Freddie Freeman wins Game 1 with 1st walk-off grand slam in World Series history

LOS ANGELES — It could be essentially the most well-known spotlight in World Sequence historical past. And it was simply performed on repeat.

Thirty-six years after a gimpy Kirk Gibson limped to the plate to smack a Recreation 1 walk-off homer, Freddie Freeman got here to bat with a badly injured proper ankle, the bases loaded within the backside of the tenth and an opportunity to summon October magic of his personal. With one, no-doubt swing, Freeman rocketed the ball into the right-field pavilion seats for the first-ever World Sequence walk-off grand slam that gave the Dodgers an epic 6-3 victory in a Recreation 1 thriller Friday evening at Dodger Stadium.

To stay as much as a working week’s price of hype isn’t any small feat. However the Dodgers and Yankees — the No. 1 seeds within the Nationwide and American Leagues who’re clashing within the Fall Basic for the primary time in 43 years — performed a Recreation 1 very a lot well worth the wait. And ultimately, the Dodgers got here out with a magical opening act by which Freeman gave off these Gibby goosebumps.

In best-of-seven postseason sequence, groups successful Recreation 1 have gone on to take the sequence 125 of 191 instances (65%). That features 23 of 29 instances (79%) within the World Sequence since 1995. In all sequence underneath the present 2-3-2 format, groups successful Recreation 1 at dwelling have gone on to take the sequence 68 of 101 instances (67%).

With the demise earlier this week of Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela hanging heavy within the air, a pair of the membership’s World Sequence MVPs — Steve Yeager (1981) and Orel Hershiser (1988) — positioned a ball on the mound in his reminiscence previous to the ceremonial first pitch, just under the No. 34 that had been painted there. The Dodgers additionally wore jersey patches to commemorate the person who as soon as introduced “Fernandomania” to baseball.

Maybe the perfect tribute got here from Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty, who not solely confirmed as much as the park carrying a Valenzuela jersey however then turned in a terrific begin. Rapidly quieting issues in regards to the velocity dip he had proven in his final begin within the NLCS in opposition to the Mets, Flaherty had his fastball and his breaking pitches working, matching wits with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a uncommon beginning pitching duel in what has been a bullpen-oriented October.

Cole blinked first. Within the backside of the fifth, Kiké Hernández despatched a fly ball to the right-field nook. As had been the case within the first inning, when left fielder Alex Verdugo couldn’t corral a ball off Freeman’s bat that caromed across the wall and allowed Freeman to streak to 3rd, proper fielder Juan Soto misplayed this one, and instantly Hernández was safely at third with the Dodgers’ second triple of the sport.

This time, they obtained the runner dwelling, by way of a Will Smith sacrifice fly that made it 1-0.

However the very subsequent inning, Flaherty grew to become the newest sufferer of a person within the midst of a mammoth, magic month. With Soto having singled and one out, Flaherty tried to place Giancarlo Stanton away with a 1-2 knuckle-curve. Stanton turned on it and lifted it excessive and deep into the seats close to the left-field foul pole for the two-run, 412-foot homer that quieted the blue-clad followers and gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Stanton’s smash was launched at 116.6 mph — the hardest-hit ball within the World Sequence since Statcast started monitoring exit velocities in 2015. And after Stanton had received ALCS MVP on the may of 4 hits — all homers — this was his fifth consecutive hit that went over a wall.

That was sufficient to knock Flaherty out of the sport. However Cole stayed in, and the way in which he calmly retired Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman in succession after a leadoff double from NLCS MVP Tommy Edman within the sixth had him in place for the win. The Yankees would additionally escape bother within the seventh, when the Dodgers had runners at second and third with one out earlier than Clay Holmes obtained Will Smith to come out and Tommy Kahnle obtained Gavin Lux to floor out to squash one other rally.

However within the eighth, the Yankees made one other pricey defensive miscue, and the Dodgers capitalized. Ohtani rocketed a Kahnle changeup for a double off the highest of the right-center discipline wall, and when Soto’s one-hop throw again to the infield bounced off Gleyber Torres’ glove, Ohtani was capable of advance to 3rd. Betts then drove him in on a sac fly to heart, and the rating was tied at 2.

Moments after his error, Torres sparked essentially the most fascinating “defensive play” of the night. His lengthy fly ball to left-center with two out in opposition to Michael Kopech discovered the glove of a fan seated within the first row of the pavilion seats. However as a result of the fan had clearly reached over the wall to make the snag, it was dominated — and upheld on replay assessment — a ground-rule double relatively than a go-ahead homer. Within the gutsiest transfer of the evening, the Dodgers deliberately walked Soto to face Decide with two aboard, and Blake Treinen got here on to get Decide to harmlessly come out to finish the inning.

With Yankees reliever Luke Weaver caring for the center third of the Dodgers’ lineup within the ninth, this grew to become the third consecutive World Sequence Recreation 1 to go to additional innings. And within the tenth, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s one-out single off Treinen and subsequent stolen base had the Yankees knocking on the door. Anthony Rizzo was deliberately walked, after which Chisholm swiped third uncontested to place runners on the corners. Anthony Volpe’s floor ball might have gotten Treinen and the Dodgers out of it, however Edman’s bother with the switch allowed him solely to get the out at second, as Chisholm motored dwelling.

However the Dodgers mounted one final risk within the backside of the tenth with Lux’s one-out stroll off Jake Cousins and Edman’s infield single. That introduced Ohtani to the plate with two on. The Yankees turned to Nestor Cortes, who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 18 due to elbow bother and was positioned on the World Sequence roster exactly to assist remedy the Ohtani predicament. Cortes obtained Ohtani to hit a excessive pop fly to foul territory, and Verdugo made a sensational play reaching and falling over the sidewall to get the out.

Cortes then deliberately walked Betts to deliver Freeman to the plate. Freeman had sat out Recreation 6 of the NLCS due to the ankle sprain, which was suffered on Sept. 26 and made him questionable for every spherical of this postseason. However the prolonged day without work between rounds appeared to serve Freeman effectively. And when Cortes served him a first-pitch fastball on the within edge, Freeman pounded his method into the historical past books.