About Last Night: Dodgers Overwhelm Yanks 6-3

About Last Night: The Dodgers Overwhelm the Yankees 6-3 in 10 Innings

By Tim Kabel

October 26, 2024

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The Yankees had a chance to win this first game of the World Series, but they blew that chance, and they blew the game. It's easy to say it's only one game, but the Dodgers are 25% of the way toward a World Series championship, and the Yankees are not. Hopefully, the Yankees got it out of their system, because if they didn’t, it gets late early out there, to quote Yogi Berra.

Quick Stats – 

·       Giancarlo Stanton hit his sixth home run of the 2024 postseason.  It was also his 17th career postseason home run in 37 games.

·       Gerrit Cole threw 88 pitches before being pulled in the seventh inning. Luis Tiant Is probably spinning in his grave. Well, with his wind up, that would most likely happen anyway but I'm sure he wasn't impressed.

·      Nestor Cortes appeared in his first game since September 18th.

·       Freddie Freeman hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.

·       Aaron Judge struck out three times last night and has struck out 16 times in the postseason.

·       On October 25, 1986, Mookie Wilson hit a slow roller to first base that haunted Bill Buckner for the rest of his life.

·       Rudy May passed away on October 23rd at age 80.  He played parts of seven seasons with the Yankees and went 15-5 in 1980.  He led the American League in ERA that season, posting a 2.46 ERA. Rest in Peace.

The Big Story –

The Yankees can still win the World Series. The only problem is that blowing a game in a seven-game series can be difficult to overcome. Can they do it? Of course they can. The only thing is that they will be playing the rest of the series with the same manager and players that they had in Game One.

The Yankees made moves that cost them the game last night. What makes us think they won’t do the same type of thing in future games? Mistakes were made last night. Mistakes do happen. The key is to learn from them and make sure they are not repeated. I'm not confident that will happen with this team. However, all the Yankees can do now is pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and go out and win tonight.

Player of the Game – 

 Jazz Chisolm, Jr. had two hits and stole three bases. He scored the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth inning. It didn’t last long, but that is not his fault.

Notable Performance –

Giancarlo Stanton continued his postseason dominance, hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning. 

Better to Forget:

The bottom of the tenth inning, although I don’t think I can.

My Take –  

The Yankees won the ALDS and the ALCS by playing crisp and clean games for the most part. They avoided the miscues and blunders that plagued them throughout stretches during the regular season. That came to an end last night.

For the most part, Gleyber Torres had been fine defensively during the postseason, despite leading the Major Leagues in errors by a second baseman this season. Well, he returned to form last night, making a costly error that allowed the Dodgers to tie the game in the 8th inning. If he had not made that error, it's conceivable the Yankees would have won the game 2-1. Many fans believed all along that something like this would happen at some point during the postseason with Torres. He is prone to defensive lapses and in the biggest game of the year so far, it cost the Yankees.

I have long criticized Aaron Boone and I have no faith in him as a manager. He made some blunders in the ALDS and ALCS but, the Yankees won despite them. I have long advocated Boone-proofing as a way of off-setting his blunders, over-managing, and other mistakes that have cost the Yankees games. As was the case with Torres, Boone returned to form last night.

Regarding Gerrit Cole’s removal from the game: 

“Gerrit Cole was dominating the game, and if if you take him out for I don’t know whatever reason, it’s a domino effect on not only this game tonight, but on tomorrow’s game and the rest of the series.”

I didn't say that. Derek Jeter said that. Derek Jeter knows a thing or two about winning World Series games. Derek Jeter knows a thing or two about competing. I agree with what he said.

One of the criticisms of Aaron Boone since he became the Yankees’ manager and particularly in the ALCS was that he overused his bullpen to the point that not only were the pitchers tired but the Guardians were overly familiar with them. The Yankees won that series, so it doesn't matter. But it does matter. If Boone didn't pull Cole in the 7th inning, maybe he would have had Luke Weaver available in the 10th inning instead of Nestor Cortes. Also, why was Clay Holmes the first option to come in after Gerrit Cole? He was disastrous in his last outings against the Guardians. Luckily, he escaped without allowing a run, but Kike Hernandez’s bunt helped out.

Now, let's discuss the 10th inning. Aaron Boone decided to bring Nestor Cortes into the 10th inning with two runners on to face Shohei Ohtani. Nestor had not pitched since September 18th, due to an injury. Tim Hill on the other hand, had pitched in the postseason and had done well. Nestor Cortes is a starting pitcher, who was being used in relief last night. Tim Hill is a relief pitcher. This was his job. I ascribe no blame whatsoever to Nestor Cortes. He is a competitor who is willing to sacrifice his career and his arm for the team. However, that did not mean he had to be used last night. This was not the situation to use him in. We saw what happened.

This is exactly what many of us were afraid would happen. Aaron Boone tried to outsmart the Dodgers. He didn't do it. He over-managed and cost the Yankees a game. Not only that if you agree with what Derek Jeter said, his decisions could have a lingering effect on the rest of the series. This was not the way to start after a 15-year absence from the World Series.

Next Up-

Tonight, the Yankees will play the second game of the World Series against the Dodgers at 8:08 PM at Dodger Stadium. Carlos Rodon, (1-1, 4.40 ERA) will face the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, (1-0, 5.11 ERA).