned run in 5.2 innings of postseason play. He mentioned Cortes’ history against Ohtani, who was 2-for-12 against him, as a factor in his decision.
Cortes managed to get Ohtani to pop up on the first pitch, leading to a catch by Alex Verdugo. Next, Boone decided to intentionally walk Mookie Betts, even though Betts was hitless against Cortes, to set up a left-on-left matchup with Freeman.
Betts expressed mixed feelings about the intentional walk, acknowledging its strategic sense. Meanwhile, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested Freeman took the walk personally, resulting in Freeman hitting a first-pitch fastball for a 409-foot homer, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the World Series.
After the game, Cortes expressed regret, wishing his pitch had been “maybe just two or three inches higher,” believing he had placed it where he intended.
The Yankees are looking to bounce back in Game 2 against the Dodgers on Saturday night, with Carlos Rodon starting for New York and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Los Angeles.
